Sermon
240 ~ THE KINGDOM LIFE ~ Part 10
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast.
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We are a local church based here in Chennai, India.
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We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will
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encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you.
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We have started a series called The Kingdom Life based on the
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life and teachings of Jesus from the Gospel according to Mark.
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We look at how we must live our lives on this earth as followers
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of Jesus in a way that is countercultural yet powerfully
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impactful. As you listen in, our hope is
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that you will be motivated to live, love, lead and serve just
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like Jesus. Hi Church, what a joy it is to
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bring God's word to you. Today.
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We are completing our series on the Kingdom Life today, and
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today we are talking about the greatest in the Kingdom.
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We hear a lot about the goat, the greatest of all time.
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There was a movie that just came out.
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We have athletes who are called the greatest of all time.
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They call the goats. But God is calling us to
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understand who the real MVPS are in the Kingdom, and that's what
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we're going to be looking at today.
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The disciples, much like I, seem to have had a debate on who the
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greatest in the Kingdom was. They were probably arguing about
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it. In one gospel, it says they were
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arguing about it and God knew what was in their hearts and
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then taught them about servanthood.
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And in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 18 specifically,
Matthew 18 chapter mention
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they asked Jesus. They came to him and asked who
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is the greatest. And Jesus had a very interesting
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answer for them. And as we close the series out,
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I believe God is calling us into a renewed ideas of our self.
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You know that we come to a place of knowing really who we are and
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what our privileges are. And I believe that when we
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understand that each of us will be considered the greatest in
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the Kingdom. So Matthew chapter 18 verses one
Matthew 18 chapter mention
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to five. This is what it says.
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At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked who then is
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the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?
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He called a little child to him and placed the child among them.
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And he said, truly, I tell you, unless you change and become
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like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of
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heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the
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lowly position of this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of
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heaven, and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes
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me. Luke chapter 18 verses 15 to 17
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says his people were also bringing babies to Jesus for him
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to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this,
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they rebuked them, but Jesus called the children to him and
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said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder
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them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
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Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of
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God like a little child will never enter it.
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God Jesus is using a simile. He's using the simile of a
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child. He's saying unless you are like
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a child, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.
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And it's very interesting because we assumed that in in
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believing in Jesus, we've got access into the Kingdom.
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But I wonder if many of us, because of the lack of childlike
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faith, childlike wonder, childlike patience, childlike
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humility, maybe we're still not really experienced the Kingdom
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of God. And it says over here very
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clearly, unless you become like a child, you will never enter
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the Kingdom of God. What if what we are experiencing
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right now in terms of, you know, the, the, the life, the new life
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in Christ, what if we are experiencing it just outside the
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realm of the Kingdom of God? What if we haven't entered into
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the depths of it? What if we haven't entered into
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the magnificence of it purely because we are missing this one
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element? And so I want to just ask us
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today if we would come to this place of saying, I want to be
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childlike. Let's not get mistaken.
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He's not calling us into childish behaviour because like
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the apostle writes, Apostle Paul writes, I once thought like a
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child, acted like a child, spoke like a child.
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But now I'm being matured. And God is calling us into
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maturity, yes, but he's calling us into a place of childlike
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humility, childlike obedience. And when I think about it, it's
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funny because I'd realise it has to be a simile because when you
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look at children, children tend to be self willed, children tend
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to be stubborn, children tend to be disobedient.
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They tend to do, you know, things that are not so upright.
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And it says that we were conceived in sin.
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So there is folly wrapped up in the heart of a child.
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It's true. So Jesus was not asking us to be
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childish. Instead he's saying there is
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something about a little child, the pure innocence, the the
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absolute dependency on their parents.
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And he's calling us to that kind of dependency on him.
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He's calling us into being true children.
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And it's it cannot be an accident that when we accept
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Jesus, it says we become children of God.
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But I wonder in that, you know, that phrase of children of God,
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how many of us are actually completely embrace the fact that
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I'm a child of God? Because that will change the way
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we look at many things. When we look at the Gospels,
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there is a steady transition of how we look at God, how we view
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this relationship. As you know, this is not a
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religion, this is a relationship.
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I have a relationship with the living God.
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And there are many times in the Gospels where it is eluded to
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the fact that we are calling Jesus our master.
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He is the king, He is the ruler and I am his servant.
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And it talks about how we know you have to do the tasks laid
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out and he would say well done, good and faithful servant.
