Our Father in Heaven | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from acts church. We hope this message

will light up your day. I want to talk about our Father in Heaven

today. Our Father in Heaven is the title of my message. I'm going

to be actually teaching from Galatians. Okay, Galatians chapter four, verses one

to eleven. How is this a Father's Day message? I'll let your take

homn process it, okay, But there are some things where I want us

to think about. I want us to process and want us to really just

meditate on. Galatians is one of those books, those letters that Paul has

written that is quite deep. Sometimes a lot of things in which you can

glean from just a few chapters. But today I'm going to be focusing on

this eleven versus from chapter four, and I'm just going to break it down,

you know how I do it. So I break it down and I

go line by line, and I hope that we can get something from God's

word that will be an encouragement, not just to the farthest, It's a

message for everyone, because ultimately, when we celebrate fathers, they we are

also celebrating the good God who has brought us from the myri clay into where

we are today. Imen, okay, let me read the portion of scripture.

I read it slowly. I read it from the NLT. If you

have your Bibles, and we want to encourage all of your to bring along

your Bibles because I know different ones, your own different versions, and it's

okay. It's okay to have the different versions because sometimes you also see it

from a slightly different light. There are some words that is used that expands

your understanding, and so we can read from multiple versions. You can be

referring to one, I could be referring to another, and I think together

we can study God to word in a much deeper manner. Amen, okay.

Verse one of chapter four it says this, Yeah, stay with me,

and let's read it slowly. Think and take note of the pronouns that

I used, because I think it will help us to as I break down

the message. So it says this A think of it this way. If

a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are

not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually

own everything their father had. Verse two. They have to obey their guardians

until they reach whatever age, their father said. And that's the way it

was with earth before Christ came. Tagno, all the pronounce we were like

children. We were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But

when the right time came, God sent his son, born of a woman

subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us, who

were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very

own children verse six. And because we are his children, God has sent

the spirit of his son into our hearse, prompting us to call out ahbah

Father for now verse seven. Now you are no longer a slave by God's

own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his

heir. Again, take note of the pronouns, the wiz and the youth.

Okay, Reading on verse eight. Before you, gentles knew God,

you were slaves to so called gods that do not even exist. So,

now that you know God, or should I say, now that God knows

you, why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more

to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world. You are trying to

earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years I

fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

Wow, Lord blessed the reading of his words. Strong words from Paul.

He had a concern, And if you study the epistle that Paul wrote to

the Church in Galicia, a lot of it was actually talking about the dichotomy

of Jews and Gentiles. That's something that you would think, not if you

read all six chapters. The other thing that you realize he's talking about is

he's telling the people, don't be legalistic about things. Okay, don't be

so legalistic until everything is by the book, by the book, by the

book. But at in the same breath he also talks about that doesn't mean

that you have the license to do anything you want. So it's a balance.

So Paul actually is someone who really is trying to strike the balance because

essentially what he's trying to tell people is this, look, we were once

all condemned, and we tried our level best to obey the laws. We

tried, We tried the Jews. That's what the Jews were doing. They're

trying their best to obey the laws. Obey, obey, obey, but

no one could obey all the laws, and so that's why we work on

them. But because of God's grace, we are now safe. And because

of God's grace, we are now with this position where we actually have the

freedom to choose to do what is right. No longer can anyone say that

you are condemned, because if we put out faith in God, his grace

comes upon us, which means that we now have the freedom to have that

choice to make to do something right. Makes sense and because of that.

At the same time, he's also saying that doesn't mean you don't have to

obey all the laws. Means now you're free to do whatever you want,

and then you can always go back to God. Knock, knock forgive me.

I'm willingly doing all the wrong things, but knock forgive me. No,

he's saying that, no, you have the freedom to choose to do

what is right. That means if you don't exercise that freedom to choose to

do what is right, then there is a side of God that is not

all about being a grandfather. So as you know, our grandfather is a

grandfather's is nice or older gentleman who will never lay hands on his grandkids.

On Saiang me, now, my function is to siang back then when I

raise my kid, our buggy. But now I'll just take care I will.

I will, huh blieve Bellie. But I'll buy things for them,

I will. I will. You know, callder up to them. No

what they can't do, no wrong. You know, that's what grandfathers.

And God is not a grandfather. He is a father and he's a father,

and I want you all to see today that he's a father who loves

and the father who will disciple and discipline his people. Amen. Okay,

So that's the picture. So I'm going to break it down as we go

through it. I hope it helps us answer some questions in our lives.

