Living Half-Saved?

Father, many of us who are Christians, we forget who we are.

We sort of remember it when we're in church, but then we forget who we are.

And Father, in fact, many of us who are Christians live our lives as if we are only half saved, not fully saved.

Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would move very powerfully in our lives

and open your word to us and bring your word home to us, Father,

so that we might be disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel

and learning to live day by day for your glory.

And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

I guess because I'm in Canada and because I'm white, I don't often think of race.

But when I was in Angola, my race was very powerfully evident to me in different ways.

And I saw in very powerful ways how race can affect how you're perceived and what you're able to do.

So when I was in Angola this summer, I was in a poorer part of, like most of Angola is poor.

So that doesn't really narrow it down.

I was in Lubangu, as many of you know, and it's like a lot of poor people in that city.

And, you know, in fact, I was just thinking as I was trying to the 8 o'clock service,

the house that I was staying at, like on a sort of very busy road,

just about, like from your point of view, if you're looking out at the road,

about 20 yards that way, there was a pothole.

And listen, if you think there's potholes in Ottawa, you have never been to a place like Lubangu.

When I say there was a pothole, it was probably about, I don't know, like about, you know,

from here to that table.

And it was probably from about this chair to the edge of the stage.

And it must have been about two feet deep.

Now that's a pothole, okay?

So it dawned on me that it actually was very convenient for Norm and Audrey,

whose house I was staying in, because all the cars coming this way

had to basically go into the other lane of traffic to get around the pothole,

which always meant that it was easy for them to back out of their driveway

and go to where they were going.

I don't know if they picked the house because of that.

They probably didn't.

But anyway, it's a very poor city.

And I had decided I was going to go for a walk to buy some milk.

And so I go.

It's about a 10-minute walk.

You know, there's sewage on the streets, garbage everywhere.

You know, all the sidewalks are broken.

The road is broken.

It's dry.

It's dusty.

It's very poor.

And I hadn't quite realized what I was about to see

because I go through a lot of beggars,

a fair number of children in particular who are begging,

and I step past them.

And all of a sudden, the pavement is perfect.

And I look, and I realize that the building is perfect,

and it's almost as if I'm in a first-world mall.

And in fact, that's what it was.

It was a mall made by Brazilian and Portuguese and rich Angolans,

and it had a multiplex movie theater.

I could have watched the summer's edition of Spider-Man there

and other hit Hollywood movies.

There was electronics stores, sporting goods stores,

and a very, very good, like you would have thought

that you were in a really nice, clean grocery store here in Canada.

But here's the thing.

There are lots and lots and lots of security guards,

like lots of security guards.

And they're everywhere, and they're giving everybody the look,

but they just glance at me, and I go in.

Why?

I'm white.

I'm white.

I'm treated differently.

And it was actually sort of very odd for me to realize

that all the other people would get a close look,

but I could just walk in because I'm white.

There were certain assumptions about me.

And I mean, in many ways, they were correct assumptions,

but they were still assumptions just because I was white.

The text that Ken read just a few minutes ago

actually has a virus in it

that after it has been written,

and in much of the world it's been separated from the root,

but there's a virus text that Ken just read a few minutes ago in Galatians

that has gone on to slowly infiltrate

and affect much of the thinking throughout the world,

even though people might not realize that it ultimately came from a text

explaining the implications of the gospel.

And so for many people, it's separate from the gospel.

It's just this idea that's become a bit of a virus throughout the entire world

that something's wrong about a whole range of things that go on in the world,

and it starts off in this letter to Galatians.

So if you have your Bibles, it would be very helpful if you looked at it with me.

It's one of the implications of the gospel,

and it's in Galatians chapter 3,

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

and we're going to begin reading at verse 26,

which is where our text begins.

Galatians 3, 26, and here's how it goes.

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free.

There is no male and female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

You can see that virus?

Like it's separated from the gospel.

It's all one of the implications of the gospel,

that if you are in Christ Jesus,

there is no Jew or pagan.

There is no slave or free.

There is no male and female if you're in Christ Jesus,

if you've received the gospel.

It's an implication of the gospel,

but this is a tale of radical equality.

Radical equality.

That a slave should be treated the same way that a free man.

That a male should be treated the same way as a female and vice versa.

That Jew and Gentile, we should be treated the same.

It is an idea that has gone throughout the world,

even though it's maybe been separated from the gospel.

It's one of those implications of the gospel that changed the world.

