WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.380 So sometimes a second chance is not good news. We had something of a crisis in our house this 00:00:08.380 --> 00:00:14.179 past week. It started out as a good thing and then went south. So many of you will know my 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:20.760 oldest son, Bailey, and much to my delight, Bailey has just literally in the last week taken an 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:26.080 interest in playing cricket. We've had a beach cricket set that I bought optimistically years 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:31.779 ago and never, ever been used. So it's been sitting there in just a container in the backyard. And 00:00:31.779 --> 00:00:36.140 the other day he'd pulled it out and said, Dad, what's this? Can we play with this? And pretty 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:40.000 much every day this week, we've been out there. We've got a little plastic set of stumps, a little 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.219 plastic ball and a plastic bag. And he's actually pretty good at it. I love my son, but I wouldn't 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:50.219 have predicted that his coordination or lack thereof would have translated into sports. But it 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:56.320 turns out he got a little bit of his mother's sport ability. And so he's good at cricket. So 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:02.519 this all sounds like good news so far. But the crisis came when one day we'd finished our formal 00:01:02.519 --> 00:01:08.280 cricket time. It was a drinks break. And Bailey was playing with the cricket ball near a drain in our 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:14.640 backyard. He'd picked up the grate off the drain and was holding the grate in one hand, the ball in the 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.340 other hand. And you could just sort of see his brain processing what was going on. There's a hole in 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:25.079 front of him. He's got a ball. And Sal swooped on it quicker than I did. And she instructed him 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:30.400 to put the grate back on the drain and to make sure he didn't put the ball in the drain because 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:35.560 otherwise he would be sad because then he couldn't play cricket anymore. About 30 seconds later, 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:43.680 figuring that we had sufficiently parented the moment, we hear, uh-oh. Sure enough, he's still got 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:50.040 the grate in one hand but the ball is gone. To which we explained, you know, tough, we can't get 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.760 it back now. This is part of, you know, you've got to learn to listen to mum when she gives you 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:59.220 instructions and it means we can't play cricket anymore. And Bailey was understandably upset. 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:03.500 There was some tears and we sort of said, you know, this is a disciplined moment. We can't kind 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:07.360 of solve this too quickly even though there's another ball like right there. We can't tell him that. 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:11.680 He has to actually figure out that if you don't listen to mum, you know, stuff goes wrong. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.740 And you would think, end of story, he's learned his lesson, we're not playing cricket for now. 00:02:16.700 --> 00:02:20.819 A few hours later in the night, we've had dinner, the boys have had their bath, we've read them books, 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:25.319 we've tucked them into the bed and I'm having that blissful moment as a parent where I'm watching TV 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:29.939 because they're both in their bedrooms and I hear whimpering coming out of Bailey's bedroom. 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:36.200 So I eventually got off the lounge and wandered in to see what was going on and he was upset, 00:02:36.200 --> 00:02:41.659 he was crying and I'm like, mate, mate, what's wrong? And he was crying because, 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:46.620 he loved cricket so much and he thought that he was never, ever going to be allowed to play cricket 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.760 again because he had dropped the ball down the drain. I'm still not sure if he thought that he 00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:54.439 could never play it because I was just really harsh and I would never let him or because there was no 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:59.640 other balls in the world. But either way, either way, he was not very happy and he was upset. 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:04.439 And so, you know, I quickly reverted back to the excitement that he loved cricket and, you know, 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:08.819 being a somewhat nice dad and I wanted to settle him down and, you know, help him get to sleep. 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:12.840 And so I said, look, mate, it's okay. You know, we forgive you. We understand. We make mistakes. 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:18.620 I've actually got another ball on the back deck. We can play tomorrow. It's fine. You know, 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.719 you can have a second chance. It's okay. And I thought, you know, this will calm him down. He'll 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:28.959 be fine. But he looked at me and burst out into full blown tears at this point. And I'm like, 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.759 what is going on here? I thought I'd solved the problem. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:39.699 But he just looked at me and he said, it won't work. And I'm like, what won't work? There's a ball. 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:43.699 It's fine. We have a ball. We have a ball. He said, no, it won't work. And I said, why? He said, 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:51.060 because the drain is still there. The ball will go down the drain. I said, well, not if you leave 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:56.340 the grate on the drain. You know, the grate has never been off the drain before. The only way it's 00:03:56.340 --> 00:04:00.039 going to go down is if you pick it up and put it down there. You know, this isn't something that you 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:06.099 have to fear. There's a decision in there. But for him, giving him a second chance didn't actually 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:11.259 make him feel any better. It increased his anxiety that he was going to blow it again. 00:04:11.899 --> 00:04:15.579 That having stuffed that first opportunity, giving him another opportunity was just more 00:04:15.579 --> 00:04:19.719 pressure to get it wrong all over again. In fact, we had to come to an agreement where the next 00:04:19.719 --> 00:04:23.899 morning we would go and get a rock that was too heavy for him, not too heavy for me, that I would put 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:28.839 on top of the drain, which he then couldn't get off for future cricket games, just so that he was 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:34.379 sure that he wouldn't end up in that same horrible situation where he has ruined his life and he can 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:42.739 never play cricket again. Sometimes getting a second chance is not good news, because all it does 00:04:42.739 --> 00:04:50.879 is add pressure, add fear that you will waste this new opportunity in the same way you wasted the 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:57.459 first opportunity that required someone to give you a second chance. The Galatians were up to week 00:04:57.459 --> 00:05:01.839 seven, round seven if you like, of working our way through this book, getting to know these people. 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:09.139 They had heard the gospel from Paul. They had heard the offer of free forgiveness through Jesus' death 00:05:09.139 --> 00:05:16.259 in their place, through his resurrection to new life. They had heard loud and clear, God is giving you a 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:25.139 second chance. But once the initial wonder and excitement of that forgiveness wore off, reality kicked in. 