It helps us with our relationship with God. It helps us to know what

our position is because many at times we may not live knowing who we are

in the lawn. And if he is our father in heaven, then I

think we should live like though he is a far happening man. Okay.

So we are absolutely sure that the Bible is concerned from cover to cover about

relationships. It is all about relationships. You read all the stories in the

Bible is talking about how to reconcile a broken relationship. Between mankind and loving

God. Amen. And so you know it begins first and foremost with the

most important relationship in your life, and that is the one that actually determines

what happens to you the rest of your life. And I believe that is

our relationship with God. It's something that we need to know. That's what

the Bible talks about. If you think that the Bible is just this boring

old book I keep reading not quite fully understanding it, I want you to

know that it really talks about our relationship with God. And we need to

know and understand this relationship because how would you describe that relationship If if someone

would to ask you that, how would you describe your relationship with Father God?

I don't know. I don't know how different ones would answer. And

so my endeavor is really to go into God's word to understand my relationship to

Him so that I'm able to describe this relationship with my heavenly Father. I

know it's Father's Day, and that's why I thought it'll be interesting and good

for us to explore a little bit more on our relationship with our father in

heaven. Okay, So if I can para paraphrase The question that Paul is

raising in this section of the Letter to the Church in Galatia in quite a

simple and crude manner, it is this. Okay, The question is this,

is God your boss or your dead? Okay? Have that minor?

Is God your boss or your dad? Because that's what he's saying. No,

is your relationship with your creator that of a servant or a son?

Okay? And so in this that in this study, another question that sometimes

we can ask ourselves to get another perspective, is this is an act of

worship for you, a service or a celebration. Okay? Have some of

these questions in mind, because I think it's important. Whatever the answer we

answer will really determine our position and how we respond and react. I think

it's important for us to know this. So let's consider what Paul has to

say. And he starts the first few verses talking basically about the Jews,

because you realize the pronoun that he was using was we, So he was

talking about we, and then midway through somewhere in verses six or seven,

you see it suddenly changes to you. And usually when Paul does that we,

he's referring to Jews because he himself is a fellow Jew. You he's

usually referring to the gentiles. Okay, so just have that in mind.

And so all is actually going to use as simple analogy as he tells as

he's communicating with them. No, in shure that the message is just this

grow up. There was Paul's message, Hello, grow up. And so

many people actually suffer from what some people will coin as childish religion, Okay,

including myself. Okay, myself as well. In a way we never

learn much or we never study much since we were little children growing up,

whether in Sunday school or whenever. Since you can think when you came to

the faith, just think of yourself as never maturing into the faith, never

growing. And a lot of people do suffer from it, like I said,

myself included, because you see, the Bible is actually a book that

is written for mature believers. It is when you read it. That that's

why sometimes we read it and we're like, I don't get it. And

that's why we have to always encourage everyone to keep on reading it, keep

on reading it. That's how you continue to grow and expand and allow it

to come to a place where you fully understand your relationship with God because it

should technically get progressively more and more mature. Amen. Can we all agree

with that? I know sometimes it's like, oh, hard to agree with

it because even myself, no, sometimes I don't know whether I've reached that

maturity of understanding scripture. You know, we understand it in school. If

you don't understand something, we tell our children and keep reading it, keep

reading it. And that's why even in school there is a progression. You

start off stand the ones and the twos. That is was it hard?

It's hard? I mean, if you give the Bible to a little baby

right from the start, it's hard. But that's why we progressively help them

to grow learn. But we never stop studying, right, We never stop

this whole effort on studying reading. And that's why I always tell young people

a lot of times, no they they go through a lot of time,

a lot of effort trying to figure out what I want to do in life?

What do I want to study in university? Three years? Know,

that's going to be so much of my time, so much of my parents'

money. Good, I'm glad that they are concerned about it to begin with,

But I tell them that's so much you can think. Ultimately, I'm

not sure if you will find the right course or you will know to the

tea or to exactly the specifics of what God wants you to do right now.

And I always just tell them this, just go to university because it

will teach you a few things. It will teach you to finish what you

started, which is something very important. And then the other thing is this.

It will teach you to seek and acquire knowledge. That is something that

we need to do. So it doesn't matter what cost you study, because

really, I've studied six years of law and I remember nothing, absolutely nothing.

If you want to ask me whether I wasted my parents' money, yes,

to a certain extent, I wasted their money because I'm firstly, I'm

not practicing it right now, and neither am I memorizing all the statutes and

know whatever. Not. Okay, I've just thrown it all back to the

teachers. I don't remember a single thing. But if it's anything I learned

in university is how to study, how to look for answers, and how

to acquire knowledge. That is something that we learned, and that's something that

we cannot stop doing in life. And that's why we have this amazing compendium

of books in the Bible that I pray. I want to encourage us continue

to go into it, read it understanding, even though sometimes it's so difficult.