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Luke 17 verse 10 says so you also, when you have done
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everything you were told to do, should say we are unworthy
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servants. We have only done our duties.
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So there is this element where we are servants serving the
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pleasure of our master and it it talks about this obedience that
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is required, this submission, right?
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But it really speaks to our purpose in serving God.
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When we know God, we love him, we tend to serve him.
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But then God calls us into a deeper relationship from a
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servant master relationship. He's calling us to a friendship
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because in John 1515, he says I no longer call you servants
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because a servant does not know his master's business.
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Instead, I have called you friends for everything that I
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learned from my father, I have made known to you.
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God is calling us now into a friendship, a friendship much
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like Abraham and God where he could.
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He knew what God was planning for Sodom and Gomorrah.
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He was made Privy to it. He could intercede accordingly.
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And God is calling us into a friendship, so we are no longer
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just servants who who go about serving him.
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Yes, we do that, but He's calling us into a friendship
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where we know what's on his heart, we know his plans.
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But then it goes one step further where he actually adopts
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us as sons. It's called sonship.
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And that is a beautiful place of very deep intimacy.
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John chapter one verse 12 says yet to all who did receive him,
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to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
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become children of God. And so it moves us from a place
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of just serving out of submission.
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It moves us out of a place of knowing his heart of having a
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knowledge of God to a deeper place of privilege.
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Because when you get adopted, you, you become the legal heir
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and you have all the privileges that are made available to a
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son. And the beautiful thing about
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this is, you know, this relationship is, is one with the
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perfect father. So I want you before we go any
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further to 1st put aside your picture of your family, to put
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aside your picture of your relationship with your parents.
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I want you to put aside whatever preconceived notions you have of
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a father because the Heavenly Father is perfect in every way.
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He's the giver of every good gift.
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It says whatever we have as this, you know, mould of a
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father, of an earthly father. Maybe you didn't have one, maybe
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you did have one. Maybe it was a less than perfect
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relationship, maybe it was a very good relationship.
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But even that has to be put aside for us to understand what
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it looks like to be adopted into the family of God, to have God
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the Father as our Father. It changes everything.
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This adoption is incredible. It changes our life.
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And so I want us to look today at what this actually does for
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us. We know that a child, when you
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look at a child, a little infant, we know about its
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innocence, we know about its humility.
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But God is calling us deeper. He's saying if you are a child
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of God, you would behave differently.
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If you are a child of God, you would you would come to me
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differently. You would depend on me
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differently. And that's what we're going to
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be looking at today. So no longer does he call you
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servants, He calls you friends. But more than that, he calls you
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a child of God. And two big themes I want to
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leave with you today. The first thing is that a child
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of God has a fresh identity. Whatever your identity has been
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thus far, God is erasing it to say you are now a child of God.
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Whatever your name is, you can say I am Christine.
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I'm a child of God. No longer am I Christine,
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daughter of Victor and Sunithi. No longer am I Christine, a
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content writer. All of that is legitimate.
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But when I accepted Jesus, my primary identity changed.
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I'm no longer Christine Jayakaran.
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I am Christine, child of God, and that is so important because
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in this fresh identity everything begins to change.
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A lot of our problems in humanity today, a lot of our
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problems world over are because our identities are completely
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skewed. We have the largest identity
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crisis today. People say I identify as this
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and they use a pronoun. What if you identified as a
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child of God? It changes everything. 1 John
1 John 3 chapter mention
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chapter 3 verses one to two says this.
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See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we
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should be called children of God, and that is what we are.
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The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know
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Him. Dear friends, now we are
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children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made
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known, but we know that when Christ appears we shall be like
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Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
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Fundamental sentence there. We should be called children of
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God and that is what we are. That is our new label, that is
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our new identity. I was recently at a conference
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in Goa and they gave us these ID cards.
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Right now, this ID card is what people look at and they know who
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I am. So my name is printed on it,
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right? And it talks about the place I'm
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from. Now if you go to other
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conferences, many times they would write what your
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designation is below it. So when people look at you, they
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know this is so and so and this is what they do and this is
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where they come from, right? When you and I accept Jesus as
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our personal saviour, we get a brand new identity.
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Like I said, Christine, child of God.
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But interestingly, just like on this ID card indicates where I'm
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from and what I do, my identity in Christ helps me to be
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identified by the way I live. Many times we discount that.