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:32.500 What if we waste this opportunity like we wasted the last one? I mean, that's amazing that God would 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:36.819 love us like this, but what if we just keep doing what we were doing before? I mean, what's changed? 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:41.659 We haven't changed. The only difference between before and now is God did something. We're still the 00:05:41.659 --> 00:05:48.599 same people that we always were. So what if we waste this opportunity? How can we possibly stay forgiven 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:55.260 and stay loved by God when we weren't able to make ourselves loved by God or make ourselves forgiven in 00:05:55.260 --> 00:06:02.280 the first place? See, the issue for them, the question they're asking is, now that we've been loved, 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:11.400 how do we live now? How do we live as Christians? How can we be sure that we're going to stay saved, 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:17.659 stay forgiven? These are the questions they've been wrestling with. They understand that they were forgiven 00:06:17.659 --> 00:06:24.500 by Jesus, but what they're trying to figure out is, what does it look like to live forgiven? 00:06:25.539 --> 00:06:31.939 What does it look like to stay forgiven? And so Paul, in this passage that Lauren wrote out for us, 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:38.379 takes them back to the beginning to help them understand what God has already done for them. 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.620 Now, it's fair to say, if you've been around for our seven weeks of Galatians, and the good news is 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:51.219 there's still another five to go, that this book is somewhat repetitive. We keep getting back to the 00:06:51.219 --> 00:06:55.819 gospel. We keep going back to what Jesus has done. We're looking at it over and over again from every 00:06:55.819 --> 00:07:03.659 angle, and that's not a bad thing, because Christianity is actually quite simple. It's not easy, but it is 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:08.939 simple. There's no extra information that we need to kind of hold out for that's going to suddenly 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:11.939 solve all our problems and deal with all our doubts. 00:07:15.140 --> 00:07:21.740 The gospel is the answer to the questions that they're asking, and we're asking, and everybody is asking. 00:07:22.900 --> 00:07:26.420 You might be sitting here feeling the same tension that they were feeling of, 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:31.800 wow, that's incredible that God loved me like that, but now that I'm forgiven, how do I make sure I don't 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:40.480 blow it? How do I make sure I don't waste it? In the gospel, God has already answered the question. 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:46.680 The issue is, we just haven't dug deep enough. We just haven't gazed for long enough. We just haven't 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.800 mined the riches that are there. There is more goodness in the gospel. We're not even going to cover 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:55.500 it. In the next five weeks, this 12-week series will barely scratch the surface. There is more 00:07:55.500 --> 00:08:01.259 blessing and more guidance available, and so just like the Galatians needed this message again, we 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:07.759 need this message tonight, right now. We need to come back to the gospel, and Paul wants us to go right 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:14.660 to the beginning, to what we were before we met Jesus. And in reality, it's possible that some of us 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:19.300 in this room are still in this situation. If you're not a Christian, if you're not somebody who's 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:25.319 following Jesus, what we're about to read is describing you right now. Have a look, Galatians 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:29.199 chapter 4, get it in front of you, your phone, your Bible, whatever, Galatians 4 verse 1. 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:35.220 What I'm saying, this is Paul talking, what I'm saying is that as long as an heir is underage, 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:41.399 he is no different from a slave. Although he owns the whole estate, the heir is subject to guardians 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:49.000 and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:57.960 slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. Now, Paul is twisting and combining 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:02.519 metaphors here in a way that makes my head hurt, but let's get the point of what he's saying. 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:08.419 The point is, if somebody has an inheritance but they're not old enough, they are restrained, 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:14.500 held back from that inheritance by guardians and trustees. That's kind of the picture, and he's 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:21.740 saying, in the same way, before we met Jesus, we were restrained from the thing that we want, 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:27.059 the thing that we need. Not by guardians and trustees, but the phrase there, the elemental 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:32.539 spiritual forces. See, what Paul's getting at is something he talked about last week, and Steve 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:39.120 talked a little bit about us being restrained and enslaved by the law. See, the point is that when 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:47.500 God created us, created all of us, he created us to know him. So the Bible uses phrases like, 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:53.460 when he made us, he wrote eternity on our hearts. And that's why all of us, whether we're Christian 00:09:53.460 --> 00:09:59.759 or not, are driven by this desire to be the best that we can be. We're driven to do a little bit 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:04.740 more, to be a little bit better. There's this sense that we're not quite content with just this, 00:10:04.740 --> 00:10:11.840 and that's because we were made for more than this. It's part of who we are. Whether we recognize 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:18.180 that that something more is to know the God who made us and to live for all eternity in a relationship 00:10:18.180 --> 00:10:25.460 with him, whether we can name that, we do know deep down that we're made for more than just 80, 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:31.779 90, 100 years and then being put back in the ground. We want to last longer than that. We want 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:41.000 significance. We want legacy. We're enslaved because no matter how hard we try and satisfy 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:49.559 that need for significance and joy and happiness and satisfaction, we can't get it left to our own 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:56.899 devices. All the things that we chase and try and use to deliver those things, instead of delivering, 00:10:56.899 --> 00:11:02.799 become our masters because they don't quite give us what we want. And so then we push them harder and 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:10.740 chase them more and we end up enslaved. And the gospel is clear, that is everyone. That's not some 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:17.139 of us. Before Jesus, that is every single one of us. And I want to say this as gently and as humbly as I 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:24.139 can. If you're not a Christian, you have a master in your life. You might not call it a master, 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:29.639 but if you're not a Christian, whatever it is that you are chasing to make you happy, whatever it is 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:34.159 that you need to be fulfilled in your life, that is your master. It owns you. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:46.639 And the gospel message is that that is every single human ever without Jesus. And the reality is even 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:51.620 Christians now who have met Jesus still sometimes wrestle with and struggle with the lure back to 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:57.960 those old masters, the appeal to return to lives that are lived chasing other things. But the good 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:03.879 news of the gospel that we need to keep hearing over and over again is that into our slavery, into the 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:11.560 hopelessness and the frustration of not being able to get what we want, God acts. God shows up. Have a look 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:19.839 at verse 4. When the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, 00:12:19.959 --> 00:12:27.639 to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship. Now follow the logic here for 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:37.159 a second. What Paul is saying is the only actual son of God, the only entitled child of God, Jesus, 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:43.059 who's not a slave in any way, who enjoys all the privileges of being in God's family, he's in 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:50.199 heaven, he's happy, things are great. He's sent by the father into the world as a human, into the 00:12:50.199 --> 00:12:56.939 slavery we experience, into the limitations of death and everything. He experiences hunger, he experiences 00:12:56.939 --> 00:13:06.899 temptation. God sends his son into that to rescue us out of that. That's what's happening. The one who is 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:15.759 a son and is free enters into slavery to free us so that we might receive adoption and enjoy what it 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:23.439 is to be sons like him. He starts in freedom, we start in slavery, he enters into our condition, 00:13:23.939 --> 00:13:33.220 takes our punishment, lives perfectly and rescues us from slavery. But that's only the half of it. 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:40.320 I mean the gospel message is not just God providing a new ball for cricket and then leaving us in the same 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:44.680 dangerous situation where we're probably going to take the grate off the drain, put the ball down and be 00:13:44.680 --> 00:13:51.560 frustrated like we were in the first place. He doesn't just give you a second chance. Now I understand why 00:13:51.560 --> 00:13:56.560 when we talk about the gospel we like to say God gives a second chance but it's not technically correct. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:06.319 Because he doesn't just cancel the debt. He cancels the debt and then pours so much riches into our 00:14:06.319 --> 00:14:13.139 account that we couldn't use them if we tried. He doesn't just kind of forgive us and then say good 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:19.899 luck, see how you go on the second attempt at following me. It's a double move. You were a slave 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:27.759 unable to help yourself and he releases you which is enough to make you stop and marvel at God's grace 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:34.199 for the rest of eternity but that's not the whole thing. He pulls you out of slavery, releases you into 00:14:34.199 --> 00:14:44.399 freedom and having freed you adopts you into his family, draws you close. He gives you the rights of being 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:52.100 his child, rights to an inheritance, access to everything that's his and he does it while you were enslaved 00:14:52.100 --> 00:15:00.539 because you were rejecting him. So catch that. He doesn't just wipe the slate clean. He draws you into his 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:07.740 family from a place of being his enemy and his opposition. That is the gospel. 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:18.440 Jesus came into the world to redeem us, to rescue us and to make us sons and daughters of God. 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:25.039 Now I just want to stop briefly to acknowledge some baggage that we might have as we look at a passage 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:34.080 like this and hear that we receive adoption to sonship. God's not being sexist here. He's not saying men 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:39.460 are better than women. He's not saying men are more valuable than women. We know that because that's 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:43.980 inconsistent with everything else he says in the whole Bible. It's inconsistent with verse 28 in 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:48.940 chapter 3 where we hear there's no longer male or female, that those distinctions are not primary in 00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:57.120 the way that God views us. He's also not endorsing the traditions in some cultures to see sons as a sign of 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:03.400 blessing and daughters as somehow a negative thing. Again, what matters most in this passage is that as 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:10.340 Christians, our worth and our identity is in Christ and we're clothed with Christ. So why does he use the 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:18.240 word sons? Because he does. That's the language. What's he trying to tell us? Well, two things. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:27.100 In the time when this was written, in the culture where this is written, only male children, only sons, 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:37.800 can be heirs. Only sons can have inheritance. To the point where an adopted male slave has rights to an inheritance 00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:45.540 that a naturally born daughter does not. That's the context into which this is being heard. And so what he is 00:16:45.540 --> 00:16:51.500 saying, what Paul is teaching us about the way God works, is he is saying that whether you are a male or a female is 00:16:51.500 --> 00:17:00.720 irrelevant, what the gospel does, is enable all of us to come into that precious position of inheritance. 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:08.680 To come into the position where we receive the blessings of our heavenly father. We get the rights of 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:14.579 sonship. But there's one other one in there which I think is even more exciting and more significant. 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:23.659 God wants us to see ourselves in the place of the son. 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:34.220 Say that again. When we talk about being adopted into God's family, that feels like an abstract concept. 00:17:35.919 --> 00:17:42.359 I mean, you don't live in God's house. He's not cooking dinner for you. What do we even mean by that? 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:49.119 How do we know what that looks like? Well, we look at the one actual son of God. 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:54.959 That's the only paradigm we have. What God wants you to hear is, you're a son. That doesn't mean you're 00:17:54.959 --> 00:17:59.419 not a daughter. But so that you know what being a daughter and a son looks like, look at the son, 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:08.899 Jesus. That's what God has provided for you. He has adopted you into sonship, which means you are a 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:15.420 daughter or a son of God who is loved in the same way that Jesus is loved by his heavenly father. 00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:18.940 See, this changes everything. 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:29.380 It doesn't just give us a second chance at trying to follow God. It drags us well past that and securely 00:18:29.380 --> 00:18:34.480 into the favour of God. It makes us beloved children of God. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:40.000 John 17, Jesus is praying for his disciples just before he goes to the cross. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.720 And listen to what he says. 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:42.960 He says, 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:48.100 I have given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:52.140 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity. 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:57.100 And listen to this. Remember, this is Jesus praying for his disciples and in turn for us. 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:03.500 Then the world will know that you, the father, sent me, Jesus, 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:10.140 and have loved them, you, me, as you have loved me. 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:13.440 You catch what that's saying? 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:24.420 God has loved us in the same way, with the same love that he has for Jesus. 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:29.039 That's the intensity of God's love for his children. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:33.779 That's why that word son, while might be a bit distracting, is actually helpful. 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:38.619 When you hear, I am a daughter of God, when you hear, I am a son of God, 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:41.379 what it means is, I am loved like Jesus. 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:45.859 I'm loved with that same intensity. 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:49.619 If you are a Christian, if you have asked God for forgiveness, 00:19:49.899 --> 00:19:54.559 if you are trusting in what Jesus has done to make it possible for you to be a Christian, 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.259 then you are a child of God. 00:19:57.259 --> 00:20:00.940 Now, present tense, as we speak, not you will be, not you might be, 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:03.779 you are a child of God. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.140 It's there in chapter 3, verse 26. 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:13.220 So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:17.259 For all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:18.019 I'll say it again. 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.599 You are a child of God. 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:24.059 That's objective reality. 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:26.099 That's not up for discussion. 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:28.099 Imagine, it's a finished work. 00:20:28.959 --> 00:20:31.000 Jesus has died in your place. 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:32.779 Jesus is alive. 00:20:32.899 --> 00:20:34.000 He has paid for your sin. 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.699 He has dragged you all the way out of slavery, into the family, and it's done. 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:41.139 Now, unbreakably, irreversibly finished. 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:47.679 You have the hope of heaven guaranteed by what Christ has done. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.200 You are a child of God. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.120 And that changes everything. 00:20:56.320 --> 00:20:59.600 That answers the questions that the Galatians are asking, 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:01.340 and maybe you find yourself asking. 00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:04.659 How do I live now that I'm forgiven? 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.559 How do I know for certain that I'm forgiven? 00:21:07.959 --> 00:21:14.240 What does it look like to not throw away this second chance to live like a son or a daughter of God? 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:24.079 How do I know for certain that what Jesus did will not be taken away? 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:27.960 That I'm not going to forfeit this gift of forgiveness and love? 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:31.660 Well, because I live like a child of God. 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:36.440 Which means my identity has changed now. 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:38.340 And that changes how we relate with one another. 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:40.500 And it changes how we relate to God. 00:21:40.560 --> 00:21:41.740 Let's look at those two really quickly. 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:48.500 First of all, if you are a Christian, it's there in verse 27. 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:51.259 You have clothed yourself with Christ. 00:21:52.040 --> 00:21:54.580 And that is now your most significant identity marker. 00:21:54.579 --> 00:22:00.059 So what I mean is, if I was to list all the things about me that make me me, 00:22:00.179 --> 00:22:02.720 I would say I am a man. 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:04.480 I am a middle child. 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:05.379 I'm a dad. 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.339 I'm a pastor. 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:07.159 I'm a husband. 00:22:07.399 --> 00:22:08.960 I'm a whole bunch of other stuff. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.559 And they're all good things. 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:11.399 They're valid. 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:14.819 But when we clothe ourselves with Christ, 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:16.579 when we start following Jesus, 00:22:17.419 --> 00:22:20.619 He becomes more important than those things. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.339 He becomes the first identifier for the way I view myself. 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:27.799 But also the way that we view one another. 00:22:28.919 --> 00:22:31.000 I don't know what your identity markers are. 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:32.019 But you do. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.279 But as Christians, we clothe ourselves with Christ 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:39.599 so that we see each other in that light. 00:22:39.659 --> 00:22:41.059 And that's why in verse 28 it says, 00:22:41.059 --> 00:22:44.359 There's neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.619 nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:51.740 See, now we're Christian first. 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:56.700 It's not to say that they're not Jews and they're not Gentiles 00:22:56.700 --> 00:22:58.380 and they're not males and they're not females. 00:22:58.900 --> 00:22:59.900 That's ridiculous. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:01.680 We're still males and females. 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:04.039 But the point is, we're not first males. 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:05.779 And we're not first females. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:09.039 We're first children of God. 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:14.859 We're first those who have been rescued and adopted into the family. 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:18.940 The most important thing for us identity-wise 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:21.980 is that we are children of God. 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:25.180 Which means that we can sit in a room with a bunch of people 00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:26.480 who are nothing like us 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.379 and be incredibly united. 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:33.900 It means we can actually be this transcultural church 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:35.840 that we believe God is calling us to be 00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:39.000 because our new identity enables us to hold more loosely 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:40.300 to those other things. 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:43.360 So, you know, as a stereotypical male, 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:45.860 you know, the whole doing emotion and being honest 00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:47.580 and being encouraging and all those things 00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:48.600 which are good and right, 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:51.720 but I'm told by the culture around me I don't do as a male. 00:23:52.060 --> 00:23:53.900 I can let go of some of those things. 00:23:54.300 --> 00:23:56.160 Sure, it might make me uncomfortable at first 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:57.519 to have a really genuine conversation, 00:23:57.840 --> 00:23:59.900 but I'm now first a Christian, 00:24:00.360 --> 00:24:03.240 not an awkward male who doesn't know how to talk about how I feel. 00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:05.120 I might still be that, 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.680 but first, I'm a Christian. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.400 So I need to let go of that discomfort 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.800 and embrace this identity. 00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:17.920 Embrace the fact that I've been rescued out of that rubbish 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:20.320 that enslaves me and given a new identity 00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:21.580 where I'm part of a family, 00:24:22.120 --> 00:24:24.880 where instead of those things that are kind of unhelpful, 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.560 I have a better identity marker, 00:24:26.560 --> 00:24:28.040 one that will last in Jesus. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.560 That's why Paul told us in chapter 2, verse 20, 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:32.540 he says, 00:24:32.600 --> 00:24:35.720 I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:37.680 but Christ lives in me. 00:24:38.280 --> 00:24:40.660 The life I now live in the body, 00:24:41.120 --> 00:24:42.880 I live by faith in the Son of God 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:44.800 who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:24:45.280 --> 00:24:47.660 Christians live with a new identity, 00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:51.540 clothed with Christ in such a way 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:54.759 that this identity is free to deny itself, 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:55.940 its preference. 00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:01.220 It's free to sacrifice for the sake of unity within the body. 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:05.099 Children of God are released 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:09.399 to find the differences that we have between one another 00:25:09.399 --> 00:25:10.460 as a gift, 00:25:11.379 --> 00:25:12.599 as an opportunity 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:16.240 to let go of those secondary identity markers 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.179 and hold most firmly 00:25:18.179 --> 00:25:21.539 to this new identity I have as a child of God, 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.339 as one who has been loved and forgiven. 00:25:26.339 --> 00:25:26.859 Secondly, 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:29.399 having transformed the way we relate to one another, 00:25:31.399 --> 00:25:32.679 being a child of God 00:25:32.679 --> 00:25:35.139 changes how we relate to God. 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:37.059 Have a look at verse 6. 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:40.879 Because you are his sons, 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:43.059 God sent the spirit of his son 00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:44.240 into our hearts, 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:45.679 the spirit who calls out, 00:25:45.859 --> 00:25:46.799 Abba, Father. 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:49.179 So you are no longer a slave, 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:50.359 but God's child. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.220 And since you are his child, 00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:54.299 God has made you also an heir. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:57.559 God sent his spirit in us, 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.319 having done a concrete, 00:25:59.639 --> 00:26:01.079 objective work in Jesus, 00:26:01.679 --> 00:26:03.579 he sent his spirit into us 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:06.059 that we might be secure children 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:08.539 who in the power of the spirit 00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:10.740 call out to God in prayer. 00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:15.099 That having been brought real close to God the Father, 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.339 the spirit might empower us 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:19.419 to actually live like that's where we are. 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:25.200 One of the challenges of being a parent, 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:26.139 being a dad, 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:28.659 is just the gross things 00:26:28.659 --> 00:26:30.220 that go along with having little kids. 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:32.299 So having embarrassed Bailey, 00:26:32.419 --> 00:26:33.480 it's Hudson's turn now. 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.940 Hudson is perpetually snotty. 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:39.480 It's impressive. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:42.460 How often I wipe his nose is irrelevant. 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:44.599 Trying to teach him how to blow his nose, 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:46.400 you can do it a hundred times a day 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:48.059 and the second you remove the tissue, 00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.000 there's a fresh trail 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:50.360 working its way down his face. 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:51.160 By the end of the day, 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:53.420 he's covered in these crusties 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:54.700 and it's not pleasant. 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:56.319 But one of the things 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:57.599 that goes with being a dad 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:00.700 is being treated like a human tissue. 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:03.380 I will chase him through the house 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:05.100 with the snot flailing everywhere. 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:06.140 He thinks it's hilarious. 00:27:06.340 --> 00:27:07.580 I've got a tissue in one hand 00:27:07.580 --> 00:27:08.900 and those of you who've seen him 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:11.180 know that he's a fairly robust young man, 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:13.640 fairly well built, muscular, 00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:14.319 if you will, 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:15.519 for a two and a half year old. 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.819 And he will see me coming with the tissue, 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:19.620 reach for my tissue arm 00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:21.360 to make sure it can't get to the face 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:23.080 and then dive with his face 00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:23.819 for my shirt, 00:27:24.080 --> 00:27:24.620 my shoulder, 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:25.519 my cheek, 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:27.600 whatever bit of me that he can get 00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:28.840 because, I don't know, 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:29.859 he prefers that. 00:27:30.399 --> 00:27:31.480 But it's kind of disgusting. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.740 But he's my kid, 00:27:34.099 --> 00:27:35.639 so he gets away with it. 00:27:36.919 --> 00:27:37.919 Just to be clear, 00:27:38.439 --> 00:27:39.799 if anyone of you 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:41.019 was to ever attempt 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:42.679 to use me as a human tissue, 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:44.559 if I see you leaning in 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.039 and there's snot on your face, 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:47.959 if I feel like you're trying 00:27:47.959 --> 00:27:50.039 to develop our relationship 00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:50.579 in that way, 00:27:50.699 --> 00:27:51.799 we're going to have a problem. 00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:53.659 I like to think I'm patient 00:27:53.659 --> 00:27:54.339 and non-violent, 00:27:54.459 --> 00:27:55.639 but there might be a line in there. 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:58.980 But kids, 00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:00.100 sons, 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:00.800 daughters, 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:02.380 have special permission, 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:04.300 even entitlement 00:28:04.300 --> 00:28:05.720 when it comes to their parents. 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:10.340 And as God's children, 00:28:11.040 --> 00:28:12.860 that's our position before him. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.460 He welcomes us 00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:17.380 in our filth and snottiness 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:18.980 to have this unique, 00:28:19.320 --> 00:28:19.680 free, 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.620 constant access to him. 