Now, some of you might say,

you know, George, that's actually, like, that's interesting.

I'd heard of that text before,

and that's a very interesting idea.

I hadn't sort of thought about how that has, in fact,

you know, like in ancient Greek thought,

in a much pagan society,

where you are was where you deserve.

The king was a god.

The king was a god.

And where you were was where you were deserved.

In Hindu creation myths,

the caste system is part of the Hindu creation myth,

the creation system.

So you deserve to be there.

And here we have an implication of the gospel

that human beings are,

that these differences,

that you're still going to have differences,

but there's a basic type of dignity

and way I've been treated.

And some of you might say,

George, that's a very interesting idea.

I hadn't really thought of it.

But, George, you know,

isn't the text unbelievably hypocritical?

Like, because they go ahead and say that,

but, George, all the way through,

if I remember correctly,

Ken was reading that text.

He kept saying sons, sons, sons, sons.

Like, isn't that sexist?

Like, isn't that just typical of Christians?

You have this high-finding idea,

but it's just covering a bit of a rot underneath,

something which is fundamentally wrong.

Actually, the fact that all the way through,

the word sons is used,

and not child,

is unbelievably good news.

Unbelievably, powerfully good news.

Listen to it again,

and then I'll explain.

Listen to verse,

begin at verse 26.

Just listen to how it goes.

For in Christ Jesus,

you are all sons of God.

And if your version says child of God,

it's a bad translation.

The word sons should be there,

as I'll explain in a moment.

For in Christ Jesus,

you are all sons of God through faith.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ

have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free.

There is no male and female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you could put up the first point,

Andrew, that would be great,

and I'll explain it,

why this is actually very,

very powerfully good news.

It'll be there in a second.

Jew or Gentile,

slave or free,

male and female,

when we put our faith in Jesus Christ

as our Savior,

we become God's adopted son

and full heir.

So,

my wife is from a family of five kids.

There were four girls,

and I don't know,

like five years and a bit.

And then there was like a five-year gap

or something like that,

and then Richard comes along.

In the ancient world,

at the time that this was written,

when Louise's dad died,

95% of the estate

would not have gone to the oldest girl.

The estate would not have been divided

equally amongst 20% each.

95% of the estate

would have gone to Richard.

the oldest son.

For most of the ancient world,

and in many parts of the world,

even today,

primogeniture,

that's what it's called,

where you want to keep,

people who are wealthy

want to keep their wealth,

so they give it to the oldest son.

That's,

for many parts of the world,

that's just common sense.

That's just like,

why would you do it any other way?

You know,

with any luck,

Louise's dad would have married

the four daughters off

to people who could look after them.

He probably would have,

I know he was always disappointed in me,

but that's the topic of another sermon,

and maybe therapy for me.

No,

not,

no,

no therapy.

He didn't like me when I think I,

I asked her to marry me,

and I don't think he ever liked me,

but there you go.

That's another topic,

right?

So,

he wouldn't have given me,

that Louise to me,

as a next,

you know,

as a good thing.

But,

so just think about it.

So throughout most,

so what's so radical about this text?

What is so radical about this text,

and why all the way through the text,

it says son,

and in fact,

you can see it in the text,

but in the original language,

it's a technical legal word

for the son who inherits the estate.

So what is this saying?

If you are a slave,

and you have become a Christian,

who are you now?

In terms of God's eyes,

you are the son who will inherit the entire estate.

If you are a woman,

who will not inherit anything,

when you receive Jesus as your savior and Lord,

God has adopted you,

and your status in his eyes,

is the son who will inherit the entire estate.

If you are a female slave,

the bottom of the bottom,

when you put your faith and trust in Jesus,

how does God now view you?

You are the son who will inherit the entire estate.

That's why in good translations of the Bible,

the word son is there all the way through,

and not the word child,

because it's trying to communicate

this unbelievable idea

that God does not weigh our merits,

that the normal order of how things work

the normal way that people think of as being natural,

that is being overturned,

underturned,

upside down,

and that all of the things that might make a person say,

well,

I'm a male,

and I'm rich,

and I'm,

you know,

whatever,

therefore,

obviously,

God's going to love me more.

No,

that's not the case.

He doesn't love you more because of that.

He loves all human beings,

and when we put our faith and trust in Jesus,

we become God's son by adoption.

See,

in the ancient world as well,

it was possible.

