THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT
PROGRAM AIR DATE: 8-22-2021
LESSON TITLE: WHAT IS MAN? – HEIR WITH CHRIST
WELCOME
IN GENESIS 1:1 WE READ, "IN THE BEGINNING, "GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH." THIS MORNING AND IT IS BEFORE THIS AWESOME, GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD, WHICH WE ASSEMBLE THAT WE MIGHT PRAISE LORD AND MAGNIFY HIS WONDROUS NAME. AND WE'RE SO GLAD THAT YOU HAVE JOINED US THIS LORD'S DAY FOR THE LIVING WORD PROGRAM. AND WE WOULD ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU TO DO YOUR OWN PART AS WE ENGAGE IN THESE OFFERINGS BEFORE GOD'S THRONE THAT WE MIGHT DO EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO HIS PERFECT WILL AND ULTIMATELY, BE FOUND PLEASING IN HIS SIDE. AS WE BEGIN OUR HOMAGE TO GOD THIS MORNING, WILL YOU BOW WITH ME AS WE APPROACH OUR FATHER'S THRONE IN PRAYER.
PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, AGAIN, WE APPROACH YOU AND WE ARE THANKFUL, THANKFUL THAT YOU ARE GOD, THANKFUL FOR THE GIFT OF YOUR SON, JESUS, AND THANKFUL FOR THE THINGS WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS DONE AND REVEALED TO US. AND FATHER, WE ASK THIS DAY THAT YOU WILL HELP US TO STUDY, TO WORSHIP, TO GROW IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH. THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO NOT ONLY DO WHAT YOU HAVE ASKED BUT GIVE YOU GLORY AND PRAISE IN ALL THINGS. THAT YOU MIGHT BE PLEASED WITH ALL THAT WE OFFER AND THAT WE MIGHT ULTIMATELY BE FOUND ACCEPTABLE IN YOUR SIDE. AND FATHER, WHEN THIS LIFE IS OVER, GIVE US THAT GREAT REWARD OF HEAVEN THAT IS ONLY OFFERED TO THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL. FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR THE AVENUE OF PRAYER AND IT'S IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.
WELL, IT'S ALREADY TIME TO BEGIN OUR SONGS OF PRAISE. LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN IN WITH THE CONGREGATION AT THIS TIME, AS WE SING TOGETHER, “THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD.”
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, WE FIND THAT EVERY PERIOD AND EVERY AGE THAT THERE WERE MANY WHO REJECTED GOD. MANY REJECTED GOD BECAUSE THEY WERE PAGANS OR MAYBE THEY FOLLOWED OTHER GODS OF SOME SORT. HOWEVER, WHAT IS REALLY AMAZING TO ME IS THAT WITH ALL THE PROOF AND EVIDENCES, WHICH WE HAVE CONCERNING GOD AND HIS WORD TODAY, THAT MANY EVEN IN OUR WORLD STILL BELIEVE IN A DIFFERENT GOD OR EVEN GODS, HOW SAD THIS REALITY IS. CERTAINLY THOSE MISSING OUT ON THE OPPORTUNITY OF ETERNAL LIFE AND SALVATION. OH, THAT WE WOULD ALL OPEN UP OUR HEARTS AND MINDS TO THOSE THINGS FOUND IN THE WORD OF GOD AND NOT BE GUILTY AS THOSE WHO HAVE REJECTED HIM. HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT THE TRUTH IS REAL AND THAT IT GUIDES US IN ALL THINGS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE LIFE NOW AND LIFE FOREVER MORE. BUT THE PROBLEM HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN WITH GOD, HAS IT? THE PROBLEM HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH MAN. BECAUSE OF MAN'S WICKEDNESS AND HIS DESIRE TO DO WHAT HE WANTS, THAT'S THE REASON THAT PEOPLE CHOOSE TO REJECT GOD OR GOD'S