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:25.019 The Spirit leads us 00:28:25.019 --> 00:28:25.959 to be people 00:28:25.959 --> 00:28:27.039 who call out 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.279 to our heavenly daddy. 00:28:29.339 --> 00:28:30.699 We have been brought 00:28:30.699 --> 00:28:31.479 into the family 00:28:31.479 --> 00:28:33.000 through what Jesus has done. 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:34.379 What the Spirit does 00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:35.019 is make sure 00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:36.019 we actually live 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:37.079 like we're in the family. 00:28:39.159 --> 00:28:41.119 It leads us to pray 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.079 when we're in need, 00:28:43.779 --> 00:28:45.119 to pray in thankfulness, 00:28:45.219 --> 00:28:45.919 to pray in doubt, 00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:46.799 to pray in pain, 00:28:46.899 --> 00:28:47.659 to pray in anger, 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:48.719 to pray in frustration, 00:28:49.179 --> 00:28:50.719 in whatever state we're in, 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:51.440 and to be able to take 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:52.839 that state to God 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:53.640 because we know 00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:54.740 he's our heavenly father 00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:55.720 who welcomes us 00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:56.680 with open arms, 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:59.240 even when we become messy, 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:02.240 because he's our father 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:03.100 who cares for us 00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:04.120 even when we can't see 00:29:04.120 --> 00:29:05.559 how he's caring for us. 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:08.480 As his children, 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:10.319 we have a secure hope 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:11.480 for eternal life. 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:13.140 But what the Spirit does 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:14.440 is help us to taste 00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:15.039 and see 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.839 and experience 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:17.159 and hold on to 00:29:17.159 --> 00:29:18.259 that hope 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:19.740 and his presence 00:29:19.740 --> 00:29:21.179 in all of our 00:29:21.179 --> 00:29:22.379 day-to-day situations 00:29:22.379 --> 00:29:23.480 and circumstances. 00:29:24.159 --> 00:29:25.279 The Spirit moves us 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:27.099 to call out to God, 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:29.619 to boldly 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:31.099 cry out 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:32.839 because prayer 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:35.159 is a privileged act. 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:38.299 It is an act that says, 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:39.279 I'm welcome. 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:42.439 It's the practical outworking 00:29:42.439 --> 00:29:43.720 of being a child of God. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:47.439 It's the difference 00:29:47.439 --> 00:29:48.740 between being a slave 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:51.039 and being a child. 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:53.559 Only one has the confidence, 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:54.500 has the right, 00:29:55.099 --> 00:29:56.359 has the security 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:58.079 to approach the Father. 00:29:59.679 --> 00:30:00.659 The Gospel, 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:03.000 what Jesus has done, 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.819 draws us into 00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:06.000 a relationship with God. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.380 and the Spirit 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:10.319 directs us 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.279 and leads us 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:12.359 based on what Jesus 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:12.900 has done 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:14.880 to actually relate to, 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:17.440 to actually live with 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:19.420 God as our Heavenly Father. 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:22.339 The objective work 00:30:22.339 --> 00:30:23.240 is done in Jesus 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:25.460 and the Spirit ensures 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:26.920 that we get the subjective 00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:28.000 day-to-day experience 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:30.000 of being irreversibly, 00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:31.000 unconditionally, 00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:33.440 dearly loved, 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:34.900 just like Jesus. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:38.380 because you are 00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:39.619 God's child 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:40.640 if you're a Christian, 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:42.480 God wants you 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.380 to enjoy that. 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:44.900 He wants you 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:45.680 to be able to live 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.460 with the security 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:47.440 that comes with that. 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:49.720 He sends His Spirit 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:50.980 so that your day-to-day 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:52.079 doubts and fears 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:52.779 and everything else 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:54.259 might be totally transformed 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:55.200 by the reality 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:57.279 that your Heavenly Father 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:58.619 is with you 00:30:58.619 --> 00:30:59.400 always. 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:02.920 there's a deep 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:04.300 intimacy on offer 00:31:04.300 --> 00:31:04.960 for us 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:06.480 as those who belong 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:07.000 to God. 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:10.780 It's really interesting 00:31:10.780 --> 00:31:11.740 that when Paul talks 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:12.660 about the Spirit here, 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:13.700 he talks about the Spirit 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:14.220 who says, 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:15.019 Abba. 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:17.880 That's an Aramaic word. 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.240 It's not the language 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:19.940 the Galatians 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:21.220 would have been familiar with. 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:22.980 But do you know 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:24.140 why he uses that word? 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:26.680 Because that's the language 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:27.640 Jesus spoke. 00:31:29.100 --> 00:31:30.020 That's the language 00:31:30.020 --> 00:31:30.920 Jesus used 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:31.800 when He was praying 00:31:31.800 --> 00:31:32.620 to His Father. 00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:34.480 As He sat 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.360 in the Garden of Gethsemane 00:31:36.360 --> 00:31:37.020 in anguish 00:31:37.020 --> 00:31:37.980 preparing to go 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:38.660 to the cross, 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:40.120 He cried out 00:31:40.120 --> 00:31:41.160 to His Abba, 00:31:41.860 --> 00:31:42.440 Father, 00:31:43.140 --> 00:31:44.120 His Papa, 00:31:44.300 --> 00:31:44.940 His Daddy. 