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You know, I, I say this often, I don't have much of an escape.
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My name has Christ in it. The minute I walk into a room, I
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introduce myself. They know I'm a believer.
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They know I'm a Christian, but I know that my life has to
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demonstrate that I'm a believer and follower of Jesus.
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I don't have an option. But I wonder for you as a
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follower of Christ, can people identify that you follow Christ
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by how you live, by the things you do and the things you don't
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do, by the things you stand for, the things you don't stand for,
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that your convictions, your mentality, the way you speak.
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Does your identity come through because of how you live?
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1 John chapter 3 verses 9 to 10 says no one who is born of God
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will continue to sin because God's seed remains in them.
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They cannot go on sinning because they have been born of
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God. This is how we know who the
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children of God are and who the children of the devil are.
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Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is
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anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
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The first part of this identity is that we are identified by
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what we do. We are identified by what we
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don't do. We are identified by the things
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we stand for. What are you standing for in
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your office, in your community? Do you stand up for justice?
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Do you stand up for truth? Do you stand up to be a voice
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for the vulnerable, for a voice for the voiceless?
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How do you live the way we live, the way we speak, the way we
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refrain, All of it speaks volumes.
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And that is how we know. That is how people know who you
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belong to on your own. You may have a regular name.
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You may not have a name that gives you away, like me, But
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what if your life gives you away?
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And that's what happens when I have a fresh identity in Christ.
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When I have this identity in Christ, people look at me and
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they say there's something different, There's something new
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about this person. We are identified by what we do
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and what we don't do. I have a friend who had a
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lifestyle of a same sex attraction for a long time, but
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he told me that when he met Jesus it radically changed
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overnight. He said I no longer fit into
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those old groups because of the way I lived now.
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I had this overpowering hunger and passion for Jesus and no one
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else. And he said people began to know
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me just by how I lived, just by what I stood for justice because
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of the love I had for God, which was just exuding.
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Coming out of Maine, people knew that I was different.
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People knew my lifestyle had changed.
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Could I ask you, when people look at you, do they know that
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you have a fresh identity in Christ?
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Or do you come across as this person whose identity is solely
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in what you do, what you bring to the table, your family, your
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heritage, your networks? But what if it comes down to
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this is what I am in Christ? I stand for the right in Christ.
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I fight for justice in Christ. I will value the things God has
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entrusted to me. We are identified by what we do
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and what we don't do. The second way of people
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identifying is with this new identity, with this identity of
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child of God. The second thing I believe is
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that people will identify us by God's hand on us.
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When I turned 40 last year, this was my prayer.
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God, I want to feel your mighty hand on me.
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And through this year I've had a series of things that happened.
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When I look back in hindsight, if it wasn't for God's hand on
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me, I wouldn't have made it through.
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And I want to explain to you this a little bit more.
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What does it look like to have God's mighty hand on you?
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Hebrews chapter 12 verses 7:00 to 11:00.
Hebrews 12 chapter mention
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It says end your hardship as discipline.
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God is treating you as His children for what?
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Children are not disciplined by their father.
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If you are not disciplined and everyone undergoes discipline,
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then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.
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Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and
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we respected them for it. How much more should we submit
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to the Father of spirits and live?
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They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but
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God disciplines us for our good in order that we may share in
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His Holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at
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the time, but painful later on. However, it produces a harvest
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of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by
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it. Last week we looked at suffering
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and suffering well, making suffering work for us when when
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we see that suffering actually does good, that God redeems all
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of our suffering. But today when we look at this,
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we have to identify, understand that as a child, Christine, a
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child of God is a legitimate daughter when she allows God's
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hand to discipline her. And I would encourage you to
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identify the same thing. Some of the struggles in your
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life may have been God correcting.
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You may have been God in loving care, disciplining.
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And that is how we identify God's hand on someone.
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So often we judge someone, we look at someone and say, oh,
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they're going through this hardship.
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They're probably really far away from God.
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It's interesting because it is possible that in deep communion,
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God is working on them. God is taking them to the next
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level of their anointing. God is taking them to the next
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level of conquest. The evidence of whose mighty
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hand you're under will be very obvious.
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The way you live, the way you speak, the things that you say
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to one another will determine if you're under the mighty hand of
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God or under the mighty hand of something else.
