Isaiah 9:6 KJV 1900

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.

Every year, there is excitement in the air.

There is excitement of decorating.

There is excitement of new music.

There is excitement of giving.

There is excitement of family.

But probably the greatest excitement is to know that a child was born and son was given.

It is this truth that drives all these other excitements.

Why is a child being born or a son being given ignites so much joy and happiness into our life?

To understand this, we have to look no further than His names.

Wonderful - Supernatural One

Counselor - Supervising One

the Mighty God - Sovereign One

the Everlasting Father - Sustaining One

Prince of Peace - Satisfying One

This week, I want us to focus on the Everlasting Father -

The Sustaining One

In order to fully understand this name and the purpose for this Son becoming a Father and just exactly why this is so exciting, I want you to turn to

Romans 8:14–17 KJV 1900

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Upon looking at this passage of scripture, we notice first of all what most people desire more than anything else.

Acceptance

Romans 8:14–15 KJV 1900

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

According to the Apostle Paul in this letter to the Romans, upon salvation, upon our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, we become “children of God”.

Why is this exciting?

We have been removed from the family of Adam and placed into the family of God.

Why is this so exciting?

Because it means we have Accepted into a...

New Ancestry

We literally become “children of God”.

1 John 3:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Romans 8:14 KJV 1900

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

“as many as are led by the Spirit of God”

Since we are in a new family, we begin to act like this family.

We begin to take on physical, emotional, and mental traits of our family.

As a matter of fact, for this reason, many people want to blame their parents for the way the act and behave.

After all, we did get our sin nature from them.

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12 KJV 1900

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:17 KJV 1900

17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Just as we take on the traits from our physical family, after salvation, we should acquire the traits of our new ancestry.

Romans 8:9 KJV 1900

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

The Spirit of God will change you and make you different.

Our excitement for Christmas not only rests in our ACCEPTANCE into a new ANCESTRY but also our ACCEPTANCE of a....

New Abba

Romans 8:15 KJV 1900

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

You have been delivered from the bondage of fear and of the inheritance of sin, death, and judgment and given a new Ancestry and a new Abba.

In our society, adopted children often feel, and are perceived to be, second class members of the family. That is sad, but true for many. They are forever reminded of the fact that they were not born in to the adoptive family.

However, in ancient Rome, things were vastly different. To be adopted was considered a great privilege.

Adoption—The word “adoption” (huiothesia) means to place as a son.

The picture of adoption is a beautiful picture of what God does for the Christian. In the ancient world the family was based on a Roman law called “patria potestas,” the father’s power. The law gave the father absolute authority over his children so long as the father lived. He could work, enslave, sell, and if he wished, he could pronounce the death penalty. Regardless of the child’s adult age, the father held all power over personal and property rights.

Therefore, adoption was a serious matter. Yet, it was a common practice to ensure that a family would not become extinct by having no male children. And when a child was adopted, three legal steps were taken.

1. The adopted son was adopted permanently. He could not be adopted today and disinherited tomorrow. He became a son of the father—forever. He was eternally secure as a son.

2. The adopted son immediately had all the rights of a legitimate son in the new family.

3. The adopted son completely lost all rights in his old family. The adopted son was looked upon as a new person—so new that old debts and obligations connected with his former family were cancelled out and abolished as if they never existed.)

Here is where is begins to really get exciting. Not only have you been ACCEPTED into a new ANCESTRY and ACCEPTED by a new ABBA, but because of these things, you have ACCEPTED a...

New Autonomy

You have been delivered from the power and influence of your old family and ancestry.

We are no longer led about by Satan and the whims of the flesh. Now, we are led by the Spirit of God. Not only have we been delivered from our old leadership, we have been delivered from the life of fear that we used to live while we were in our old family. Now, in Jesus, we are bought into a close relationship with our new Heavenly Father. A relationship so close that we are permitted to address Him as “Abba” or “Daddy.”

The idea is that we are brought into such an intimate relationship with God that we assume the place of small children who lift their voices to God as a hurting, helpless child would who cries out to its father. There is the idea of intimacy and dependence, but of a complete lack of fear. Of course, there is respect and reverence, but there is the sense that our Father will not harm us, but that if He loved us enough to die for us, He will certainly care for us as we walk with Him.

Matthew 7:7–11 KJV 1900

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

It is here that we begin to understand our ACCEPTANCE is why He is the Sustaining One, the Everlasting Father.

Not only is there ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AT CHRISTMAS, but this Gift also provides us with the Priceless...

Assurance

placed in our hearts day in and day out.

Romans 8:16 KJV 1900

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Affinity

As a child of God, you have been blessed with natural attraction and relationship with God.

He leads us and teaches us all we need to know about how to take on this new AUTONOMY as we live for the glory of God in this world.

This Affinity brings about an...

Affirmation

This relationship and communion with God gives us confidence to know we have been born again.

If you are genuinely saved, you will know it because the Spirit of God will hold communion with you.

He will speak to your heart. He will tell you things. He will guide you. He will warn you. He will lead you. He will feed you. He will comfort you. He will teach you the truth.

If the Spirit of God never speaks to your heart, then you need to examine yourself. It may be that you have never really been saved!

Not only are we ACCEPTED into the family and ASSURED of that fact everyday of our lives, we are also wealthy beyond measure. Notice what this verse teaches us about our

Affluence

we receive because of this new standing.

Now, it is getting more exciting!

Romans 8:17 KJV 1900

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We are heirs of God. You say oh well, so we are heirs of God?

Let me remind you that our Heavenly Father is loaded, with wealth beyond measure. You see, this is but one

Advantage

of being in the Family of God.

Psalm 50:10–12 KJV 1900

10 For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: And the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

That is why

Philippians 4:19 KJV 1900

19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

is so important.

He is able to meet our needs no matter what they may be. Not only do we have the ADVANTAGE of being Heirs with God. but notice our...

Allocation

We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

Literally, we are given an equal share in the wealth of our Father.

Under Jewish Law, the eldest son would be given a double portion of the father’s wealth.

However, under Roman Law, all sons were treated equally.

When I think about this, it isn’t the idea of getting things that amazes me. I am amazed when I come to understand that I have been placed on the same footing with Jesus.

Please do not misunderstand me, but you and I that are saved have been declared to be the sons of God and we are given the same standing before God as is His Son Jesus Christ! We will never be Him, but we have been made like Him in the Father’s eyes! Hallelujah!

We have seen our ADVANTAGE and our ALLOCATION, now notice our...

Agreement

As we pass through this life, we will go through difficult times and we will face many trials. There will be many times when we will feel like God has forsaken us and is not meeting our needs like we think He should.

However, we need to remember that we are “pilgrims and strangers” in this present world. The fulness of our inheritance will not be realized until we arrive at home in our Father’s House. When we get to Heaven, then we will see just how rich we are and were.

Luke 2:16–20 KJV 1900

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

What about you?

Are you having a hard time with Accepting Christ as your Savior?

or Do you realize what you have enough to share and rejoice?