WILL AND THUS DO THINGS THEIR OWN WAY. SO WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GOD BEING THE ONLY TRUE GOD? WELL, MOSES PROCLAIMED THESE VERY WORDS IN DEUTERONOMY 4:39. THERE WE READ, "THEREFORE, KNOW THIS DAY "AND CONSIDERING YOUR HEART, THAT THE LORD HIMSELF IS GOD, "THE GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND THE EARTH BENEATH "AND THERE'S NO OTHER GOD." TRULY GOD ALONE IS GOD AND THERE IS NO OTHER. ISAIAH SAID SOMETHING SIMILAR WHEN HE SAID, "INDEED, THERE IS NO OTHER ROCK, "I KNOW NOT ONE," ISAIAH 44:8. AGAIN, IN ANOTHER PASSAGE IN CHAPTER 46 OF ISAIAH, WE HEAR HIM PROCLAIM, "FOR I AM GOD AND THERE IS NO OTHER, "I AM GOD AND THERE'S NONE LIKE ME." EVEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WE SEE THAT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF CONFIRMS THESE SAME TRUTHS. IN FACT, IN 1 CORINTHIANS 8:4 WE READ, "THERE IS NO OTHER GOD, BUT ONE." PAUL ALSO TOLD THE EPHESIANS BRETHREN THAT THERE IS ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL WHO IS ABOVE ALL, THROUGH ALL AND IN YOU ALL. THAT'S FOUND IN EPHESIANS 4 AND EVEN JAMES DECLARED THIS TRUTH. IN JAMES 2:19, IN HIS BOOK, WHERE WE AGAIN SEE THE IDEA THAT THERE IS A GOD BUT THERE IS BUT ONE GOD. SO WE CAN SEE THAT GOD IS STRONGLY CONFIRMED AS BEING THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD. THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE US FOR HE ALONE IS THE CREATOR AND GIVER OF ALL. OH, WHAT A WONDROUS, LOVING GOD WE SERVE. AND SO WHAT ABOUT YOU IN RELATIONSHIP TO THESE THINGS? HAVE YOU RESPONDED TO THAT GREAT LOVE OF GOD AND THE TRUTH THAT IS FOUND IN HIS WORD? HAVE YOU SHOWN GOD THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT HE IS GOD AND GOD ALONE AND THAT YOU'LL GIVE YOURSELF FULLY TO HIM, BY NOT ONLY CONFESSING HIS NAME, REPENTING OF YOUR SINS, BUT BEING BAPTIZED EVEN THIS DAY, IF NEED BE? PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT WITH GOD AND THEREFORE, ALSO BE READY TO GIVE YOUR LIFE FULLY TO HIM AND SERVE HIM THAT YOU MIGHT NOT ONLY BE BLESSED NOW BUT BLESSED FOREVER.
THIS MORNING, WE'LL BE CONTINUING OUR SERIES OF DISCUSSION, WHICH IS ENTITLED, "WHAT IS MAN?" OUR SPECIFIC MESSAGE OF THE MORNING WILL DEAL WITH THE HEIR WITH CHRIST. SO PLEASE STAY WITH US THIS MORNING AND AFTER OUR NEXT SONG TOGETHER, I WILL BE LEADING US IN THE MAIN THOUGHTS OF THE DAY. BUT FOR NOW, LET'S JOIN TOGETHER IN THE SECOND SONG IN THE MORNING, THE NAME OF THE HYMN, I'LL LIVE FOR HIM.
LESSON
BY RAY SULLINS
WE DO APPRECIATE YOU CONTINUING WITH US THIS MORNING AS WE NOW RETURN TO GOD'S WORD AND LOOK AT ANOTHER LESSON IN RELATIONSHIP TO THAT QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED WITHIN THE PSALMS, WHAT IS MAN? AND TOGETHER WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE VARIETY OF ASPECTS THAT REALLY DEAL WITH MAN IN CONNECTION TO THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE NOT ONLY IS GOD'S CREATION BUT THAT WE'RE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. WE ALSO HAVE THE NATURE OF MAN OR THE FLESH AND EVEN LAST WEEK, WE LOOKED AT THE IDEA OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. AND SO THIS MORNING, WE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT YET