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If you're under the hand of of mammon, the spirit that causes
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greed and and needs more of accumulation, the way you live
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will be different. The way you view the world will
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be different. But when you're under the mighty
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hand of God in every situation, you will feel His comfort even
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in the midst of disciplining. You will know He means good.
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He's going to bring something tremendously good out of it.
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Whose hand you are under matters, and it'll be displayed
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for all to see. Even when you're going through
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hardship, they will know. This person is still thanking
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God. This person is still praising
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God. They are submitted to a higher
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power which is beyond our understanding.
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On this ID card, the name of the organizers, the name of the
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committee which which actually had this this symposium is
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mentioned on top. My name is below the When I am
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under the mighty hand of God, it is very clear what the hierarchy
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looks like. I am underneath Him.
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He is the authority. He is the reigning ruling
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supreme authority. I am under his care.
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So when that happens, my identity gets so shift so many
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times. We look at some of some of the
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verses in the Bible and we say, oh, we are little gods, so I'm
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on par with God. We are not.
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We are under his mighty hand. We are under his rule and reign.
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I do not get to equate myself to God.
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I get to come before him and submit it or in reverence and
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say, Lord, do with me as you will.
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The hardest prayer that I've prayed this year has been let
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your will be done. You do with me as you will.
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You do with the situation as you will.
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You know what is best, God. It's so easy to want to control
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the narrative, but God says let me be God.
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And that's what it looks like when someone sees us with this
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new identity. I'm a child of God.
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They identify me by my life, the things I stand for, the things I
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don't stand for. They also identify me by whose
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mighty hand I'm under. Who is your ruling authority?
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Who is the one that you submit to?
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Who is the one that you come under them and say, you know
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what, you've got me, you've got me covered.
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I love that imagery which comes in the Psalms where he says he
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covers us with his feathers. Picture a mother hen holding her
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wings out so that her little chicks come under it.
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That is the kind of protection we have.
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That is the kind of care that he provides us.
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And that's the kind of position we have in this new identity.
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We are under him. He protects, he Shields, even in
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the midst of disciplining. He's holding us close and that's
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amazing. So the first thing is a fresh
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identity. Maybe your identity thus far has
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been in the things that have been told you about you.
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They said you will be called a divorcee because you've divorced
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your spouse. You will be called a single
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parent because that is what you are.
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Your identity is probably that you went through trauma.
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Your identity was probably you were victimized.
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Those were your old identities. God is calling you into a fresh
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identity where he says all of that is erased.
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I know the pain it's caused you. I'm not forgotten.
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But now I called you a child of God.
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And when he calls you that, it should change the way you live.
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The apostle Paul many times talks about putting on this new
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self in Christ, which is humility and meekness and love
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and compassion. And he's saying, put that on
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because that is what people see. That is what people encounter.
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And remember that you are identified by God's hand on you.
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Sometimes it will feel heavy. The hand of God can feel heavy.
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But most often it's a hand that gently nudges us, leads us,
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protects us, and people will see us in this new identity for
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whose name we come under. The second thing, the second
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overarching theme, I believe when we know our fresh identity,
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we receive something called access.
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Now this, this ID card didn't have any kind of barcode or it's
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just a basic ID card. But when you have your office ID
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cards, there will be some sort of a code.
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And when you enter the office, you're supposed to put it in the
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scanner right? When you put it in the scanners,
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when your door opens, ideally, what does that do?
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It limits those who can enter the office and those who cannot.
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You don't have this. You can't enter the office.
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You have it. You enter and your timestamp is
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entered and you know they have a tracking of everything.
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But the point is this, this identity is what gets us access.
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When you and I embrace this new identity completely, God, I'm a
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child of God. I can be dependent on you.
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I can be completely relaxed and the fact that you're caring for
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me, your mighty hand is on me. The way I live will draw people
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to you. I know it.
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When you rest in that identity as a child of God, you now have
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infinite access. Concerts have something called
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as an all access pass. You can go to the green room,
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You can go to the stage. You can go anywhere but here.
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This is infinite access. You can go multiple hundreds of
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times before the Father. You can go anytime to the throne
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room. You don't need the right words.
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You don't need the right outfit. All you need to do is just
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access Him and that is the privilege of a child of God.
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John chapter 16 verses 25 to 28. I'm reading it from the message
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version. It says I've used figures of
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speech in telling you these things.
