March 9, 2025. Galatians 3:15-4:7
If you've got a Bible in front of you, please keep it up. Then, Paige 973. If you bottle, I'm going to be following the text quite closely, so it is going to help you a lot by having a Bible as an in front of you. Okay, well let's pray and ask for God's help to understand his word this morning. I pray that you so graciously condescend to us as to speak to us what we can understand was the CLIA father. Please give us clarity about what your word would teach us this morning. Father please help us to understand that these are words from a heavenly father to his Son's and Daughter's Father, please help us to understand the identity, the new identity that you have given us as your children, this morning and I pray these things in your son Jesus name. Amen. Okay. Is everyone here is familiar with the musical. Annie everyone saying. Any, yeah, I got one hands. At least that's what I'm going with you. I got a couple of the back here, yet musical. Any, any is kind of like your classic rags to riches top story, isn't it? And he's an orphan. She lives at this orphanage, run by the nasty cruel, caretaker, Miss Hannigan. And and his wife at the orphanage is pretty pretty miserable. As she's got no prospects, she's got another hug. But then, in steps this guy, all of a wall box and everything changes for any He's a local billionaire. He invites a need to come spend Christmas at the warlocks mansion and when she shows up all of them will boxes. So impressed by this little girl Annie, so enamored with her that she adopts a, he adopts her as His daughter. Do you say just like anywhere? We're a bit like we're a bit like anywhere under a cruel Castaic on the law and our lives. When miserable we had no prospects, we had no but then God, the Father, a dumb stuff, he gives us sure he gives us future. He gives us hope and above all he welcomes us into his family forever. The Annie's life was changed Forever by her encounter with Oliver warbuck and our lives have been changed Forever by Alan encounter with God. So this is the doctrine of adoption at the way I told me about this morning, the doctrine of adoption a few weeks ago, we looked at the doctrine of justification, the good news that God in Christ, he counts us as righteous with flowing directly out of the doctrine of justification is adoption. That is God. Fully accept us in Christ and he welcomes us into his family as a result. So this is where Paul is taking us in Chapter 4, verses 1 to 7 and it's Chapter 4. Verses 1 to 7 where I really want to camp out this morning. But before we get there, let me just summarize. Paul's argument from chapter 3 verses 15 to 29 which are an ulcer right out for us this morning. The Paul is continuing his argument from last week. That were justified by faith not works, but he raises a couple of questions to clarify his argument first in verses 15 to 18. Pull off the question. He says, does the law given by Moses cancel out God's promise to Abraham? And pole dancer, I know it doesn't the promise still stands the Lord which comes later doesn't override. What God has already declared seconds in verses. 19 to 22. Pull off the follow-up question. He says if the inheritance God's blessing and favor comes by promise and not by law. Then why was the law given in the first place? Olanta the law was put in place to reveal soon so that we might recognize I'll need for God's promise, right? The Ten Commandments the Lord is there to show you that you need to save. It's not. There is kind of some moral hobby project for us to complete. All right, so the Lord is kind of like a Miss Hannigan sort of figure. It's a guardian. It's a disciplinarian keeping us in check pointing us to cry. Now, the Lord is meant to show us and it's meant to show us a slavery to spin and I'll need for rescue. That's the purpose of the law. It was never, it was never intended as a pop off of Salvation, right? But if you can do everything that the law of this stuff, then you're then you're good. Whole case has asked that because Christ is come. We are no longer under the strict rule of Miss Hannigan. The laws guardianship through faith. We are sons of God, fully accepted and free and this is true to anyone who believes whether you're Jew, Gentile doesn't matter. We all share in the same promise and belong to the same family of Abraham by face. All who trust in the sun? I got adopted son. All right, so that's versus 15229 summer, I saw you there but where I really want to camp out this morning is this is 127 127. So I keep all is unpacking adoption. The doctrine of adoption you telling us what it's all about and he unpacked it in three stages, okay? Best khatrimaza address is 123 s. God purchases, on vs425 and third, God pledges to us 6272. God prepares us for adoption. He, he pushes his ass for adoption and he pledges to us as his adopted true children. Okay? So we're looking at the three stages of our adoption. The First Dates is that God prepares us God intends for the law. The Mosaic law of the Ten Commandments to create in us a longing for the day, when we're going to be free from it. God intends for the law to prepare, has to be children of God. Imagine you're a child for a moment. You're the heir to an incredible Fortune. It's yours by promise. You know, you got your father's word, when he passes away, you will inherit his entire estate. It's yours by promised, but it's not yours by experience