It couldn't happen now.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Maybe there's somebody here that's in their 70s,

and God didn't bless you with children,

and in the ancient world,

you could adopt me,

even though I'm,

I'm not going to tell you how old I am,

but even though I'm not like a cute little baby,

you could adopt me so that I would get the whole thing,

and that's what it's saying,

that God has adopted you.

When you put your faith and trust in Jesus,

you put your hand out to him,

he takes you,

and,

you know,

maybe at first when you become a Christian,

who knows?

You just,

you want some hope.

You,

you may want to have some guilt removed.

You want something more.

You don't understand it,

and what the Bible starts to explain,

who you are in Christ,

and who you are in Christ,

is you are now treated by God the Father

as if you are the Son

who will inherit everything,

and you have the rights and privileges

of that new status.

male and female,

Jew and Greek,

slave and free.

It's a very,

very,

very,

very powerful text.

Now,

some of you might say,

whoa,

George,

okay,

that's,

that sounds really quite amazing,

but George,

you Christians have sure sucked

getting that out.

Just the other day,

I was talking to a woman

who grew up in South Africa,

so the mic keeps going in and out.

Is that me,

or what's happening?

You're checking it out.

Okay.

If all of a sudden,

I can't hear,

you can't hear me,

just wave,

and I'll,

I'll just speak louder.

So,

I was just talking the other day

to a woman who grew up in,

in South Africa.

She's white,

grew up in South Africa

under apartheid,

and one of the things

we chatted about

was,

in fact,

there were a lot of churches

that white people went to

in South Africa

that specifically,

in their sermons,

would legitimize racism

from the Bible.

And,

and that's just,

I mean,

this isn't just talking now

about,

you know,

the South or anything like that,

United States.

I mean,

this is,

in the lived memories,

many of you were alive

when there were still churches

in South Africa,

and as we all know,

there's a continuing problem

where somehow or another

people can read the Bible

and see texts like this

and still somehow or another

justify racism.

And so,

the pushback can be,

well,

George,

how on earth does this happen?

Well,

actually,

if you keep reading

in chapter four,

Paul explains how it can happen.

Some of it

is,

in fact,

sort of all right news

and some of it,

in fact,

is,

it can be a little bit,

it's one of that hard parts

of Christianity where,

well,

let's read chapter four,

verses one,

to three.

Here's how it goes.

I mean,

okay,

that the heir,

as long as he is a child,

is no different from a slave,

though he is the owner

of everything,

but he is under guardians

and managers

until the date

set by his father.

What about us?

Or in the same way,

or what about us?

We also,

when we were children,

were enslaved

to the elementary principles

of the world.

Now,

that's a bit of a,

you know,

I have to confess,

I kept telling my wife

all week,

I slaved over that text

trying to figure it out,

but there's two different,

two different ideas

that are at work here.

And the first idea

is this,

it is possible for us

to be the son,

but live like we are a slave.

That's what the point

of the analogy is

in the first two verses,

that,

you know,

on one level,

he just said,

you look at a rich estate

and you see slaves

and you see,

like a young child,

but the young child

is under guardians

and tutors

and in those days,

you know,

the tutor or the guardian

could,

you know,

whack the kid

on their behind

with a stick

or their hand.

It could be very tough,

very demanding

because in the Roman world,

they wanted their kids,

their boys,

to grow up to be men

who were going to be leaders,

so they could be

very tough on them.

And in some ways,

it would look,

you might not even be able

to tell on one level,

at a behavioral level,

whether the person

was a slave

or in fact the heir.

And the point of this is

that we all know,

and we're going to think

about this more in a moment,

but it's possible for us

to have one status

but live as if

we're something else.

I mean,

that's just part of the tragedy

of many of our lives.

And Paul's going to,

to develop this more in a moment,

I'm going to talk more about

in a moment.

But here's the other thing,

which is verse 3.

If you could put up

the next point.

Part of the hard part

about the Bible

for many of us in Canada

that teaches positive self-esteem

all of the time

is that the Bible

is unbelievably frank

about our human condition.

And verse 3 is based,

and it comes in a technical word

for child.

The technical word

for child in the text

means somebody

who's immature,

incompetent,

dispossessed,

and then he adds

something else.

So here it is.

In my natural state,

I am immature,

incompetent,

dispossessed,

and a slave

to elemental powers

and spirits.

In other words,

I serve elemental powers

and spirits

as if I have no choice.

Now this,

see,

here's part of the thing

about the Christian faith.