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Soon I'll drop the figures and tell you about the Father and
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plain language. Then you can make your request
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directly to Him in relation to this life I've revealed to you.
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I won't continue making requests of the Father on your behalf.
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I won't need to because you've gone out on a limb, committed
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yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly
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from the Father. The Father loves you directly.
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First I left the Father and arrived in the world.
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Now I leave the world and travel to the Father.
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I love this line that says I won't need to make requests of
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the Father on your behalf, believing you believe that I
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came directly from the Father. The Father loves you directly.
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No longer do I need to go to an intermediate person, a mediator
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and say, can you pray for me? It is amazing to have community
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to rally prayer around you because there are many times in
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our lives we can't pray. We don't have the words.
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And that's when the community holds us up.
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But for those of us who are able in in a good place where we we
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need a breakthrough, but we're hesitating to go to God directly
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because we somehow feel unworthy.
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Or maybe you feel God hears my mother's prayer better.
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Or maybe you feel God hears my wife's prayer better.
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Or maybe you feel only if your pastor prays will that
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breakthrough come? I want to negate that today.
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You and I have infinite access. You have infinite access.
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God is calling us to access the King himself.
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Remember this. You have access to the King.
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When we moved into our parents house 2025 years back, we moved
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into this place where my parents now even today still live.
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And it was one of the, it was the days before my gate and apna
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complex and all of that. So you just had to come.
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And we had a car. We showed it and they would let
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us pass. So my brother and I, even though
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we were the children of the owner, would be very different.
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When we enter, we'd always pause and slow down.
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They'll actually make us, you know, lower our window and we'll
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say, no, we're, we're the son or the daughter.
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And they would let us in. Fast forward to when both of us
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got married and our spouses would drive in and they would
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just confidently cross the security.
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They would go and they would just wave at them.
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They would wave back and they would go in.
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And it was so funny for us because, you know, the ones who
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were the children, the alleged children were so diffident and,
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and hesitant to go through right royally.
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But the two people who married us knew their position so well
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and they would just breeze through.
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And it got me thinking that so many times I have thought that I
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didn't have access to the King. I thought I should ask my
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parents, or I should ask my husband, or I should ask someone
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else, a friend or an intercessor.
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But God has been reminding me that you have access.
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You have complete access, infinite access.
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Same thing. You want to ask me 20 * 30 times
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in a day, go for it. You don't have any kind of
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hindrances to reach me. There is no obstacles to
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reaching him. I have complete access to the
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King. Why am I diffident in
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approaching him? Why am I hesitant, thinking, oh,
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you know what, I can't keep asking.
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He loves persistent prayers. He loves travailing prayers.
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He loves those prayers which are more of groans than words.
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He understands. He loves it when you just bring
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tears before him. You have access to the King.
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Too many times when we come to him, we have the servant
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mentality. Oh, I need to, you know, grovel
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and bend and beg. He's saying, come to me as a
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child. A child says daddy, I need this,
-
dad, I'm struggling. Dad, I don't have money.
-
What am I going to do this month?
-
What is it you have been needing and who have you been having
-
access to instead of the king? So often we have been accessing
-
the things and the people that have no solutions for us.
-
Instead of going straight to the king who owns the Kingdom, have
-
you been needing rest? He says come to me all who are
-
tired and heavy laden, I will give you rest.
-
He doesn't say go to my leaders, go to my the little junior
-
shepherds. He said come to me.
-
Have you been needing company? Are you feeling so isolated?
-
He says I will never leave you nor forsake you, don't be
-
afraid. Have you been needing provision?
-
He says I will grant you all that you need according to my
-
riches. Jehovah Jaira.
-
Have you been needing Peace of Mind?
-
He says My peace, which breaks down every wall I give you, This
-
is our God. This is the king that we have
-
access to. Why have we been settling for
-
anything less than him? I want to encourage the men who
-
are watching right now. Maybe you have a wife or a
-
sister or a friend who you've been leaning on to intercede for
-
you. He's calling you into the inner
-
place today. He says the throne room is open.
-
Thanks to Jesus, the whalest stone, you have access.
-
Come to me. Bring your worries to me
-
directly. Maybe you're a young woman and
-
you have older women that you go and present your request to come
-
to him directly. Have your people around you.
-
I'm not saying not to. Please have those people who
-
pray for you, who intercede for you, surround you like a
-
backbone and pray you through and give.
-
Pray for courage, pray for encouragement.