00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:45.840 What the Spirit 00:31:45.840 --> 00:31:47.279 enables and empowers 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.340 is us 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:49.500 to be able to express 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:50.759 that same level 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:51.580 of intimacy. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:54.360 To be able to cry out 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:55.340 to God 00:31:55.340 --> 00:31:56.360 as our heavenly, 00:31:56.980 --> 00:31:57.440 close, 00:31:57.740 --> 00:31:58.320 present, 00:31:58.580 --> 00:31:59.519 loving Father. 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:03.200 What the Spirit does 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:04.980 is take our tentative prayers, 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:07.120 our formal prayers, 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:08.140 our nervous prayers, 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:08.820 our doubts, 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:09.799 our fears. 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:12.200 It points us back 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:13.539 to what Jesus has done 00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:15.639 so that we might cry out 00:32:15.639 --> 00:32:16.779 to our heavenly Father 00:32:16.779 --> 00:32:18.259 who has not only 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.079 rescued us 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:20.819 but has adopted us. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.519 The Spirit trains us 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:24.019 to come 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:25.440 to our Daddy, 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:27.599 not to a God 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:28.319 who is distant. 00:32:30.139 --> 00:32:31.259 A Christian life, 00:32:31.379 --> 00:32:32.359 a Gospel life, 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:33.740 a Spirit-filled life 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:35.240 is a life 00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:36.960 of deep intimacy 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:37.879 with God. 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:41.659 It's a life secure 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:43.820 in the unbreakable love 00:32:43.820 --> 00:32:44.740 that He has shown us 00:32:44.740 --> 00:32:45.540 in sending Jesus. 00:32:47.120 --> 00:32:47.960 It's a life 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:48.640 of obedience 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:49.960 to our Father 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:51.460 because He loves us, 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:53.240 not so that He'll love us. 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.300 And it's a life 00:32:55.300 --> 00:32:57.380 full of certain hope 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:57.960 for heaven 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:00.060 because as children, 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:00.740 we're heirs 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:02.920 and nothing can change that. 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:05.980 this is the Gospel's answer 00:33:05.980 --> 00:33:07.380 to the what now question. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:10.019 The point of the cross 00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:10.860 was not to give you 00:33:10.860 --> 00:33:11.700 a second chance, 00:33:11.800 --> 00:33:13.240 as amazing as that 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:13.740 would have been. 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:16.860 The point of the cross 00:33:16.860 --> 00:33:20.000 was to forgive you, 00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:21.360 redeem you, 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:22.740 rescue you, 00:33:22.900 --> 00:33:24.200 and draw you 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:25.120 into the presence 00:33:25.120 --> 00:33:25.740 of God 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.800 as a dearly 00:33:26.800 --> 00:33:28.100 loved daughter, 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:30.920 as a dearly 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:31.680 loved son, 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.980 who will get 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:34.519 to enjoy 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:35.320 that presence 00:33:35.320 --> 00:33:36.240 every day 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:36.740 for the rest 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:37.420 of their life 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:40.440 until we finally 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.259 get to go home 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:42.340 and enjoy it fully. 00:33:45.620 --> 00:33:46.519 The Gospel 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:47.580 doesn't just take you 00:33:47.580 --> 00:33:48.480 out from under 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:49.180 God's wrath, 00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:51.320 it draws you 00:33:51.320 --> 00:33:52.519 into His embrace. 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:55.740 It's what it is 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:56.480 to be a child, 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:00.400 to know the closeness 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:01.580 of your Heavenly Father, 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:03.960 in such a way 00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:05.120 that your moments 00:34:05.120 --> 00:34:05.799 of failure, 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:09.119 your moments 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:09.680 of doubt, 00:34:11.680 --> 00:34:12.680 are trumped 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:16.059 by the Father 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:16.639 who continues 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:17.440 to welcome you, 00:34:18.220 --> 00:34:19.519 by the Father 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:20.099 who continues 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:20.980 to care for you, 00:34:21.420 --> 00:34:22.840 by the Father 00:34:22.840 --> 00:34:23.940 who sacrificed 00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:24.539 His Son, 00:34:24.700 --> 00:34:25.000 Jesus, 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:26.980 to make sure 00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:27.619 you would know 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:28.320 security 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:30.840 and intimacy, 00:34:30.840 --> 00:34:33.280 and to make sure 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:33.960 that we would 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:34.600 know unity. 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:37.260 That's what it 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:37.740 means to be 00:34:37.740 --> 00:34:38.500 a child of God. 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:40.800 The Gospel 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:41.640 doesn't just take you 00:34:41.640 --> 00:34:42.380 out from under 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:43.039 God's wrath, 00:34:43.600 --> 00:34:44.840 it draws you 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:45.420 into His 00:34:45.420 --> 00:34:46.539 Fatherly embrace. 00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:49.580 Let me pray 00:34:49.580 --> 00:34:50.059 for us. 