So the question began,

George,

how on earth is it

that you can account

for the fact

that Christians

have this wonderful text

in Galatians chapter 3,

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

28,

and then you can have

churches in South Africa

back in the day,

not that long ago,

opening the Bible

and somehow justifying

apartheid

and racism

and terrible things

that went on

in that culture

all from the Bible.

And so Paul says,

well,

I'm going to give you an answer,

but you're not going to like it.

A lot of you Canadians

aren't going to like it.

Part of it you sort of might like,

which is the fact that,

you know,

it is possible

to be a Christian

and live as if

you're not a Christian.

And I guess what I'd have to say

is to the extent

that a church

in South Africa

was preaching apartheid,

they were not living

as Christians.

Not saying they weren't,

but they weren't living as it.

They weren't teaching

as if they were.

They were in serious error.

They were my brothers

and sisters in Christ

in serious error.

Serious error.

But why is it

that that could go on?

Because you have to know

something about human beings.

Human beings are immature,

incompetent,

dispossessed,

and a slave

to elemental powers

and spirits.

Elemental powers,

the fact of the matter is

that there are powers

of money,

there are powers

of class,

there are powers

of sex

and gender,

of religion,

there are powers

of ideology,

and we Christians,

and not just,

sorry,

not just Christians,

now just as a general rule

for human beings,

we easily start

to serve these things.

If you go back

and read Genesis 3 once again,

it's a very,

very powerful text.

In Genesis 3,

Adam and Eve

thought that they were beginning

when they rebelled against God

and they said,

we are going to be like God.

And they thought

they were ushering in

the age of the human

who rules.

But the irony

and the tragedy is

is that what they ushered in

was not the human

who rules,

but the human

who dies.

And the human

who will serve

created things.

We serve our phones.

Many of you do.

Many of you do.

Imagine,

for those of you

who are university students,

I don't know if many professors

do it,

if they said,

before you come into this class,

I'm taking all of your tablets,

phones,

and computers.

Many people,

their anxiety level

would go through the roof

because we serve it.

We serve race.

We serve sex.

We serve ideologies.

And elemental,

those are elemental powers.

There's also elemental spirits.

There are evil spirits

that we willingly serve.

And we are dispossessed.

We might not feel

like we're dispossessed right now,

but you know,

as I get older,

time just slips

through my hands.

And the children

who once were just

so cute and tiny

and I could hold them

and now they're bigger than me.

And they have children

of their own.

And one day I will die

and when I die,

when Bill Gates

and I die

on the same day,

his 89.3 billion,

oops,

nope,

sorry,

89.4,

oops,

sorry,

89.5,

no,

oops,

sorry,

89.6,

oops,

sorry,

89.7.

Every time I tell the number,

the number's gone up

in that few seconds.

When you're that rich,

that's how it works.

But he and I

will have the same number

of possessions

one second after we die.

For the record,

I'm not close

to 89.3 billion.

I tell people

I'm half a millionaire.

I have the air,

not the million.

And so this,

you know,

it seems very stark,

but that's the stuff

that God works with.

You see,

in one level,

the Bible tells us

our condition

is vastly worse

than we know.

But the text

is just telling us

about how Jesus

willingly,

in a second,

it's going to go

right into it,

how God

willingly

sent his son

to die

for immature,

incompetent,

dispossessed slaves

to elemental powers

and spirits.

He willingly

loved you and me

so much

that he would leave

the glories of heaven

to come and die

for you and me.

That I might be

redeemed from slavery

and I might have

the status

of God's adopted son

who inherits everything.

The gospel both tells us

we are far

more broken

than we realize,

but we are far more loved

than we could ever imagine.

our minds,

even the most

narcissistic

amongst us,

our minds

can't really

grasp

the depth

and the extent

and the purity

of God's love

for us

that we see

as God,

the Son of God,

dies upon

the cross

for you and me.

Just the other day

I was asked by somebody

about why I became

a Christian.

I became a Christian

when I was in grade 12

and he asked a little bit

about the process

that led to me

becoming a Christian

and I said that

I started to go

on a bit of a quest.

I all of a sudden

became,

I had grown up

in a Christian home

and I found

Christianity boring,

I found it irrelevant,

I was far more interested

in the counterculture,

I was far more interested

in countercultural music,

countercultural politics,

countercultural lifestyles,

countercultural dress.