Don't stop, don't give up. Not the day should go by.

I'm always very inspired. And remember my old neighbor. I used to have

this old uncle who is my neighbor. He sits on his swing every single

day for as long as I can remember growing up, and he's there reading

his Bible. I pray that we can do that. Okay, Anyway,

I digress. So it's supposed to progressively mature. That's essentially what I'm saying.

So the illustration that Paul uses her in those portions of Scripture that we

just read the first few is actually very common. Okay. Imagine imagine if

you go to a rich person's bungalow or a mansion and you go into the

kitchen and you see a set of rules hanging out. How many of your

son, as we our mothers, even have that rules in the kitchen?

Do this? Do this? Do this? Usually? Is say in a

big mention, is rules for the helpers and the servants in the house.

Okay, do this, do this, don't do this. Okay. Rules

to be observed, and all the servants are bound by their rules. Okay,

you can imagine that. But in the same mansion there's another room which

is a nursery for the children, and they too are under rules. You

realize that the children are also under rules, and usually there will be a

nanny there. Okay. Rich Rich Rich mentioned looking after the children because they

are still underage. Okay. However, they were the children who would eventually

inherit the entire estate, but as long as they were infants, technically they

were no better than the servants. Makes sense, makes sense. One day

those children will grow up and they will be set free, and the whole

estate will be there, will be his or hers, whoever it may be,

Okay, and they will walk around because they are sons and daughters and

heirs too. That mentioned. Now, The point is this, he or

she could have been the son, the whole estate could have been his or

hers. But if his father had died while he was an infant, and

as long as he was a minor and underage, he was actually no better

than a servant. Okay, still makes sense. That's what he's trying to

help us see and that's the tragedy. You know, the whole estate actually

belongs to think about it us, The whole estate belongs to us as sons

and as heirs. But we usually stick by our very childish religion, which

actually continues to put us under the observation of rules as if we were still

minus, as if we were still infants. We continue to cling on to

the past. We continue to cling on to these things that causes us to

not be able to grow and mature. And so that's why Paul is saying,

hey, grow up, because God wants sons, not servants. He

doesn't want you to come to church because you are there just to observe a

set of rules. That's not what it's about. He wants you to come

and celebrate that you are the son and the heir of God and that all

things are yours in Christ. Does that make sense? I know it's something

that science we think about it. But yet you know that it's not easy

to do. But that's what Paul is trying to encourage us. Grow up,

don't be a miner, don't put yourself in the same permanent level as

a servant of God. And again, I'm not saying that being a servant

of God is wrong. It is simply our duty to serve God. Understand

that it is our duty. And the reality is we are all all of

us, and there are scriptures and there are parables that talks about this.

No, we are all unprofitable servants in God's eyes because we will never be

able to repay him, because He has always spent more on earth than we

can ever give back to him. And that's why I still believe that,

and I say these to people. I believe I am safe to serve God,

safe to serve Him, and that is something I do out of duty,

out of humility. Whether I get gratitude and whether I get a thank

you for it or not, it doesn't matter. We are called to be

servants first and foremost, and we do it not because we are going to

gain something. We do it because that is essentially our duty, our role,

and our responsibility. But to know our position as children of God actually

brings us to a much deeper level of relating to and understanding God as we

serve him. That is something that we need to really take on. Soule.

Really, sometimes people ask me, how do you keep doing it over

and over and over. Don't you get tired, don't you get bored?

Don't you get sick? No, especially in a in a task and a

role and the responsibility that you don't always get thanks in state. Sometimes you

get more abuse then you get a thank you. That's the reality of it.

But I don't do it to get a thank you. I do it

because it's my duty to serve God. But remember I asked that question just

now. Is all this just a service or is it a celebration? Because

it makes a whole lot of difference. And really I look at it as

I celebrate my service unto the Lord, and because we celebrate God. Okay,

So Paul then goes on to do this now. He describes what it

means by being a servant, what it means by putting yourself under rules.

Basically you are bound by basic spiritual ideas of this world. In another word,

that he's saying that you are all full of superstitions. You're very superstitious.

Again he was talking to the jewser And a superstition is actually a religious

idea that's been twisted until it becomes childish, and it's based on fear.

Usually you have heard of that word superstition sonas or don't want under the letter

Uh so you know, but actually the one I think it has a good

point. Don't want a leader, like something might fall on your head.