ANOTHER IDEA THAT IS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE THAT IS REALLY EXCITING AND ALSO AT THE SAME TIME UNIQUE AS WE ARE DESCRIBED AS THE HEIRS OF GOD. AND SO WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CONCEPT TO THINK ABOUT, WHAT AN HEIR IS. IF YOU WERE TO GO WITH ME TO THE BOOK OF ROMANS 8, WE WANT TO LOOK AT A VERSE THERE IN JUST A MOMENT THAT WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF THE SETUP FROM WHERE WE CAME LAST WEEK IN LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE AS CHILDREN OF GOD, THEREFORE, HAVE A FATHER OR A PART OF A FAMILY. AND WHAT WE KNOW WITHIN A FAMILY IS THAT OFTEN IS THE CASE THAT A FAMILY WILL HAVE, IT'S A UNIT AND MAYBE ITS OFFSPRING AND AT SOME POINT WHEN THOSE WHO ARE OLDER DIE, THEY MIGHT LEAVE THINGS IN THE NAME OF, OR FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND. SO A GRANDPARENT OR A GRANDFATHER OR GRANDMOTHER MIGHT LEAVE SOME KIND OF A SPECIAL HEIRLOOM OR SOMETIMES IT MIGHT BE MONEY OR IT MIGHT BE SOME SORT OF THING THAT THE HAVE REALLY GIVEN OVER OR SAID IT, UPON MY DEATH, I WANT IT TO BE THIS PERSONS. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THAT IDEA OF AN HEIR, WE ALSO SEE THAT WITHIN A SPECIFIC FAMILY SOMETIMES THE FAMILY UNIT OF A FATHER AND A MOTHER AND SOMETIMES, AGAIN, THAT FATHER AND THAT MOTHER WILL LEAVE SOMETHING TO THEIR CHILDREN. SO WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN HEIR IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE. AS WE LOOK HERE THOUGH, WE SEE THAT THIS IS THE VERY DESCRIPTIVE CONCEPT THAT GOD IS USING IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE TO COMPARE TO THE PHYSICAL THAT WE ALREADY UNDERSTAND. AND SO THAT IS THE CASE BEGINNING THERE IN VERSE 16 OF ROMANS 8. READ WITH ME, IF YOU WILL THERE. "THE SPIRIT HIMSELF BEARS WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT, "THAT WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD." SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE LEARN IS THAT GOD NOT ONLY KNOWS US BUT HE KNOWS WHO WE ARE. AND AS WE HAVE BECOME HIS FOLLOWERS AND THAT'S REALLY A WHILE BACK UP IN VERSE 13, IT TALKS ABOUT THAT WE DIED TO THE DEEDS OF THE OLD MAN. WE BECOME A NEW MAN, A NEW CREATION, WE'RE FOLLOWERS OF GOD. VERSE 14 SAYS WE'RE SONS OF GOD. BUT THEN WHEN IT SAYS THAT BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO KNOW GOD AND FOLLOW GOD AND I'VE NOW BEEN OBEDIENT TO GOD, I AM CONSIDERED AS A CHILD OF GOD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD'S SPIRIT HIMSELF KNOWS AND IN A SENSE, COMMUNICATES WITH OUR SPIRIT AS WE ARE STRIVING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT WE ARE WHAT? HIS CHILDREN. SO WHAT A BEAUTIFUL THING AND THAT AGAIN, IS WHAT WE LOOKED AT LAST WEEK. THIS UNDERSTANDING FROM 1 JOHN 1, WHAT KIND OF LOVE DID GOD HAVE FOR US THAT HE WOULD WHAT? THAT HE WOULD CALL US CHILDREN. GOD SAYS, I'M A FATHER AND I WANT CHILDREN, THOUSANDS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND, MILLIONS OF CHILDREN. WE MIGHT WANT CHILDREN IN LIFE AND WE MIGHT EVEN WANT SEVERAL OR MANY CHILDREN BUT THAT MANY? BUT GOD SAYS SPIRITUALLY, I WANT CHILDREN. GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO BE HIS FAITHFUL CHILD.