That's what I found

interesting,

that's what I found

as if it would be meaningful

and Christianity

was boring

and it was irrelevant

and I really didn't even

think about whether

or not it was true

and I don't want

to go into it all

but basically

something one day

it was something

that happened to me

while I was on

Elgin Street

here in Ottawa

all of a sudden

made me think

that maybe something

there was something

more to Christianity

and at the end

of the year,

at the end of the year

of a spiritual quest

I became a Christian

and he said to me,

the person who asked

me this question

said,

well why would you

go on a spiritual quest?

What a great question,

eh?

And I,

and this is one

of those times

you know where

somebody must have

been praying for me.

It's really important

church to pray

for each other

because I don't think

I'd ever been asked

that question before

and I paused

and I said to him

because I came

to the conclusion

there must be

something more.

There must be

something more.

And you know

when you hear this talk

and what's going on

here in the

biblical text,

if you,

if you,

if you,

you think you're

a master of the universe,

it feels like you're

a master of the universe,

you have sexual conquests,

you have the money

pouring into the bank

and it's hard for you

to imagine that

there's something more.

The gospel is going

to make very little

sense to you.

But for many people

who have all of those

things,

they realize I can have

all of these things

and there must be

something more.

And for others of us

who are very broken

by elemental powers

or by the elemental

spiritual forces

of the world

and maybe we're

broken by shame

or we're broken

by drug addiction

or we're broken

by abuse

or we're broken

by failure

or we're broken

by poverty,

it maybe is very easy

for us to hope

and believe that maybe

there is something more.

And the Bible says

there is something more.

That's what it talks about.

Listen to how

just after Paul

in verse 3

gives us this

unbelievably bad news.

Remember verse 3,

we'll read it again.

In the same way

we also,

when we were children,

and that's a technical

word in Greek,

meaning one who is

immature,

incompetent,

and dispossessed.

We're enslaved

to the elementary

principles of the world,

but when the fullness

of time had come,

God sent forth his son,

born of a woman,

born under the law,

to redeem those

who are under the law

so that we might receive

adoption as sons.

And when it says here

adoption as sons,

it doesn't mean adoption

as one who will inherit

everything but has to live

under a guardian.

It means that when

I have put my faith

and trust in Jesus,

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus,

and he takes you,

he doesn't say,

he doesn't,

he just,

when you put your trust

in him,

he takes you.

He takes you.

He takes you.

And when he takes you,

not only are you

redeemed,

but you automatically,

you're not adopted

as a child

who maybe in 50 years

will be old enough

to inherit.

No, the word son there

means right now

you are of maturity

to live and to receive

the inheritance.

Could you put up

the next point,

Andrew, please?

The gospel is the good news

that when I put my faith

in the person and work

of Jesus,

I am redeemed

from slavery

and I am adopted

as God's son

and heir.

And I could add there,

ready to inherit.

That's what these two verses say.

Listen to it again,

verses 4 and 5.

But when the fullness

of time had come,

God sent forth

his son,

born of woman,

in other words,

fully human,

born under the law,

born into this world

where the moral law exists.

Why did he come?

to redeem

those who are

under the law

so that we might receive

adoption as sons.

And the word redeem

is the word that's used

to free someone

from slavery

at the payment

of a price,

at the price

that was borne

by God himself

in the person

of his son.

Everyone who puts

their faith and trust

in Jesus

are redeemed

from slavery

and adopted

as the sons of God.

It's very, very, very,

very powerful news.

But here's

a searching question

and I know this is

a mix-up of an analogy.

If you could put

the next point up,

Andrew, sorry.

It's a bit of a mix-up

of analogy.

Really, my point originally

was just the second half

but I realized

the first,

I just sort of felt

I had to add it.

I know,

am I living like Cinderella

with amnesia?

Or am I living

as if I,

in other words,

am I living

as if I am a slave

and not the son

who inherits fully?

Christian,

that's the question

for you and me.

I know the Cinderella

analogy breaks down.

She was, you know,

but she's,

you know,

because she married

Prince Charming

and all that

but I just,

this idea,

imagine in that story

as if Cinderella,

after she becomes

the queen,

went back to living

as if she was the slave

serving her stepmother

and her sisters.

She wasn't living

like who she was.

And it's easy for us

to maybe look

and say,

how on earth

could those people

in South Africa

misread the Bible?

But what about you and me?