But I don't know, keep a rabbits tale. Uh you know, Chinese

got a lot. Chinese got a lot more. You know your Canda pick

and I have fallen. I's not sure accidental things like that, okay,

anyway, but we are in constant grip of such superstition. And Paul is

saying that the Jews had turned their religion into a superstition and were bound by

it. And that's a fact, no, because they were. They were

scared stiff of putting a wrong food, whether it's eating without washing their hands,

or if they accidentally touched a genta oh man, that one like,

no, no, no, they're not supposed to do that. They were

full of superstitions, and yet they were God's chosen people, men to show

the world how to relate to God properly. So Paul was actually quite strong

in his conversation in his letter here, and he says that when we were

spiritual infants, we were all in the grip of holy superstitions, And the

one thing about coming to Christ is you are set free from superstitions. You

need never again, don't need to go in touch wood, don't need to

worry about a broken mirror, don't need to go and study the dates,

you know until today. Because I do the wedding ministry in the church,

I still have a lot of couples who tell me that I'm choosing this date

because uh, I visited the basically the sooth sayer. Yeah, you'd be

surprised the couple probably, I mean a couple if they're coming to church and

they're safe. They're like, we don't believe in all that, but mom

and dad still believes in it, so we have to do it. So

I've done weddings on Wednesdays, on Fridays, on odd days, you know,

not the normal. And I asked them, why do you choose the

day or no, because someone said that's a good day to get married.

But we are not bound by all those things, you know. All those

are things of superstitions and should be things of the past. We were once

underage. No, I was like that growing up because that was how things

were passed on to me. So I, yeah, everything is chy chy

choy. No Chinese people like to use that or everything. Everything is choy

like though I don't know whether the choy is to rebuild or the choy anyway,

until Jesus came, and that's when I started growing up. It's when

you stand in God's presence but you are not acting like a servant and you're

not cringing like a servant, that you realize that you are now a son.

That is something that Paul is trying to tell his audience. And the

truth is God's son became a servant so that those who were his servants might

become his sons. Makes sense, and that is the gospel actually in a

nutshell, and that is reality for us. God's son became a servant so

that God's servants might become sons. And so you take the first part.

God sent his son on the mission to our world, and he came into

our world in the same way as we came. He didn't come down from

the clouds the first time, but he will eventually in the second time.

That's my belief and understanding of scripture. Okay, but we're not talking about

Jesus's second coming today. But when he came the first time he came in

the role of a humble person into a working home. He was born in

a manger and he became a servant, and so Jesus came to help me.

So he had to be like me, and he came right into our

circumstances. He came right into my circumstances. And he was born as a

little crying baby, just as each and every one of us here was.

And because his mother was a Jew, he was born under the law and

he had to keep it. That's the reality of it. And then on

the eighth day he was circumcised like any other Jewish baby, and then he

was presented to the temple at the twelfth year twelve thirteen year, that's the

bar mitzvah usually, and made the son of the Law in the same temple.

So he grew up under the law and he had to keep it,

and he did keep it. Jesus is the only one that kept every single

one of the laws and commandments, and he was the first person ever to

do that. Think about it. That's the truth. And so you see

what he was doing. He was getting under our Lord so that he might

live us up. That's what Jesus is doing. He was getting inside us

so that he might let himself out through us. That is what Jesus was

doing. He was coming into our life so that we might have his life.

And so praise God that he didn't remain in heaven and say, here's

away, you find your way to me. But God actually said to Jesus'

son, you will have to go, and you will have to get right

into their lives, and you will have to live the Lord from inside.

And so he was born of a woman, born under the law, and

that was how he could purchase freedom for those who live under the harshness of

the law. You think about it, that is essentially what Jesus did for

us. There is only one way to set a slave free, and you

will understand it if you read and study a bit about slavery. Basically,

if someone buys the slave or pays off the debt that the slave is owing

to someone. And Jesus purchased freedom for those who were in slavery. He's

saying that we are the ones in slavery. And he came right under the

law which had been turned into superstition, something fearful that was binding people.

And he got under it. He paid the supreme price, and he set

us free. And so what is the result of him setting us free?