NOW YOU AND I WELL KNOW IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT MANY DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AND THEY DO NOT FOLLOW GOD AND THEY WILL NOT DESIRE TO BE HIS CHILDREN. BUT FOR THOSE WHO DO RESPOND, THEY ARE WHAT? WE LEARN HERE, CHILDREN OF GOD, AND GOD KNOWS IT. GOD KNOWS IT. IN FACT, I LOVE THAT IDEA. IF YOU GO AND YOU DO A WORD SEARCH OR YOU DO A LITTLE BIT OF A STUDY FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, I LOVE THAT IDEA THAT GOD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS. GOD KNOWS HIS PEOPLE. GOD KNOWS HIS CHILDREN. THE SAME WAY I, AS A FATHER, I KNOW WHO MY CHILDREN ARE. I KNOW WHO MY DESCENDANTS ARE. YOU SEE, GOD KNOWS. SO, YOU CAN'T FOOL GOD. GOD KNOWS WHETHER YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS, WHETHER YOU'RE STRIVING AS A SON OF GOD TO DO WHAT IS PROPER. GOD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS. AND SO AS THOSE WHO ARE HIS, AS THOSE WHO ARE HIS CHILDREN THEN, WHAT IS THE BENEFITS OF BEING A CHILD? WELL, VERSE 17 THEN SAYS, SO IF WE'RE CHILDREN AND WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT, THEN WE ARE HEIRS. AND HE SAYS, "HEIRS OF GOD." SO TWICE HE SAYS WE ARE AS CHILDREN, HIS HEIR, SO WE ARE NOT ONLY HIS DESCENDANTS BUT WE ARE RECIPIENTS OF THOSE THINGS THAT HE HAS LEFT FOR US AND SO THEREFORE, WE ARE HIS HEIRS AND GOD'S HEIRS, NOT JUST ANYONE'S HEIRS. SO, MY CHILDREN WOULD BE HEIRS DIRECTLY OF ME AS THEIR FATHER. AND THE SAME THING WOULD BE TRUE OF MYSELF WITH MY FATHER. WE ARE DIRECT HEIRS, NOT ONLY IN THE IDEA OF POSSESSIONS BUT ALSO IN NAME AND IN MAYBE AGAIN, THOSE CONCEPTS OF THINGS THAT WE THINK OF, OF WHAT IS CARRIED ON IN CHARACTER AND SUCH THROUGHOUT A FAMILY. YOU SEE, WE ARE THOSE HEIRS. WE HAVE RECEIVED CERTAIN SORT OF BENEFITS AND REWARD AND HELP IN RELATIONSHIP TO BEING A PART OF A FAMILY AND UNDER THE HOUSEHOLD, SO TO SPEAK, OF OUR PARENTS. AND SO AS GOD IS OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER, WE AGAIN, ARE THOSE HEIRS, HEIRS OF GOD, NOT ANY GOD, THE GOD, THE ONE TRUE GOD. SO WE ARE HEIRS OF GOD BUT THEN HE SAYS, "AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST." OH, THAT'S EVEN A MORE BEAUTIFUL CONCEPT BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE WE THE CHILD OF GOD AND THEREFORE AN HEIR OF GOD BUT WE ALSO ARE HEIRS TOGETHER WITH. NOW WHO IS CHRIST? OH, YOU AND I WELL KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD, NOT A SON OF GOD LIKE WE ARE, BUT THE SON OF GOD, AS HE WAS GOD COME IN THE FLESH, THE FULLNESS OF HIS GLORY, AS PAUL SAYS TO THE COLOSSIANS. HE ALSO SAYS THAT TO THE ROMANS THERE IN ROMANS 1. THAT THE FULLNESS THAT GOD HAD AND THE REPRESENTATION IN COLOSSIANS WE LEARN IS THAT JESUS WAS BODILY THE REPRESENTATION OF THE GODHEAD. JESUS IS GOD. HE IS THE SON OF GOD, THE ONLY SON BORN OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY AND THROUGH THE VIRGIN MARY. YOU SEE, WE ARE HEIRS, HEIRS AS CHILDREN OF GOD BUT WE ARE HEIRS AS CHILDREN BY ADOPTION. THE ONE WHO IS A TRUE SON AS OF AND BY AND THROUGH LITERALLY THE SEED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS JESUS CHRIST. SO WE ARE HEIRS BUT THEN IT SAYS WE ARE HEIRS TOGETHER WITH HIM. SO EVEN THOUGH I'M ONE OF ADOPTION AS A GENTILE, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN BORN IN TO THE FAITH, SO TO SPEAK, OR THE OLD LAW OR SUCH THING. SO, AS ONE WHO HAS BEEN GRAFTED IN OR ADOPTED INTO THE SERVICE OF GOD, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL IDEA THAT I HAVE A SONSHIP OR A DAUGHTERSHIP, SO TO SPEAK AND THEREFORE, I AM AN HEIR. BUT NOT JUST AN HEIR BUT AN HEIR EVEN WITH