-
We need them. But don't give up on accessing
-
the King directly. Have you been living like an air
-
of the Kingdom? That's what I want to ask you
-
today. I love this verse from Romans
-
chapter 8 verses 14 to 17. It says for those who are led by
-
the Spirit of God are the children of God.
-
The spirit you receive does not make you slaves so that you live
-
in fear again. Rather the Spirit you received
-
brought about your adoption to sonship.
-
And by him we cry, ABBA. Father, the Spirit himself
-
testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
-
Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and Co heirs
-
with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that
-
we may also share in his glory. So often we forget that we are
-
heirs of God and Co heirs in Christ.
-
We're living like paupers. Oh, I don't have anything.
-
Oh, nothing is going on. Everything I touch goes down to
-
ashes. We have this mentality which is
-
I have nothing, but God is calling us into a place of
-
saying you are a son of a king. You are a daughter of a king.
-
Act like it, pray like it, hold yourself up like it.
-
You have access to God himself. Let the Holy Spirit lead you
-
into the throne room. Have you been burdened about
-
something? Stop going to people first.
-
Go to God. He will direct you who to go to.
-
A lot of times without wisdom we lean on the wrong person and
-
they let us down. Go to God, Go to the king first.
-
The king will depute. He will alert you as to who you
-
should lean on. But first go to the king.
-
Have you been struggling with sickness?
-
Go to the king. Have you been struggling with
-
with a relationship? Take it to the king.
-
I can tell you this, in almost 30 years of reading the Word, of
-
seeking God in the in the quiet places, I have found that His
-
Word has answers for everything. Everything.
-
There has not been one situation in my life where His Word has
-
not answered my problem. Why have we been going to other
-
sources instead of going to the King?
-
It's time that you and I accessed the King, the second
-
part of our access. We have infinite access.
-
Yes, we have infinite access to the king.
-
We have infinite access to our inheritance.
-
You know, in today's world, the word inheritance is so messed
-
up. We see these inheritance laws
-
that have been placed, sometimes quite unjust.
-
We see how families break up and completely disintegrate because
-
of an inheritance that went awry.
-
You know, sometimes we're settling for earthly
-
inheritances, which tend to spoil, fade and justice perish
-
and we forget that we have something called as an eternal
-
inheritance, a spiritual inheritance.
-
Because you know what? This is what God tells us, that
-
we have every spiritual blessing thanks to Christ Jesus, every
-
spiritual blessing. And oftentimes I've thought,
-
what is the use of that? God, we need land now, we need
-
health now, we need influence now We need these.
-
These are the tangible things of of earth.
-
But I'm finding that when he says you need the you have
-
access to the inheritance. That is what we actually need.
-
Let me explain that you Matthew 25 verse 34 says the king will
-
say to those on his right, come you who are blessed by my
-
Father, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you
-
since the creation of the world. God is offering to you and me
-
the inheritance which is the entire Kingdom irrespective of
-
our gender. In India we have certain laws
-
and abroad there are certain laws with certain groups cannot
-
in make and take an inheritance. We find women may not get an
-
inheritance. It feels so unjust.
-
But here the Father, the father has given us each the entire
-
Kingdom. I remember the story someone was
-
saying they've gone for this huge buffet lunch, like 5 star
-
level buffet lunch. The person sees everything in
-
the buffet and then ask the waiter, would you have sambar
-
rice? Sambar and rice.
-
There was everything under the sun except the sambar rice.
-
And he was asking him for that. So many times you and I look at
-
the Kingdom like that. We're walking by this tiny
-
little place on the Kingdom. We're satisfied with what God
-
has blessed us with. Ohio.
-
You know what, I can pray. I hear God, I'm sorted.
-
He's given me peace. He's given me a little joy.
-
I'm good with this. But God is saying the Kingdom is
-
yours. The inheritance is all around
-
you. Will you have you have access?
-
Will you take hold of it? What does it look like to have a
-
spiritual in inheritance? It's so important to understand
-
it is not like an earthly inheritance.
-
It is not like a piece of land that your family gives you.
-
It is not like a house that is being waited on by you.
-
It is not like a sum of money that has to be returned to you.
-
This is way bigger and it is way more powerful to receive than an
-
earthly inheritance. Colossians chapter 1 verses 1213
Colossians 1 chapter mention
-
says giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified us to
-
share in the inheritance of his holy people in the Kingdom of
-
light. For he rescued us from the
-
dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Son He
-
loves. So the first point of the
-
inheritance is that God has qualified us in Christ Jesus.