Basically, we are adopted by God as sons. That is what the scripture

is actually essentially saying. And in our language, adoption usually means having someone

else's child in your family, right, it makes sense, okay, But

for the Jews in those days, is sometimes refers to having your own child

as your son, because we are all God's children, right, they were

all Jews, but to have them, especially as your son. See,

there is this ceremony that actually takes place between the ages fourteen and seventeen,

mid teens, and he was basically a very significant moment in a Jewish boy's

life where he was accepted into the male society as a man. And basically

the father will say, I adopt you, and you can now call me

father. Now my business is your business, and you are the one that

will inherit it because you are now my son and my heir. And the

man didn't do this until the boy usually reaches mid teens. So that was

the kind of adoption that Paul is most likely referring to, because he looked

around the boys and saw how they were turning out. And he said,

okay, I think I will make of all my sons, I will make

this one son and the heir that might that he will be adopted as the

child who would take over everything. And they were all his children, but

he would adopt one and he will give one that status of sun and air.

And that is the adoption that Paul is most likely making reference to in

this situation. He says, once Christ has set you free from slavery,

God could adopt you as sons. And Paul believed for me that all people

are God's off springs. Okay, so everyone is God's offspring. But when

Jesus came born of a woman born under the law, he lifted the lord.

He paid the price, he purchased our freedom. And God said,

now call me Father, you are my son and heir. And that is

a description of what happened to the Jews. Does it make sense? Makes

sense? Right? Okay, Now let's go to the Gentiles. Because Paul

goes on to remark about the Gentile believers, He's now turning to the Galatians,

who came from very mixed backgrounds, one that was totally different from Paul's

background. He's from the Jewish background. Galatia. If I'm not mistaken,

it's probably one of the Greek islands. So there's a lot of a lot

of Greece in them. Okay, think about the gent towns. Okay,

So Paul had only believed in one God. They had believed in many gods.

And yet Paul says, you are sons. It does not matter what

a person's cultural background has been. You know, if you read the Book

of Acts, you realize, actually they do that. The Greeks believe in

lots of God's Okay, that's a whole myth, lots of myths and different

things. So Paul is saying, now, you Gentiles, how did this

happen to you? Of course, I just explained how it happened for the

Jews. And he says this, it happened when Jesus came to you,

but not in the same way as he came to the Jews. Because to

us Jews, he came in the flesh, but to you Gentiles, he

came in his spirit. So God has send the spirit of his son,

and there's a very clear difference here. Jesus came born of a woman in

the flesh, to the Jews, and those who believe in him became grown

up sons. But to the Gentiles, he never came in the flesh.

He came to them in the spirit and pulses. As God sent his son

to us Jews in the flesh, he has sent the spirit of his son.

That's what made you now his sons. And so he's explaining again sonship

for the gentiles because he's come in the spirit. He's come right inside again,

deep insight into our hearts. And that's something he couldn't do if he

was here in flesh. And that's the reality. He couldn't He couldn't be

everywhere. And that's why Jesus said, I have to go, because when

I go, I will send the Spirit to come and take over. And

it is the Spirit of God that will eventually be wherever we are at.

Because Jesus could only be at one place at one time. That is the

reality of it. He was not omni present in that sense. He had

he had limitations when he was here on earth. But he says, our

goal and then eventually the spirit will come. And now that spirit is going

to live in our hearts. And what is the response when the spirit lives

in our hearts is that we will cry out abah father. And you if

you study, you realize that in the scriptures that they never even translate the

word abba into father. It just stays as abba because it's actually a word

that if you translated it sounds a bit. It is actually just calling someone

daddy papa. And this is the term that we used to call God our

father, not like father. You know, he's like when we when science,

why I talk to my kids and not happier times like uh, you

know mother, your mother is calling you right now. Now we make we

make reference to them in the general pronouns, but we put the big M

in front and the big F no r, Father is calling you. But

this is God saying that. Paul is saying that when the spirit comes into

you, you will shout out like a little child, daddy papa. And

that is the response. No, that is the result of the spirit of

His son in our hearts is that people will start to shout out. You

see, that's true in scripture. When the spirit gets right into a person

you read scripture, usually something comes out of the mouth, whether it's during

Pentecosts. You realize that was what happened when the spirit came upon the people.

They say something. If you study the gifts of the spirit, majority

of the gifts, a big part of it is something to do with your

mouth. Whether it's prophetic, whether it's declaration of faith, whether it's tongues,

whether it's interpretation of tongues, it's got to do with your mouth.

Usually that is the outlet that overflows, because your mouth is actually really,

really powerful, and the devil actually has great use of your tongue and mind.