Is our relationship

to God,

is my relationship

to God

as if somehow

God gives me

these commands

and I need to do them

and I have a bit

of anxiety

and I have a bit

of a depression

about the state

of my life

as if I'm just a slave

and it's just drudgery

and it's just brokenness

and it's just order

and it's just rules

and maybe some days

I feel like it's,

like I'm doing

all those things

very well

so I feel very,

very good.

I can show myself

at church

because,

you know,

my marriage

is going well,

my kids are going well,

my finances are going well

and,

you know,

maybe I'm not reading

the Bible very often

but nobody can see that

but things seem

to be going well

at a very superficial level

and then some of the bottom

falls out of some

of these things

and maybe your marriage

isn't going as well

or your romantic relationships

aren't going as well

or your finances

aren't going as well

or your job's in trouble

and all of a sudden

it's not even as if

we want to be around

other Christians

and why is that?

Because,

you see,

at our bottom line

we do not understand

or not really believe

that God adopted us

as his son

with full rights

of inheritance

but I am living

as if my relationship

with God

depends upon my ability

to fulfill

his orders to me

and if I can't fulfill

his orders to me

in a satisfactory way

I am a bad slave.

I'm a bad slave.

My church doesn't become

a mega church

I am a bad pastor.

Bill Hybels tells

a famous joke

go big or go to Canada.

You know,

and I think it's just so funny

go big or go to Canada.

You know,

like if I was a really

successful pastor

I'd be snapped up

by some American church

and I'd have thousands

of people coming.

You know,

it's,

that's the question.

Look,

look at verses 4 and 5 again.

But when the fullness

of time had come

God sent forth

his son

born of woman

born under the law

to redeem

those who are

under the law

so that we might receive

adoption as sons.

Could you put

up the next point

please,

Andrew?

God's adoption

of me

as his son

with all

of the rights

and privileges

of being his son

is just

as certain

as the fact

that I am

pardoned

and redeemed.

It is just

as certain.

It says

redeemed

and adopted.

It doesn't just say

redeemed.

In other words,

I've taken you

out of slavery

but George,

you've taken out

of slavery

but now you better

perform very well

if I'm going to

really love you

because all I've done

is just taken away

the bad stuff

but you need to add

good stuff to your life

so you better

make sure you do this

and you better make sure

you're successful in that

and you better make sure

you perform well that way

and you better make sure

this and you better

make sure that

because all that I've done,

George,

is I've just taken away

the bad stuff.

You've got to sort out

the good stuff yourself

and a lot of times

that's how we live

the Christian life

and a lot of times

that's all the way

that the gospel is presented

that when Jesus

died on the cross

he took away your sins

you're pardoned

you're delivered from slavery

and it's all just presented

only and almost exclusively

as if the bad things

have been taken away

but the good things

by implication

in the soul

in our soul

that I have to perform those

but in this text

both are just as certain.

both are just as certain.

When Jesus took me

as his own

everything that I had ever done

that was wrong

from the moment of my conception

to the moment of my death

was dealt with on the cross.

All of the shame

from the moment of my conception

to the moment of my death

was dealt with on the cross.

All of the slavery

that I have experienced

experience

to how people think about me

or how this works

or whatever

is all taken away

but at the same time

right to the moment of my death

even though God knows

my successes and failures

in the future

all the way

my status

is as an adopted son of God

because of what Jesus

has done for me

with the full rights

I do not get

a better inheritance

if I grow a megachurch

I do not get

a better inheritance

if I can memorize

more Bible verses

I can have more successful

relations

I do not

I can add nothing

to what God has done

for me in the person

of Jesus.

Could you put up

the next point please

Andrew?

Listen to the text again

as it goes up

But when the fullness

of time had come

God sent forth his son

born of woman

born under the law

to redeem those

who are under the law

so that we might receive

adoption as sons

Am I living like

I am half saved

only pardoned

not adopted?

Am I living as if

I am only pardoned

not adopted?

