what drew my attention the most is that
Paul was talking about the same concepts
in three different texts in Romans 8 in
Ephesians 1 and in Galatians chapter 4
when I was preparing the sermon first I
chose the text and then I thought no no
no no this other one is good and then
the other one is good and I was
struggling with which one I should
choose and finally I decided to choose
Galatians 4 you can see the same
concepts of how God has redeemed us from
sin how he has adopted us as children
not a slaves how we should not be afraid
how we have a great inheritance and all
these concepts are so important for you
and I to know we find them in these
three scriptures when he talks about
being sons say with me I am a daughter
or a son and I have many rights and you
need to know them because throughout
your life everything you are the way you
think about yourself the way you feel
about yourself the way you think about
God the way you manage yourself and move
and relate to other people the way you
go to work the way you daydream the way
you see life everything is being based
of what you think regarding who God is
and who you are and that's why the
biggest temptations that the devil will
put in front of you are going to be in
these two areas they are the most
important the image you have of God and
the image you have of yourself the worst
enemy is not the devil the worst enemy
is yourself because the devil cannot
force you but he can convince you you
have to know who God is who he is for
you and who you are for God you must
know who you are because of all your
life all your life is going to be
dependent in that image you must live
with your head
do you know that when Arabian horses
when they're born they stand up when
they are born you know that the the
horses stand up right away right people
buy Arabian horses as an investment
because they're worth a lot of money
it's like people who buy art many buy
Arabian horses Arabian horses cost a lot
of money and it seems like when they're
born when those coats
stand up they lift their heads up as if
they know that everybody needs to know
that they are very expensive they have
that in their DNA and that's so
important because when you know that
you're a child of God if you know all
the rights Jesus has already gotten for
you and you live with them your life is
going to be very different your life is
not going to be all poor little me no
your life is going to be how great he is
your life is going to be how great your
dad is and because he is great and he's
inside of you who can be against you he
deserves an applause don't you think and
that's why it's so important according
to your faith you're going to experience
it Jesus always said according to your
faith let it be done the difference
between the person next to you and you
and the level you live in experiencing
God in the riches of the abundant life
this church is called abundant life
because Jesus has come to bring life and
life abundant that level of abundance of
richness between you and the person next
to you is found between your two ears
right here what do we think what you
think is what you will believe and what
you believe is what you're going to
experience so everything is according to
your faith according to your faith let
it be done and that's why it's so
important that we know the word I'm
happy that this weekend is dedicated to
adoption you are an adopted son or
daughter of God I would like to explain
something I know the other speakers and
I are talking about the same thing but
it's so important that you listen
to each message because each message is
a piece of the puzzle that you have to
put together to know who God is and who
you are you are for God and what God is
for you amen everything is based on that
look what it says in Galatians let's
read from chapter 4 verse 4 it says but
when the fullness of the time came God
sent forth his son born of a woman born
under the law he came as a man so that
he may redeem those who were under the
law that we may receive the adoption as
sons because you are sons and God has
sent forth the spirit of his son into
your hearts crying Abba Father therefore
you are no longer a slave but a son and
if a son then an heir through Christ
let's dig a little deeper let's take
this piece by piece because I found like
in Romans 8 is very ample in explaining
this concept and also a fish is one we
see here that Paul placed it all
together so let's hash this out a bit
let's take it a bit by bit it says when
the fullness of the time came Jesus came
in the flesh and have you read in
Hebrews 2 verse 10 through 17 and the
rest of the chapter you will see all the
explanations about the importance of
Jesus coming into the flesh he died for
us to bring many sons to glory the goal
for Jesus coming to earth as a man is
that he could bring many children to
glory because in God's heart you were
there always in God's heart the Bible
says God calls your life your life
that's all of us his inheritance what
God desires the most is that we are his
he desires us to be his people what
motivated God he is complete and
depended he doesn't need anybody God
doesn't need you to worship Him he
doesn't need anything
you praise him because you stand in all
of his kindness and his love it's your
natural response to his greatness his
mercy and His grace in your life but he
doesn't need you to praise him he
doesn't need the Angels to worship Him
that doesn't have any complexes
he's self-sufficient but he wanted to
create someone you to have relationship
with when you see all of his creation
and you might see movies or
documentaries where you see the
greatness of the earth the great variety
that there is so many things
the colors flowers nature countries
cultures all of that all that variety
with everything God made it says that
mankind was placed there as the glory of
his creation he clothed him with honor
and glory everything you see around you
all the beauty you see with your eyes he