It does, and that's why we can continue to use our tongue to

kill. Until today. Scriptures continue to warn us, Know, why shouldn't

the Lord have control of our tongue? And if you can control your tongue,

you are perfect. That's what James chapter three, vers. Two actually

say strong in scripture, but that's the reality of it. It's such a

powerful part of our body, and so you want to be perfect. Let

the Lord have your tongue. And that's what God is actually saying, That's

what Paul is actually saying here. When the Spirit comes upon you, the

Spirit gets right into it, and the Spirit takes over, and that's why

you can actually declare effectively daddy, papa. What comes out, Well,

the spirit of his son in your heart will cry out father, father,

daddy, daddy, Papa, Papa. And what is Paul saying? He

says, when the spirit gets right into your heart, you will find yourself

addressing yourself to God by calling him. And I pray that we understand that,

because again, it's about our position. It's about our right as heirs

two as those who will inherit God's goodness and God's kingdom. So what does

all this mean. It means that you're no longer a servant but eh son,

because servants never dare to address their employer as daddy. And even if

the employer is your daddy, right, I mean that's something that you're like,

oh, oh, my dad's the boss. I don't think I can

call him that in the office. But when the spirit gets right into you,

you will find yourself talking to God as a son, as a daughter,

and you'll find yourself speaking as a member of the family. That's what

the spirit does. And Romans eighth chapter verses fifteen to sixteen probably gives the

best commentary when he actually says, it's four or you did not receive a

spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you receive the spirit

of sonship, and by him we cry Abba Father. We have received the

spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, and we cry out abah that

Father, Papa is an instinctive cry of a child. Actually, and now

Paul says, are not only does the spirit do miracles, he also makes

you cry out to God as Abba Father, and now you are a member

of his family. And then he continues to ask this over and over again.

He's asking, how can you now go back to being a slave.

It's like you're holding out your hands and saying, God, put those chains

back on me. That is his what he's trying to say. You know,

he's saying that you broke free from prison, and now you're climbing back

into prison. And that is the truth because many of us believers actually do

that. Many of us enjoyed sonship for me be a good few years,

and then years later, suddenly your religion becomes a chore once again. And

no, is it just about being loyal to fellowship? Is it just about

being loyal to church? Is it just about keeping it going? So Paul

is asking them, now, why go back to being a slave again.

Has it become a superstition again? And it can even holy communion can be

a superstition in all honesty, people can do things out of fear of breaking

tradition rather than truly and properly doing it out of reverend fear of the Lord

and knowing the significance of what communion is when essentially it's not something we do

out of just mere memories, it's not something that is magical, but it's

essentially saying that we are participating in the Lord's table, We are participating in

the Lord's work, and we want to be a part of it, and

we want to celebrate God's goodness and carry out what he has asked us to

do with celebration, with hope, with joy. But no, sometimes we

can do it like uh, and it goes back, goes back superstition.

And so we need to look at the Galatian Church because that was their background.

Paul actually goes back to their childhood, their spiritual childhood, their infancy,

and he describes them, no, you believe in all sorts of gods.

You know, have you realized how complicated you believe in one god?

Or so? Not easy you believe in all sorts. But eventually they found

out that gods weren't real, and so they realized, Okay, all this

are not real. And so Paul says, look, you have all this

superstition, but essentially superstition can't help you one bit. Not only can it

do anything for you, it usually demands that you do something for it.

That's what superstition does. It does nothing for you, but it demands that

you do something for it. You realize that that's the reality of it,

and so Paul is reminding them it, don't go back to this again,

and he actually chastises them. No, why are you going back to something

that can't do anything for you and yet demands that you do something for it.

No, and then he goes on talk about all those sacred days and

seasons. I know, I know sometimes we'd be like, wow, okay,

but he's talking again. You know, the Jewish calendor sometimes has a

lot of sacred days because if you have special sacred days, then you also

need special circular days. And that's the reality. And so instead of thanking

God that we are free, there's now this calendar that they're all going back

to every Sunday should be a resurrection Sunday. Every day is the Lord's Day.

But once we start getting confined and bound to just observing rules again on

certain special days, we actually go backwards. We go back into being servants.

And as soon as you start thinking that way and you say rules are

to be observed in church, you are going right back into a superstitious kind

of lifestyle. And sons are those who actually live our lives aligned to the

ways of God. Trusts. God's ways are higher and better, never inferior

to the rules, and never inferior to the laws. That is essentially what

we are supposed to do as sons and daughters of God. And so God

wants people who can rejoice in the relationship and walk with Him as free sons,

not those who observe rules begrudgingly and religiously. That is not what he

asks of us. And there's something much much bigger for us in stare And

so Paul sayes, really, you are Christians, but you are going back

to observing specialties. Why are you doing that? Don't do that, because

as soon as you have something sacred, you must have something circular. And

you think about it. You know, sometimes during fasting timeline. Okay,

you turn or even our brethren of the other faith at first know we are

the type that okay, we must observe, observe, observe. Then the

meantime to break faster who we go into this glutton modent that bingers and no,

you think about it, is that really the true heart behind why we

are fasting? Because even I do that sometimes why you know, the whole

day don't eat uh, And there are days sometimes now I do total fast

and it's like all I'm doing is thinking about when I'm going to breakfast and

boy and I going to binge ah, and that can actually happen. You

know, that's essentially what actually took place here. They're going back to observing

all these special days, but the meaning behind it they are not understanding.