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:54.579 Father God, 00:34:54.659 --> 00:34:55.079 we want to 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:56.559 confess that 00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:57.699 so often, 00:34:57.860 --> 00:34:58.699 in spite of what 00:34:58.699 --> 00:34:59.239 You have done 00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:00.119 for us in Jesus, 00:35:00.739 --> 00:35:02.460 we spend our time 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:03.019 and energy 00:35:03.019 --> 00:35:03.900 worrying and 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.679 fearing that 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:06.279 somehow we could 00:35:06.279 --> 00:35:07.079 fall out 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:08.299 of Your love. 00:35:08.300 --> 00:35:11.500 we want to 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:12.280 confess that 00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:12.960 so often 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:13.660 where we take 00:35:13.660 --> 00:35:14.300 our doubts 00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:15.100 and our questions 00:35:15.100 --> 00:35:15.920 and our angers 00:35:15.920 --> 00:35:17.140 is the opposite 00:35:17.140 --> 00:35:18.740 of what will 00:35:18.740 --> 00:35:19.440 actually do any 00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:19.720 good. 00:35:21.539 --> 00:35:22.019 Father, 00:35:22.100 --> 00:35:22.400 we want to 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:23.039 ask that by 00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:23.680 Your Spirit 00:35:23.680 --> 00:35:24.000 You would 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:24.480 help us 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:25.140 to daily 00:35:25.140 --> 00:35:26.260 know the 00:35:26.260 --> 00:35:26.940 peace and 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:27.820 security of 00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:28.300 being Your 00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:28.740 child. 00:35:31.140 --> 00:35:31.820 Help us 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:32.560 to be people 00:35:32.560 --> 00:35:33.160 who can 00:35:33.160 --> 00:35:33.900 call out 00:35:33.900 --> 00:35:34.260 to You 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:34.720 as our 00:35:34.720 --> 00:35:35.019 Heavenly 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:35.400 Daddy, 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:37.860 who know 00:35:37.860 --> 00:35:38.180 that You 00:35:38.180 --> 00:35:38.740 welcome us 00:35:38.740 --> 00:35:39.780 exactly as 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:40.260 we are. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:43.500 Father, 00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:43.940 help us 00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:44.620 to be people 00:35:44.620 --> 00:35:45.160 who live 00:35:45.160 --> 00:35:45.780 seeking to 00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:46.480 serve You, 00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:48.079 seeking to 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:48.500 do Your 00:35:48.500 --> 00:35:49.120 work from 00:35:49.120 --> 00:35:49.780 a place 00:35:49.780 --> 00:35:50.640 of having 00:35:50.640 --> 00:35:51.480 been loved 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:52.760 rather than 00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:53.120 out of an 00:35:53.120 --> 00:35:53.740 insecurity 00:35:53.740 --> 00:35:54.519 or a desire 00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:55.000 to somehow 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:55.680 impress You. 00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:58.000 Father, 00:35:58.120 --> 00:35:58.440 thank You 00:35:58.440 --> 00:35:58.980 for Jesus 00:35:58.980 --> 00:36:01.340 who gave 00:36:01.340 --> 00:36:01.900 up what was 00:36:01.900 --> 00:36:02.420 rightfully 00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:02.900 His, 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:04.539 that we 00:36:04.539 --> 00:36:05.220 might enjoy 00:36:05.220 --> 00:36:05.920 the privilege 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:06.640 of being 00:36:06.640 --> 00:36:07.420 sons and 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:07.720 daughters. 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:11.760 Father, 00:36:11.820 --> 00:36:12.240 we pray 00:36:12.240 --> 00:36:12.780 that people 00:36:12.780 --> 00:36:13.220 would look 00:36:13.220 --> 00:36:13.640 at us 00:36:13.640 --> 00:36:14.280 and see 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:15.440 a joy, 00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:16.660 see a 00:36:16.660 --> 00:36:17.140 security, 00:36:17.340 --> 00:36:17.620 see an 00:36:17.620 --> 00:36:18.099 intimacy 00:36:18.099 --> 00:36:18.599 with You 00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:19.059 that is 00:36:19.059 --> 00:36:20.059 compelling. 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:22.400 We pray 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:23.300 that we 00:36:23.300 --> 00:36:24.000 would continue 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:24.620 to just 00:36:24.620 --> 00:36:25.400 meditate on 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:25.880 and soak 00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:26.140 in the 00:36:26.140 --> 00:36:26.760 reality of 00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:27.240 what Jesus 00:36:27.240 --> 00:36:27.800 has done 00:36:27.800 --> 00:36:28.320 in such a 00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:28.620 way that 00:36:28.620 --> 00:36:28.980 the world 00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:29.420 around us 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:30.019 would see 00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:30.900 and need 00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:31.980 the love 00:36:31.980 --> 00:36:32.240 that You 00:36:32.240 --> 00:36:32.660 have shown 00:36:32.660 --> 00:36:32.900 them. 00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:35.880 Father, 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:36.380 we ask 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:36.599 that You 00:36:36.599 --> 00:36:36.960 would help 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:37.400 us, 00:36:38.059 --> 00:36:38.599 those of 00:36:38.599 --> 00:36:38.920 us who 00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:39.339 have been 00:36:39.339 --> 00:36:39.719 adopted 00:36:39.719 --> 00:36:40.199 into Your 00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:40.579 family, 00:36:40.579 --> 00:36:41.400 to live 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:42.000 as Your 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:42.440 children. 00:36:44.279 --> 00:36:44.799 But God, 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:45.460 just lastly, 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:46.099 if there is 00:36:46.099 --> 00:36:46.559 anyone in 00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:46.980 this room 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:47.440 who doesn't 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:47.980 yet know 00:36:47.980 --> 00:36:49.500 what it is 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:50.000 to be loved 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:50.440 like that, 00:36:51.880 --> 00:36:52.519 I pray that 00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:53.019 tonight might 00:36:53.019 --> 00:36:53.339 be their 00:36:53.339 --> 00:36:55.519 night where 00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:56.199 maybe for the 00:36:56.199 --> 00:36:56.940 first time 00:36:56.940 --> 00:36:58.639 they experience 00:36:58.639 --> 00:36:59.259 Your 00:36:59.259 --> 00:37:00.059 Fatherly 00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:00.639 presence, 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:02.819 Your 00:37:02.819 --> 00:37:03.159 warm 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:03.779 embrace, 00:37:06.359 --> 00:37:06.940 Your 00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:07.779 unchanging, 00:37:08.819 --> 00:37:09.699 irreversible 00:37:09.699 --> 00:37:11.920 love, 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:13.960 forgiveness, 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:15.460 care, 00:37:15.739 --> 00:37:16.219 goodness. 00:37:17.339 --> 00:37:17.980 God, we 00:37:17.980 --> 00:37:18.500 just thank You 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:18.739 that You're 00:37:18.739 --> 00:37:19.379 powerful enough 00:37:19.379 --> 00:37:19.900 to do that 00:37:19.900 --> 00:37:20.400 and we ask 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:20.619 that if 00:37:20.619 --> 00:37:21.199 somebody needs 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:21.719 that tonight 00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:22.299 that You 00:37:22.299 --> 00:37:22.599 would do 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:23.119 that work. 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:24.619 We pray it 00:37:24.619 --> 00:37:24.839 in Your 00:37:24.839 --> 00:37:25.379 Son's name. 00:37:26.219 --> 00:37:26.500 Amen. 00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:26.579 Amen.