because you haven't reached the age when you are eligible to receive the inheritance. So, even though the whole estate is yours intitle in one sense, you're no better than a Slave. You on the Guardians, who control everything? You got people pointing you around, telling you which way to go, when not to go to how to spend your money, how not to spend your money, you got no freedom. You're the rightful heir to everything but you're locked up like a prisoner. Until your father, releases your inheritance in some respects, you know, that our offense life, you caught a little more freedom than a play. Locked up in your house. Well this is Paul's point in verses 12 to a chapter 4. He says I mean that the heir as long as he is a child is no different from a slave, there he is the owner of everything, but he is on the Guardians and manages until the date set by his father. Now. Give me about a couple of things here. He's talking about the Lauren Israel, which I cannot get into this morning. We don't have the time but he's also talking about the Laura and us Look at those three. He says, in the same way, we also, when we were children were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Now we're going to talk about a little bit more about what the elementary principles of the world means next week because it appears again. But the important takeaway here is that we're all in a sense under the law with only innocent under the law. I mean, even if you've never read the Bible, even if you don't know who this Moses guys, is this Moses guy? Is your under the law. Why? Because we are all trying to measure up to some standing. I withhold at some idea of who we want to be where we want to go, how we want to do it. And we all feel anxious and weighed down when we fail to meet that standed, right? And I don't know about you but I just wish I could break the cycle. I just wish I could be free from all the guilt and the self-condemnation that comes along. With that Ryan, the feeling of never meeting up to your expectations. Or never meeting expectations. You could save others have of you. Well, that's how the child are filled in this little illustration, the child Longs for the day. When he'll be free from his slavery, to the Guardians, these people telling him where to go or what to do long for the day, when his father will give him his inheritance. and, We long for the same thing that we long for the day. When I was slavery to the law is finished. When there's no more guilt. There's no more like niggling anxiety. There's no more expectation. There's no pressure to be someone to do something.
well, the good news is that the day has come Look at this.
But when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son, born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who under the law so that we might receive adoption at Sun.
Who is going to buy us out of all slavery to the law? Who is going to break the chains? It's Jesus. Jesus saves us from a slavery to the Lord. Jesus Is Our Redeemer. Now, you know Christians, we love that word. That way you often hear Christians, talk about, you know, saying my I've been redeemed, always sing songs. Like there is a redeemer, we use the word Allah, but we stopped to actually think what the word means, Let me give you an example have as anyone who sings Lady. I don't think why did everyone think lady Ida Admittedly Gladiator is probably more about revenge then Redemption but it's not entirely absent. So I'm going to go with that. I'm going to use that as my example, as a general in the Roman army and then has betrayed sold into slavery. After his family is knotted I commented But everything changes when he meets this guy Proxima. Proxima is a gladiator trainer who buys Maximus out of slavery and gives him a chance at Freedom in the Gladiator games. And this isn't a perfect example because he's bothering him out of slavery, into a different kind of slavery, but the point is Proxima buys Maximus out of slavery. He redeems Maximus. Right. And that's what the word means. That's exactly where the language comes from to. It's the language of the slave trade, right to redeem. Someone means to buy them out of slavery. And Chrysler things off at about slavery to the law. God, in Christ. Purchases US for himself. That's the second stage of all adoption.
God in Christ patch at the docks for himself. And Jesus he is he is the only one who is in a position to do this, right? Look at verse for again, what does it say? God sent forth. His son calls him for his son. Think about that. Is it is Jesus? Just an average guy just like everybody else not, he's fully Divine. God sent his son, right? We're not just talkin about love on the straight. Jesus is fully Divine, but he is born of a woman. Jesus is fully man. And what else he is? Born under the law that is, he is subject to God's law just like everybody else.
The quote, John Stott.
If he had not been man, he could not have redeemed men. If he had not been godson, he could not have retained men for God or made them sons of God. In a word. Only Christ can succeed where everybody else fails. He perfectly fulfilled, the righteousness of the law, he came down, he lived the perfect life. When nobody else could. Only Christ can Redeemer. God in Christ, purchases US for himself. Now, that's a pretty incredible thought isn't it? Redemption. Redemption is incredible. Why God won't want to purchase slaves for himself?