They're just doing it for the sake of doing it. And he says,

don't do that. Don't go back because you go on to Jesus. You

remain as suns. That means you remain mature in your faith, not retrogress

and go backwards and powers really right now, he was actually broken hearted.

He says, I've got a that all my efforts to help you have been

wasted. That was the last line in verse eleven. I really feel like

you're going right back to where you were strong words know from Paul, and

yes he was bringing true to the word, because even Jesus told the parable.

Think about it in Luke chapter fifteen, and this is the favorite Father's

Day parable. Okay, I wanted to preach from this, but I thought,

maybe this want to a bit stronger. Okay, we know Luke chapter

fifteen, Parable of the Lost Son. Okay. A certain man had two

sons. The younger one went to a far country Okay, and then he

realized that he had been foolish. What do you do? He came home

and then what he requests from the father? He said, this make me

a hired servant, a hired servant in his dad's house. No, can

you imagine? How would his father actually think? This is my son asking

me to make him a hired servant. You know our work for you gave

me bread. I just want this relationship with you. I want this servant

relationship with you. I'm He probably had a good reason of saying that,

because he didn't feel worthy as a son and hadn't realized that the father.

He didn't realize the father she didn't want a high servant. He wanted a

son. And so when the boy got home, he was going on and

on, I've seen against heaven, I've seen against you, I've seen it

against the whole white world. But actually the father stopped him halfway and say,

hey, hello, you are not a highed seven. That's not how

I look at you. So we see that. But you know what,

the sadder part of the story is, the eldest son had the same outlook

of a high servant. When the father went out to the older brother.

You notice what the elder brother, how he responded, how he communicated with

that, because the whole conversation actually reveals that he wanted to be a servant.

Also, he said, look, I've served you all this. Yes,

I've always done what you say. I've never broken a rule, I've

never done anything wrong. In fact, I've kept all of it. And

you never gave me a tiny goad to celebrate. And the father said,

hello, all I have is yours. But son, this is your brother.

But the outlook is the same. God doesn't want servants. He doesn't

want those who say I've never broken the commandment. He doesn't want people to

bargain with him. He doesn't want a contract. That was what the Ten

Commandments and all the six hundred and thirteen rules and relicives, those are contracts.

Actually, he isn't hiring you. We are not out for hire.

And that's why today we are no longer bound by the Tank Commandments, but

the spirit of it is still there. You know what the Tank Commandments tells

me. It tells me a few things. It just tells me that,

firstly, I broke them all to a certain extent. In a way.

It's true because you think about it, Jesus came and he he fulfilled.

He is the only one who fulfilled the law, and that's why he didn't

come to abolish it. He came to fulfill it. But in his fulfillment

of the Tank Commandments, we now don't have to be bound by it,

but we can still understand the spirit behind the Tank Commandments because it just tells

me that I am a sinner. It's as simple as that. When I

look at the Tank Commments, I realize I'm a sinner and I'm falling shot

of God's glory and I can't do anything to fulfill these laws other than to

follow and to put my faith on the one and only person who came and

fulfill them, not abolish them. Now. He didn't come to say no

longer, you're bound and you can do whatever you want today, because if

we tick on them mindset, that's how some of them went into the whole.

I've got license to do anything and everything I want because now I'm no

longer bound by laws I can I'm free to do everything and anything I want

to do. That's not the case, right, and so we are not

bound by this contract. He isn't hiring us. He isn't one thing you

hear in the church this morning because you sign something. The Father says,

I want sons who will call me dead. I want a family who will

look at each other as brothers. That's what he's saying, and that's the

aim, and that's the object, and that's why Paul is saying, grow

up. We need to grow up. Abiding with rules and regulation is not

just a child when we live as sons and heirs, because when we live

as sons and daughters, we will be aligned to God's ways. We will

be aligned to God's higher calling because we are coming in together into Christ.