-
The minute you said yes to Jesus, you got this badge which
-
said qualified, you get the inheritance.
-
Then we come and come to try and unpack what is this inheritance?
-
And I believe the inheritance is the Holy Spirit.
-
In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13 to 14, it says he is the
-
deposit, the first deposit or the seal of what is to come.
-
And sometimes we underestimate the inheritance of the Holy
-
Spirit. We think, you know what, yeah,
-
he's with us, He's in US is fine, but we miss what he
-
actually brings to the table. Let me read Colossians chapter 1
Colossians 1 chapter mention
-
verses 9:00 to 11:00. It says this.
-
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not
-
stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill
-
you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and
-
understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a
-
life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.
-
Bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge
-
of God, being strengthened with all power according to His
-
glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and
-
patience. What am I trying to say here?
-
Without the Spirit of God, without His leading, without His
-
infilling, I will not experience the tangible blessings that I'm
-
looking for on earth. You want your business to
-
thrive. Have you been doing it in your
-
own strength? Lean on the Holy Spirit because
-
you have access to the inheritance that is in the Holy
-
Spirit. It says that you will bear fruit
-
in every good work. Whatever you put your hands to
-
will bear fruit. If the Holy Spirit is the one
-
breathing life, it says that He will give fill you with the
-
knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding.
-
Have you been struggling in an area of your health?
-
He will give you wisdom and understanding.
-
Have you been struggling with your studies?
-
He will give you wisdom and understanding.
-
You understand what this is doing.
-
The Holy Spirit is the one who opens up the inheritance.
-
So often we're striving God. What is this inheritance?
-
I want it. Is it a treasure box that I need
-
to open? The Holy Spirit is the one who
-
opens it up to you, situation on situation, day by day, minute by
-
minute. He is the One who leads us into
-
all truth. He helps us understand what this
-
Kingdom is about. He helps us to understand the
-
inheritance I have. You could be sitting in a
-
hospital room with complete peace.
-
And that my friend, is actually the inheritance that is yours to
-
have peace that passes all understanding.
-
Maybe you've been wondering, am I living a life that pleases
-
God? But the people around you know
-
that you have. That is because you have tapped
-
into the inheritance, living a life worthy of the Lord and
-
pleasing Him in every way. Maybe you've been starting to
-
understand a little bit more about God, growing in the
-
knowledge of the Lord. That is your inheritance that
-
the Spirit of God is making available.
-
Maybe you've been strengthened in your inner man.
-
In spite of all the buffeting and the suffering or the
-
punches, you've been feeling stronger than ever before.
-
That is your inheritance because the Spirit is making it
-
available to you. So I want to remind you of this.
-
When you have this access, all access pass, you are now a child
-
of God. You have access to the King.
-
You have access to the inheritance.
-
Why are we living like we have nothing?
-
Why are we acting like, you know this Christian life is so hard.
-
We should be the most joyous people on earth.
-
We should be the most content people on earth.
-
We should be the most humble people on earth because we just
-
know how undeserving we are and yet how graced we are for what
-
we need to do. God is calling us into a place
-
of saying, will you come to me as a child completely dependent,
-
completely filled with wonder at him, running into his arms and
-
saying, Lord, I know you will take care of me.
-
I will not worry. I will trust you because I have
-
access. I can come to you multiple times
-
in a day. I can come to you no matter how
-
pathetically I'm put together. I can come as I am to you.
-
When I have that, I realise that my identity is really sealed in
-
you, God, no matter what anyone says.
-
Maybe it's a parent who has been speaking death over you.
-
You don't have to worry because you know who you are.
-
You are a child of God. You're being made into the image
-
of Jesus. You are no longer what they have
-
labeled you as. You are a child of God.
-
Nothing defines you anymore on earth.
-
Who you are eternally matters more than anything else.
-
So remember this. As a child of God, you have a
-
fresh identity. Live it out to the maximum.
-
Live it out to the maximum. As a child of God, you have
-
unlimited access. Unlimited.
-
Don't let anyone limit their access.
-
Don't let anyone define God for you.