You know

brothers and sisters

this is one of these

things that we need

to pray into our lives

for ourselves

and we need to pray

it into each other's lives

like if you are

trying to figure out

how to pray for the church

one of the things

you can do is just say

you know

Lord

help George

to understand

that he is

God's adopted son

help the wardens

help Shirley

help Daniel and Jonathan

know that they are

not just redeemed

but God has adopted them

as his son

with the full rights

of inheritance

and not just the leaders

but help the people

who come on Sunday

when you are trying

to figure out

how to pray for people

as they come to church

and you get here

maybe a bit early

and you have a moment

to pray

just pray God

may you work

in people's lives

today

so that they will

not only know

that their sins

are pardoned

but they'll also

know that

God adopted them

when they put

their faith in Jesus

we need to pray

that over us

could you put up

the next point

please

listen again

to verse 4 and 5

as the point goes up

but when the fullness

of time had come

God sent forth

his son

born of woman

born under the law

to redeem

those who were

under the law

so that we might

receive adoption

as sons

being God's son

by adoption

and grace

is not a goal

for a Christian

but a present

and eternal

reality

it is a present

and eternal

reality

listen if you're

sitting here right

now and you're

thinking you know

I just came here

I know because my

friends dragged me

my folks dragged me

my mom's been

bugging me

from somewhere else

and I just thought

I'd go take a bulletin

take a picture of it

you know get her off

my back or whatever

and if the Holy Spirit

is touching you

in any way

and if you're thinking

that's all very good

for George

he seems like he's

a good guy

or that's already

that's alright for the

people around me

but if God knew

how bad I was

if God knew

how much

what I had done

if God knew

the things going on

in my heart

then these things

would not apply to me

but I want to tell you

right now

that he does know

and the offer is for you

he does know

he knows everything

about you

and still his son

came to die upon

the cross

to redeem you

from slavery

and make you

his adopted son

by grace

just in closing

there's a

there's a

a great

the text goes on

in such a great way

listen

one final time

of reading verses

4 and 5

and then we'll go to

verses 6 and 7

because it's such

a wonderful promise

but listen again

but when the fullness

of time had come

God sent forth his son

born of woman

born under the law

to redeem those

who were under the law

so that we might

receive adoption

as sons

and because

you are sons

God sent

the spirit

of his son

into our hearts

crying

Abba

father

so you are

no longer

a slave

but a son

that's why

I spent so many

times on that

one point

you are no

longer a slave

you are a son

and if a son

then an heir

through God

you put up the point

Andrew

this is a

very precious thing

it's not just

that we've been

redeemed and

pardoned

it's not just

that we've been

adopted

but God

sends the Holy

Spirit

when it says

hearts

in most of the

time in the New

Testament

when it says

the word

heart

it doesn't

mean emotions

you know

think

starship

enterprise

and Jean-Luc

Picard

and he comes

and he sits

sorry

in the chair

of command

that's the heart

the command

center of your

lives

and God

sends the

Holy Spirit

into the

command center

of our lives

and what

is he

one of the

things that he

does there

the Bible

has lots of

things that says

about what the

Holy Spirit

does but what

does the Holy

Spirit do

while he's

there

while he's

in our

hearts

he says

Abba

father

Abba

father

he wants

to train

me

and Abba

is the

intimate

word

that a

child

would use

of his

or her

own

father

father

and if

for you

maybe you

had a

bad dad

and he

had to

call him

sir

but in

your heart

you know

what you

wished you

had a

dad like

and what

you could

call your

dad

maybe it's

daddy

maybe it's

pops

maybe it's

dad

I don't

know

whatever it

is

but whatever

that word

is

the Holy

Spirit

is in

you as

a believer

saying that

word

and training

and encouraging

you to call

that out

to God

in intimacy

to understand

who you

are

intimate

with God

please stand

Andrew the

final point

it's from

an old

hymn

you know

all we

can say

is this

it's used

at ordination

but it's

such a

brilliant line

come Holy

Ghost

my soul

inspire

and light

and with

celestial

fire

come Holy

Ghost

my soul

inspire

and light

and with

celestial

fire

father

let's

pray

let's

pray

come Holy

Ghost

our souls

inspire

and light

and with

celestial

fire

father

pour out

your Holy

Spirit

upon us

for those

of us

here

father

who are

Christians

you know

how easy

it is

to live

as if

we have

amnesia

and as

if we

are

slaves

in a

slave

relationship

with you

a performance

based

relationship

with you

father

may you

bring these

truths of

scripture

home to

our lives

deeply

father

may your

Holy Spirit

move and

work and

speak ever

more loudly

in the command

center of our

lives

Abba

father

teaching us

and forming

us to call

out to you

as our

father

as our

father

as our

dad

and father

if there are

any here

who have not

yet given

their lives

to Jesus

may your

Holy Spirit

bring them

to saving

faith

help them

father

to form

those words

to call

out to

Jesus

that he

will be

their

savior

and lord

and all

these things

we ask

in the name

of Jesus

your son

and our

savior

amen