It's not like he owes us anything. That Jesus God's son would pay with his own life to buy. Someone like me out of slavery. It's incredible that God would do such a thing. Absolutely mind-blowing but he is the craziest part. Redemption isn't God's endgame. That's not the goal of redemption. Is redemption a cell adoption. Is God and gang. God's purpose in Redemption is adoption. The whole reason why he wants to buy us out about slavery to the lawyers to make a Sons and Daughters of God. God wants to make slaves. His son's wants to make slaves, his sons. God, sent forth his son to redeem those who are under the law. Why why did God sent forth his son? Why did Jesus come? So that we might receive adoption is done. It's a text.
and now if God has redeemed, you If you profess faith in Christ. If you are a child of God, you are son or daughter of God. And if you are a son or daughter of God, the spirit of God has been sent into your heart. You know, Perhaps, Perhaps it was enough for God, just to say, unit America's his Sons & Daughters on taipa to just write it down on a piece of paper on a legal document filed away in the filing cabinet of heaven and forget about it, you know, maybe it was enough. For us to just be God's children by status. A God doesn't settle at this. Look at the six Paul says and because you are Sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts into the the seat of Allen motions of desires. I will. And what's it doing? That is crying out. Father Abba, Father.
You know, we're not simply God's children by name as if God was a father by name. That is some distance in a father of there, somewhere out there in the Utah. Not the spirit witnesses to our heart. That God knows us as his children and we know him as father, He spent the spirit into a heart crying father. The cry about Hans is Father, how deep is need and desire is father.
I think credible, man.
God wants you to have the strongest Assurant possible that he is. Our father. That we are his children and that nothing will ever shake that relationship.
And I was like, when you buy a house that you buy a house, unless you've got crazy incredible wealth. When you go and buy a house, you don't buy the house in one, go like going to go west. You do you make a deposit right? The reason why I Linda is asking you for a deposit is to get from you. Some kind of pledge, some kind of commitment. I want to see your cards on the table. Are you serious about this? The lender is thinking, if this family, if this individual has invested something in this touches, then I'll just going to walk away from this investment. They got money on the table. so, the deposit prove to the lender that you intend to keep the contract, Will the holy spirit is God's deposit to us? He is, God pledged to us. The holy spirit is God's pledge to us. The holy spirit is God prove to us, that he will keep his promise. He will never walk away from us. He will never discern us. By his grace and mercy, he will come good on every single promise that he is made to us. And we have a Earthly fathers, who have broken that promises who have walked away on us.
But I haven't met father is not like enough a father. He will never design. He will never walk away from us and he has given his Spirit as a down payment proof. That he will never walk away from us.
By his grace and mercy, he will come good on every single promises made to us together with the sun. We will inherit the earth together with the sun. We will reign over creation. It's fungus. The people like I should have that kind of in inheritance, waiting for us. Don't you think that's, that's the real rags to riches story? Is the story of each one of us.
In his grace, God has prepared and purchased us for adoption. God, has prepared and purchased us to be sons and daughters. And by his Spirit, he is pledged to come good on every single promise he has made to his children.
When I first started here at mpac, I had this might seem weird to you. It doesn't seem weird to me because I'm in this world, but I had a preaching coach out of Racine coach. And I guess you could say that he is a pretty big deal enough, small very small Evangelical reformed Christian Circle and Lisa made out of zoom. And every time we meet up his room, I notice that there was a little picture frame on his desk and wonder what's in the picture frame. And he held it up and you read out the words, I am a child of God. And this is a man in his seventies. Diver Down preacher and I'll Tony little circle. And this is the thing that he has on his desk. I am a child of God and he said, he kept it there to remind himself that before. Anything else before, he's a pasta before. He's a husband before. He's a father. He is first a child of God. And I think that we need to sort of come to the same, understanding that a fundamental Worth or value isn't in the titles and the roles that we have for us elves, it's in being Sons and Daughters of God. That's that's the call. I thought the core of our identity. it's this relationship that we ought to draw out ultimate worth value and significance from that's why we go back to that's the foundation about being
And if that's the case, then this should change, this is totally changed how we relate to God, right? I think I'll press Austin reveal our relationship. The God, you know, it's a present kind of filled with technical theological language that really love those. You know, it might show it might show that we're not really relating to God his father, you know, as if as if we're trying to impress him.
But that's not how we talked about that, all right. when we talked to a father, we pour out our home, we say, what's in a Mite, we bare our souls
Sean has a song that he listens to in the car sometimes. And it's, you know, it was talking about prayer and it says, what is Pratt is pouring out. I'll have to God. Amen, that's exactly what it is. Let's not complicate things.