-
You know God for yourself. Get to know Him more as we
-
close. I want to read Matthew chapter
Matthew 18 chapter mention
-
18 verses one to five again. Go back to that one passage
-
which actually started this whole thing.
-
It says he called a little child to heaven, placed the child
-
among them, and he said, truly, I tell you, unless you change
-
and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom
-
of heaven. How many of us thought we were
-
in the Kingdom of heaven, thought we were actually
-
experiencing it, but barely have made one step inside?
-
We haven't experienced it because we haven't changed and
-
become like a child. Will you be that child who keeps
-
running to the Father for every little thing?
-
Will you be that child whose life is so different it'll mark
-
you? Will you be that child who knows
-
their inheritance and lives like it, no longer lives with a
-
poverty mindset? Oh, I don't have anything.
-
I don't know this, I have nothing.
-
I have everything in Christ Jesus what I have, what I need
-
for the season I have. It's been life changing for me
-
in the past one month or so to come to this place or saying
-
God. Everything I have ever needed
-
you've already given me on that cross.
-
Everything was done. I will live with that joy and
-
thankfulness. It has changed my life and I
-
want to bring that to you as well.
-
Knowing that I can be delightfully helpless with him
-
has been amazing, has been life changing.
-
Knowing that I can bring myself as I am to Him.
-
I don't need an intermediate anymore.
-
I don't need people who need to know everything about me and
-
come to Him as I am, burden him with everything that burdens me
-
and walk away completely unfettered.
-
That has been a release for me and I want to bring you into
-
that place. I want to bring you into that
-
place that you can trust your father no matter what your
-
earthly father has been like. He may have been absent, he may
-
have been present, may have been abusive, may have been really
-
good. We have really tried hard.
-
No matter what, this father is different.
-
He's a perfect father, perfect in every way, perfect in every
-
way. He is endlessly patient, loving,
-
without conditions, no strings attached, always ready, always
-
waiting, enthralled by you, imperfections and all.
-
He loves us as we are and that should change everything.
-
That should mark you for life. One Peter chapter 5 was five to
-
seven pretty much sums up what a child of God looks like.
-
We in the in the earliest verses it talks about how you should be
-
like a lowly child. What does that look for?
-
What does that look like? But all of you, leaders and
-
followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other.
-
For God has had it with the proud, but takes delight in just
-
plain people. So be content with who you are
-
and don't put on as God's strong hand is on you.
-
He'll promote you at the right time.
-
Live carefree before God. He is most careful with you.
-
This is how we must live as children.
-
Children of God. Completely humble Lord, I will
-
not put on airs. This is who I am.
-
Trusting that His hand is on us as it disciplines, as it loves,
-
as it soothes. He will promote us.
-
But I especially love this. Live carefree before God.
-
Have you seen little children run in play in a playground?
-
Absolutely carefree. Littlest ones, The ones who have
-
not yet been touched by life's struggles, carefree, Keep
-
running to their mother or father for a hug.
-
Keep checking whether they are around the corner.
-
Live carefree before Him. He is most careful with you.
-
That is your identity. That is the basis for your
-
access. Can I pray for you, Father?
-
I just thank you that each one of us here who have said yes to
-
Jesus are a son and daughter of the Most High.
-
God, I thank you for adopting us into your family.
-
I thank you that you have made us heirs of God and coers with
-
Christ. I thank you that Lord I have
-
access to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
-
And God, I pray that towards your people you will multiply
-
grace and peace, that your love will envelope people and embrace
-
them and hold them up. We just pray that your strength
-
would be a portion, that your hand would be upon us, that
-
people will know us because of whose hand is upon us.
-
People will know us because of how we live.
-
God, I pray that we will live with this knowledge that we have
-
direct access to You. For anyone who has been going to
-
an intermediate that they will stop today and they will just
-
cry out to you directly. God, Holy Spirit, I pray you
-
would interpret the groans and the moans that we sometimes have
-
and make it audible to the Father.
-
We thank you Father God, for what you have meant to us.
-
We thank You that You are perfect in every way, we thank
-
you that you are good and you do good.
-
We thank you that you're the giver of every good gift and we
-
thank you that you are shaping us and moulding us into the
-
image of your Son. We love you, we glorify you, we
-
honour you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
-
Amen. God bless you.
-
I pray that you will live every day carefully like a child in
-
the presence of your God. God bless you.
-
Music. Thanks for listening to this
-
message. We hope you were blessed to hear
-
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Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.