That is something that we need to realize. Like I said, he didn't

come to abolish the laws, he didn't come to make it. In fact,

he made the laws of a higher standard, a standard in which none

of us can actually fulfill it. That's why I say I've murdered people because

Christ say that if you look at someone angrily and if you have hatred in

you, you have essentially murdered that person. Have I committed last Yes,

Because it says that if you look at someone with last full eyes and you

have even though you have not committed the act, that is as good as

being an adulterous person. So not only is your action that Christ is looking,

he's looking at your intent. And all of us have fallen short of

God's glory when it comes to our intent, because deep down inside, if

we don't allow Jesus and we don't allow the Spirit of God to be in

earth, then really whatever comes out is going to be more of the flesh.

And that's why we need we need to realize our position, because it

is when we understand our position as sons and daughters of Christ that's when we

actually call out Abah, Father, Daddy, Daddy, I need your help,

Daddy, because that's God's desires. So inclosing, I asked once again,

what is your relationship with God? Is he your boss or is he

your dad? Are you a serf or are you a son? And remember

this, not even the prayer that the Lord Jesus taught us to pray and

John, you can come on, will't be done our Father in Heaven is

actually a family prayer because it starts like that, it starts with our world.

Again, take note of the pronouns. It's a prayer which only children

may use. Actually that's the truth. Unless you are a child of God.

Actually, no one has the right to pray this prayer unless you are

a child of God, because you are essentially saying Daddy, God above Father.

Not everybody is a child of God. But until you know Jesus Christ

as savior, you are an Often you are in a universe without a father.

But when you have come to know God as father, then the universe

becomes a very different place. It is a very cold universe until you know

God as your father, and then it becomes home. Even the next life

simply becomes the Father's house becomes home. That's why his kingdom. We look

forward to his kingdom, which is home. And we also know that His

kingdom is already here. It's not fully fulfilled years as it is, but

it has already begun. That's why we have a little bit of Heaven with

us here. Now, we have a little bit of home that we carry

wherever we go. And that's the reality of it. And this is the

feeling that we have as children of a heavenly father. You know, aren't

you afraid of a great, big universe? Aren't you afraid of nuclear war?

I mean, think about it. Are you're afraid of men because people

are always out to get one one another? Are you afraid of death?

And of course, if we are children of God, will say no,

because I understand that my father in heaven is directing everything. And that's why

when we make statements like all things are in God's hands, do we really

believe that that he is directing everything? Because he is holier than any death

you will ever encounter on this earth, And it means that he's more powerful

than any dead on earth. And it means that he is more hurt when

you do wrong than any other dead here on earth. And so my earthly

father, and I thank God, my early father. When I was a

boy, he punished me. He beat me. Yeah, he beat me

up, blacky, and I'm glad. It was many, many painful occasions.

But I really thank God for an earthly father who chastised me because he

loved me. I knew that, I knew his head. Would I have

agreed on his methods well with inten need help. But you know, in

the same way, you know, if I say father in heaven, you

also have a father in heaven who does them. He will chastise us.

He's not a grandfather like I mentioned just now. He's not a sentiment the

old guy who spoils young people. Know, while he's a father who takes

it very seriously the character of each and every one of his children, and

that's why he is our heavenly father, and I want us to be able

to see that so chair as his children. I want to just encourage us

never neglect prayer, because prayer is essentially talking to God and it's a simple

gesture. He's a child telling his father what he needs. And you know,

after sharing this though, the first thing when I was preparing his message,

the first thing was like, oh God, I think I really need

you because there are days when I know the Spirit is with me, but

it's not been easy living it according to your plan and your purpose. How

do we do that and how do we do that? We do it by

daily confessing, Lord, I need you, I need you. I can't

do this by myself. We always negate God from the picture. So I

say, that's why continue to read your Bible, continue to pray every day,

Go to our Father in heaven because he wants to hear your needs.

Know every time we always pray Lord, and launch my faith, and launch

my faith, and launch my faith. Actually, Scripture doesn't really tell you

to tell God to enlarge your faith. Scripture and she tells you and teaches

you to tell God, please help me exercise my faith. Because it doesn't

matter how big your faith is. Scripture reminds us that's faith as small as

a muster. See, even if you have small faith, if you exercise

it, it goes far if you haven't and large faith, which is why

we always forgive us big faith, give us a large faith. But what

do you do with a large faith if you do nothing with it? And

that's why James will say, then faith without works is absolutely day And so

know your father know your position as a son and a daughter in his kingdom,

and I pray that you will go to him and acknowledge him. Lord.

I can't do this by myself. I need you, I need your

presence in my life, and I think it starts with us firstly acknowledging him

as Abah Father. We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as church Org. We are also active

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good week. I hit for you. God bless