Rom 8-Abba Father-6-Obligations
| Abba Father – Part 6The Obligations of Sonship! Romans 8:14-17
February 18, 2007 (NLT) 12So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.15So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him “Father, dear Father.” 16For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (NKJV) 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.PRAY Scripture Memory:The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. – Romans 8:16 (NIV) Intro:As Christians, especially as Christians who are striving to understand and apply grace to all of life, it is somewhat uncomfortable to speak in terms of obligations that we have to God…. ReviewA month and a half ago we began our study of this passage with a message entitled “Family Obligations.” Now, after five other messages, the last three of which focused on the many privileges we have as His children, we are finally finishing our study of this passage with another message on our obligations as members of the family of God.At that point we saw how being a member of the family of God means being controlled by the Spirit rather than the sinful nature…It means that we have the Spirit of God living in us…And because of that we have an obligation, we are DEEPLY in debt to our Lord and Savior.Key Question: Does the Spirit of God live in you?We saw how obedience to the revealed will of God in our lives is a key to being in a right relationship with Him here and now, NOT because His love for us changes, but because OUR love for Him is STRONGLY affected by our obedience, or lack thereof…The other side of this is the question of whether or not we are members of God’s family. If we are, then we should increasingly exhibit family characteristics. We represent our family, and in particular our Father.Two questions we need to consider again this morning:Have you accepted God’s invitation to join His family? If you have accepted this invitation and are confident that you are one of God’s children by virtue of His adoption and His choice of you, then are you living as His child? Are you seeking Him first and His righteousness? This morning:Six Obligations of Sonship:1. Faith2. Holy Fear 3. Prayer4. Submission5. Obedience6. Love 1. The child of God must Exercise FaithHebrews 11:6 (NIV) – “without faith it is impossible to please God.”Entrust, believe & glorify☞ Consciously and intentionally entrust everything pertaining to body and soul to your heavenly Father without fear and anxiety. Mat. 6:32 (NLT) – Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.Kira and her mother, Polly, were driving to her babysitters one morning listening to Veggie Tales - the story of Daniel. When the lions growled Polly said, "oh no, Daniel is in the lion's den" to which Kira replied, "it's okay mommy, Jesus will take care of Daniel!"The test: Are you thankful? Or are you anxious? – It is hard to be both thankful and worried at the same time. ☞ Believe the gospel.Fear and anxiety are indicative of either:Ø doubting that one is a child of God (even when the heart is convinced of this and one is able to see the truth of this in the Word of God), Ø or it is a distrusting of God’s power, His watchful care for you, or His goodness. Why do we doubt our salvation? – Because we do not believe the GOSPEL…When we complain…How obviously this is contrary to God’s Word! Psalm 37:5 (NLT) – Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) – Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. The root of most of our struggles in life: unbeliefØ Unbelief with regards to the gospel,Ø Unbelief with regards to God’s power,Ø Unbelief with regards to God’s goodness, etc. ☞ Give Him all the GloryRejoice in His omnipotence, faithfulness, wisdom, and goodness, and you will experience an amazing freedom from the burdens we so often insist on carrying. This is a crucial component for us if we desire to experience His supernatural peace. Turn your eyes on Jesus and the things of earth…Worship is both a gift and a privilege. While it is not to be about US and what we get out of it, the reality is that when we truly enter into worship, we find that is really does feel great and that all of life looks better.This is what we were made for. 2. Fear God (Holy Fear)Honor and fear your heavenly Father with a childlike heart. “He may be your father, but He’s not your dad.”Knowing God as Father entails a proper understanding and acceptance of the creator-creature distinction.We can see a small taste of this in a healthy relationship between a small child and his/her parent - confidence and security, combined with an awareness that is very unwise to disobey.We ought to delight ourselves by continually reflecting upon and acknowledging the great glory of divine majesty. (a Brakel)The person who is secure in his/her salvation, while living a life which denies God…Vs. the person who seeks to grow in his/her faith and to honor God in worship and obedience…Malachi 1:6 (NIV) “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. 3. Pray Always (increasingly)As a true child of your Heavenly Father, request from Him all things which are good. This is the reason why the Lord does not fill His children to overflowing in this life, but permits much emptiness to be in them, so that they would make their childlike desires known to Him and beg of Him for fulfillment. We strive for and desire INdependence, but God knows that we are at our best when we are DEpendent.Phil. 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.As a child who loves their parents and trusts them to provide for all their needs, we need to take what ever concerns us, whatever we desire, whatever we feel that we need to our Father who loves us.Romans 8:32 (NLT) – Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? | | James 4:2-3 (NLT) – The reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it… 3 And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.As a child who is confident of His parent’s love, come BOLDLY before your Heavenly Father, crying “Abba Father!” That really warms His heart!Ps. 50:15 (NIV) – Call upon me in the day of trouble.Psalm 81:10 (NLT) – Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.Heb. 10:19, 22 (NIV)19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faithAs a child approaches his/her human parent with confidence, not fearing rejection, so also, we must believe that God, as a Father delights to give good things to those who call on in faith. (Mat. 7:11 – If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.) 4. Willingly Submit to God’s Loving Discipline (be teachable)Submit yourself as a child to the discipline and instruction of the Lord as being the loving discipline of a Father. Hebrews 12:4-11 (NLT) 5You have entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, His children. He said, “My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when He corrects you.”7As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children…9Should we not… cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father?10God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in His holiness. 11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living (NIVrighteousness) for those who are trained in this way.The question: Which is more important to you: to grow in grace and in godliness, or to avoid discomfort? 5. Obey God & Strive to be like Him.1 Peter 1:14-15 (NLT)
Obey God because you are His children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be His children—is holy.”Ephesians 5:1 – Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.Just as children, who love and respect their parents hope someday to be like them…Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. – 7 yr. old Sam 6. Love the Brethren.Finally live as children in mutual love and peace, so that those outside the Family of God can see that the Spirit dwelling in you differs from the one dwelling in them.John 13:35 (NLT) – Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.What does this mean? It is more than mere words. Think about what it means to be family. Think about what it means to understand that it is love which holds a family together despite much conflict and disagreement, etc.Commitment:Ø Family is familyAfter the baptism of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, "That pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you and mom."Ø ForbearanceDear God, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. – 6 yr. old Nan Ø CareØ ReconciliationØ Family GatheringsAre you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? Summary / Review:So, are you a child of God, here this morning?Do you understand what it means to have been adopted by God as His own son/daughter?Are you beginning to grasp what an awesome privilege that is?Are you committed to living as a child or God, exercising faith and repenting of unbelief? Are you growing in a healthy and holy fear of God which motivates you to turn from sin day by day and moment by moment?Is prayer an ever growing and integral part of your life, as you grow in your desire to increasingly find your strength in God’s abundant grace towards you? Do you believe that He delights to give far more than you delight to ask?Do you trust Him enough to submit to his loving discipline and to grow from it? Are you more committed to growing in your faith or to avoiding pain and discomfort? Are you committed to obey Him and are you seeking His face daily as strive to grow in Christ-likeness? Do you love the Church, warts and all? Are you committed to your brethren in the church, not so much because they are lovable, but because, like you, they are children of God by His gracious choice? A Truth to Remember: If you have embraced Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, this means that you have been adopted as God’s true son/daughter and He loves you more than may ever fully understand. A Challenge to Consider:Are you committed to living and growing as a child of God, trusting Him for all things and being committed to His people, as family? One thing I heard this morning was… |