THE LEGITIMATE CHILD. NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY CHILDREN THAT ARE ADOPTED, EXCEPT FOR, WE MIGHT SAY IN THE SENSE OF, I HAVE A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND A SON-IN-LAW THAT ARE LIKE MY OWN CHILDREN. BUT YOU AND I WELL KNOW THAT WHEN YOU ADOPT A CHILD LEGALLY, OR WHEN YOU BRING MORE PEOPLE INTO THE FAMILY, THEY'RE NOT LESS TO YOUR BIRTH CHILDREN, THEY'RE EQUAL TO, AND THEY ARE TREATED THE SAME. AND THEREFORE, AS THEY TAKE YOUR NAME OR THE NAME OF YOU, THEN WHAT DO THEY HAVE? THEY HAVE CERTAINLY EQUALITY AS HEIRS AS IS BEING INDICATED HERE. SO THIS IS SPIRITUALLY. WE, LIKE JESUS, HAVE THE ABILITY TO PARTAKE AS HEIRS IN CERTAIN THINGS AND THEN WHAT'S INTERESTING IS WHAT THE VERSE CLARIFIES THERE IN VERSE 17. THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT HE MAKES MENTION OF. HE SAYS, "WE CAN TAKE PART AS HEIRS, INDEED, "AS WE SUFFER WITH HIM AND THAT ALSO WE ARE THOSE "WHO TAKE PART WITH HIM, JESUS, AS HEIRS "AS THOSE WHO WILL BE GLORIFIED TOGETHER." SO REMEMBER JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO RETURN TO HEAVEN AND WAS ABLE TO BE WITH HIS FATHER AND THEREFORE, HE AS AN HEIR RECEIVED THAT INHERITANCE, THAT THRONE WE MIGHT SAY IN HEAVEN. SO AS HE WAS GLORIFIED, AS HE WAS LIFTED UP BY THE FATHER, WE ALSO WILL BE LIFTED UP AND WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK TO THAT IN JUST A MOMENT.
BUT HERE THE FIRST THING WE SEE IS THAT HE SUFFERED. SO, WE SHARE IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. CHILDREN WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THEIR FAMILIES, WHO LOVE THEIR FATHER ARE GOING TO BE WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES THAT THEY'VE BEEN TOLD TO DO, WHETHER IT'S POPULAR OR NOT AND GUESS WHAT? THEY'RE GOING TO BE WILLING TO SUFFER AND JESUS WAS. REMEMBER WHAT WE READ IN PHILIPPIANS 1:29. "FOR TO YOU, IT HAS BEEN GRANTED ON BEHALF OF CHRIST, "NOT ONLY TO BELIEVE IN HIM "BUT ALSO TO SUFFER FOR HIS SAKE." THAT'S WHAT HE'S TELLING THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI. NOT THAT YOU MIGHT SUFFER, YOU WILL SUFFER FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST. AND THEN YOU MIGHT RECALL WITH ME DOWN IN CHAPTER TWO OF THIS BOOK IS WHERE IT SAYS THAT JESUS HUMBLED HIMSELF, EVEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH ON THE CROSS FOR YOUR SINS AND MY SINS. HE HUMBLED HIMSELF TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BECOME WHAT? THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME LIKENED TO HIM AND WEAR THE NAME, THE NAME OF GOD. SO WHAT A BEAUTIFUL THOUGHT AGAIN. WE ARE ABLE TO SHARE IN THE SUFFERINGS, ALL ASPECTS OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM THAT CERTAINLY HAS BEEN OFFERED TO US IN AND THROUGH THE GREAT SACRIFICE AND THE SHEDDING OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. AND THEREFORE WE ARE HEIRS. SO IF MY FAMILY SUFFERS IN AND BY THEIR NAME, GUESS WHAT? I SUFFER, I SUFFER. IF MY LORD SUFFERS, I SUFFER. IF MY GOD SUFFERS, I SUFFER. I SHARE AS AN HEIR IN EVEN THE SUFFERINGS OF THOSE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE A PART OF LIFE, OF THOSE THINGS THAT AT TIMES MIGHT BE DIFFICULT FOR US TO BEAR. BUT THEN SECONDLY, I SUFFER AS ONE WHO IS GLORIFIED. SO WE'RE NOT SUFFERING NECESSARILY BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE OUR FIRST CHOICE BUT WE SUFFER BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE ARE RESULTS TO FAITHFULNESS, WHETHER SUFFERING OR WHETHER GOOD DAYS IN GLADNESS AND TIMES ARE HAPPY, WE STILL HAVE WHAT? WE STILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A REWARD. AND SO AS JESUS WAS LIFTED UP, AS JESUS WAS GLORIFIED, GUESS WHAT WE WILL ALSO SHARE IN? WE WILL SHARE IN THE GLORY OF GOD, NOT BECAUSE WE ARE GOD OR WILL EVER BE GOD BUT BECAUSE WE, AS HIS CHILDREN, ARE GOING TO BE LIFTED UP TO BE WITH HIM OR A PART OF HIM. THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE SAID, IN PLACES WHERE WE CAN SEE THIS IDEA AND I'D LIKE TO TURN OVER TO THE LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, AND LOOK THERE WITH ME IN CHAPTER ONE. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF CHAPTER ONE IS THE VERSE THAT WE FIND THERE, VERSE SIX. AND IT SAYS HERE SPECIFICALLY SOMETHING THAT GOD HAS DONE. GOD, THE FATHER, AGAIN, THROUGH THE WILL OF GOD SPOKEN AND RECORDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND REVEALED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. AND THAT THING THAT HE HAS DONE IS THIS. IT SAYS, "HE HAS MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS "TO HIS GOD AND FATHER." JESUS, AS THE SON HAS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE SHEDDING OF HIS BLOOD, THE ABILITY THAT I MIGHT BECOME A PART OF THE KINGDOM, ROYALTY AND MY GOD IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS AND THE GOD OF GODS AND THE ONLY TRUE GOD THEN GUESS WHAT THAT MAKES ME? A CHILD OF THE KING, A CHILD OF GOD. SEE SPIRITUALLY, IMAGINE HOW I'M A PART OF THAT KINGDOM AND REPRESENTATIVE IN THAT SENSE THAT I DON'T GO THROUGH ANYONE ELSE. I'M HIS CHILD, I'M HIS CHILD AND THEREFORE, HE IS MY GOD AND I AM ROYALTY. THE BIBLE OFTEN SPEAKS OF THE ROYAL BANNER AND THE ROYAL NAME AND THOSE THINGS THAT IDENTIFY US AS SPECIAL, WHY? UNIQUE BECAUSE WE ARE GOD'S PEOPLE. YOU SEE IF MY GOD IS A KING, I'M A PRINCE. AND IF YOU ARE A LADY AND YOUR GOD IS KING, YOU ARE A PRINCESS. YOU SEE, HOW IT MAKES US SPECIAL, HOW WE ARE LIFTED UP, HOW WE ARE GLORIFIED WHEN WE ARE RIGHT? AND A PART OF THE FAMILY. WE MIGHT NOT ONLY SUFFER AT TIMES BUT WE WILL BE GLORIFIED, WE'LL BE REWARDED. WE'LL HAVE THE BLESSINGS OF THAT NAME AS WELL. AND CERTAINLY THAT'S BECAUSE WE CHOOSE TO NOT ONLY KNOW GOD BUT TO WEAR THE NAME THAT HE GAVE US. IN CHAPTER 14 AND VERSE ONE, IT SAYS THAT THE NAME OF THE FATHER WAS WRITTEN ON THEIR HEAD THOSE IN HEAVEN. AND AGAIN, IN CHAPTER 22 AND VERSE FOUR, IT SAYS AGAIN, "AND AS THOSE WERE BEFORE THE THRONE, "THAT THE NAME OF THE FATHER WAS ON THEIR HEADS." YOU SEE, AGAIN, WE ARE CHILDREN, WE WEAR THE NAME. WE ARE CHRISTIANS. WE ARE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY KNOW GOD BUT HAVE CHOSEN TO GIVE OUR LIVES TO GOD AND THEREFORE, WHILE WE KNOW THAT WE WERE HIS NAME AND WE SHOULD WEAR IT PROUDLY BECAUSE AS CHILDREN, AS SONS AND HEIRS, WE ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT ONLY RECIPIENTS OF THE BLESSING THAT GOD WILL GIVE HIS CHILDREN TODAY BUT ALSO THOSE BLESSINGS AND REWARDS HE WILL GIVE THEM ETERNALLY. PLEASE LIVE TODAY AND EVERY DAY TO THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF GOD THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.
CLOSING COMMENTS
LET ME THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US THIS DAY AND THIS OFFERING TO GOD. I HOPE OUR TIME HAS BEEN AN ENCOURAGEMENT AND A BLESSING TO US ALL AND WE INVITE YOU BACK EVERY LORD'S DAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO THIS TIME OF WORSHIP BEFORE GOD'S THRONE.
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HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO BE CALLED HEIRS TOGETHER WITH CHRIST AND TO KNOW OF ALL THE BLESSINGS AND REWARDS OUR FATHER HAS IN STORE FOR US. WE TRULY SERVE A LOVING AND CARING GOD. ARE YOU COMMITTED TO SUCH A GOD TODAY?