Oriana House of God. You know you've shown my four-year-old son, came to me and started talking with all this reverence and you know the language. I wouldn't know what to make of that. I promise I didn't do, you know who you are, but he's been listening to a lot of audiobooks. And in one of the audiobook someone says the United please your majesty or something like that and whenever someone sliced cheese for his pasta that he will say, please your majesty and it sounds ridiculous. I would say to him to know, if you are you I would say to him, you're my son. You don't need to talk like that. Of course, the pendulum can swing in the opposite direction. We can easily become a reverend And we don't want to become a reverend, so we need to find that those Balance, but a prayer should always be honest and always be sincere and just be simple. The simple. How does Jesus teach us to pray in the Lord's Prayer?
Father, a father who is in heaven.
The father-son father-daughter relationship or to Define how we pray. This is who we are praying to. We are praying to our father. Jesus commands us to pray in this way. We're not speaking to a distant God or we're not speaking to it. I thought of a reluctant God trying to coax him into listening to us.
We're talking to our Heavenly Father, who loves us, who's committed to us, who is put the down payment? Proof that he will become good on all his promises. He has not going to back out of this relationship, he listens to a he is waiting for us to speak to him. He wants to hear from us.
I thought said, what about your approach to scripture? You know, how do you read the Bible friends? One thing, how do you read the Bible? Do we see the Bible? Just as kind of like a textbook and I'm totally guilty of this Do we see it as a primarily history or poetry or doctrine? If we do and it is all of those things. By the way, I'm not trying to say that the Bible doesn't contain history that doesn't contain poetry or doctrine. It does contains all of those things, but if we focus on those in isolation, when missing the point of the whole sweep of scripture, which is this
Scripture is Heavenly Father communicating to his children. That's what it is.
The words of scripture on God's love message to his children when you open the Bible, your father wants to talk with you.
He wants to share his love for you and his grace toward you in Christ.
And I saw many problems in the Christian life, come from forgetting who we are and thanking out hopes, on some flimsy identity that we ascribe ourselves.
We forget that we are Sons and Daughters of God and that's incredibly liberating, isn't it? If that's what we're getting our value from. That's why we getting out with its fries. Us to be to genuinely love people, right? When do a long-ass other selfish, they scraping for this role in that role off, you know?
How many problems in the Christian life? Come from forgetting? Who we are. So this week take time to remember who you are. Forget before. Before you remember, don't forget that your mom or your dad that would be very bad before your a noun or dad or husband wife company. Exec Committee Member retired, whatever sort of responsibility you have out there in the community. Before any of these things, remember that you are a child of God, remember that. You are a child of your heavenly father. We only to step back and remember this. So, try frame differently when you price because a son or daughter speaks to that father. Don't worry about saying the right words as if there are right words. I always say a prayer that is praying and faith. Is a good prayer right there on the right was, let's just get rid of that idea. You know, my son isn't concerned with the right words. When he talks to me, he simply to speaks what's on his mind. He tells me what's on his hot. try reading your Bible differently, Maybe if if God is your father and you are his son or daughter approached the Bible as a conversation with your loving, Heavenly Father noticed like some textbook that you're trying to master Not really unlocks the power of scripture.
Do you remember Annie from now? Because in the beginning of 07 and it was an orphan, no family, no future. And that was until she was adopted by mr. Wall box. He gave her a new identity, new place at the table and then you feel just a future filled with hope and it's the same for us. Right? God has adopted us not because we deserve it, but because of his great love for us, And you know what, spiritually we were often but because of what Christ has done for us, we've been brought into God's family. We have a new identity as his children, a place in his family and a future filled with joy and her What that truth thinking if you are in Christ, you are no longer and also no longer alone in this world. You are a love child of God and nothing can change that.
and if you are not a Believer here this morning, it's offered as a free gift to anyone will who will believe and put that faith in Jesus.
Let us pray.
Dear, heavenly father, thank you that we can call you father. Thank you, that you care for us as a father that you have done everything necessary for us to be restored as your children. Lord, we thank you for the incredible Grace that you have shown Us in Jesus. And we thank you for the incredible Grace that you show us with every blessing that flows from the cross Lord. Thank you. I from thank you for adopting us as your sons and daughters. Thank you for the fact that we can call you father. Please help us, not to confuse. I have a complicated this relationship but to enjoy each day that each day is a gift from you. How heavenly father help. I to trust you that you are good in your son Jesus name. Amen.
Hey, when we are going to respond to God's word. Now without final song, I will.