made everything so that you would be
happy so that you would be blessed so
that you would have a nice place to live
everything is for you because he doesn't
need anything he doesn't need the ocean
to swim in he doesn't need the Sun to be
warm he doesn't need anything do you
know why he created them it is for you
so that you could enjoy it because even
before he created all things he said he
wanted to create people for himself for
himself because of love for love God did
it for love come to Ephesians 1 verse 4
and 5
where's for the Sweden just as he chose
us in him before the foundation of the
world that we may be holy and blameless
before him in love verse five in love he
predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to himself
according to the kind intention of his
will
even before the foundation of the world
he wanted you he wanted your love and
that's why he created you with a will to
choose for you well God created you with
a free will why because he didn't wants
you to be a robot he wanted you to
choose to be his beloved because love is
voluntary love gives freedom and because
you have that freedom you choose to love
him freely we got things about you he
thinks about all the love he has for you
so much that He gave His only Son for
you so that he could facilitate all your
needs this is where Paul uses the word
Redemption
in Galatians 4 for him to redeem
release in Romans 6 the concept Paul
uses is when all the prisoners they are
kept by a guard and someone comes to buy
them to make them theirs I was in
Memphis and I learned a lot about the
African Americans I learned a lot
because now I understand their culture
more because I could see where there was
so much slavery I saw the huge stones
where they would stand up they would
stand them up for sale and people even
looked at their teeth they would look at
everything as if they were animals but
they were human beings and that's why
there have been so many consequences as
much suffering for African American
people because of the history of slavery
in the United States it's important here
to understand this concept because it
says
that Jesus came to set us free from the
power of sin look what it says in Romans
8:1 it says therefore there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus say with me no condemnation for
those who walk not according to the
flesh but according to the spirit for
the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and death
for what the law could not do weak as it
was through the flesh God did sending
his own son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and as an our sin he condemned sin
in the flesh Jesus came in the flesh he
became a man to redeem us as a son of
God so that you could be free free from
what the power of sin because you were a
slave of sin John 8:36 says that he who
sins is a slave to sin and Jesus came to
deliver us from the power of sin Jesus
came and paid a price so you could be
free from the power of sin because you
couldn't have done it yourself but Jesus
came so you could be free if you wanted
to be free and choose the love of God
because of sin you were separated from
God and a slave to sin but Jesus came to
redeem to buy to pay a price he didn't
pay with gold or silver but his own
blood why why did he have to suffer all
of that for you for you like it says in
Galatians 4 let's continue to be adopted
as sons adopted because you couldn't be
a son but God wanted you to be one so he
sent his son to be the first of many
sons to be in glory when they had
accepted Jesus as Savior and that's why
you can be a son because you are adopted
now in the world
use this term well in the Greek world
children were adopted only for legal
issues when a man couldn't have any
children what he did was take a son of a
slave and adopted him so that he could
leave him a legacy and family but in the
Jewish mind the concept of adopting a
son was different it was not only to
have a legacy the next generations who
had the name of the family not only for
that and to leave descendants from the
father of the house but there was also
something else an inheritance that
belonged to the son I'm going to talk
about the inheritance tomorrow I'm going
to talk about more about that it's very
important because from the moment that
the son was recognized by the father as
a son even if he was the son of a slave
from the moment the master of the house
received that son and that son who had
been a slave from that moment he was
adopted was treated as a natural son of
the men totally natural with all the
rights the other slaves couldn't say
this is the son of so-and-so no he was
the son of the master of the house and
he was treated as such
honored as such and he was served as
such and the master of the house elected
the Lord has elected you our Heavenly
Father has chosen you to be adopted you
are adopted it doesn't matter what kind
of background you have or where you come
from adoption was not earned by works it
was by grace because of the kindness of
the master of the house because he
wanted him to be his son how many of you
have seen the movie The Prince of Persia
the movie have you seen it yes what
happened to the little boy dastan
the boy in the little movie that's what
it was all about the boy who was on the
streets he was a nobody he was received
by the king and then treated at his son
and at the end he inherits the kingdom
remember Moses how many know Moses Moses
was a son of slave right and what
happened with him when he was received
in Pharaoh's home and was treated as his
son with all the teachings with all the
servants with everything while the
people of Israel were living in slavery
he lived as the son of Pharaoh in the
palace so what does this tell us in the
streets there are a lot of unsaved
people and they live under that slavery
and they live serving sin but when
you're a child of God you are welcomed
in his home when you're a slave the
measure of who you are depends on your
works the relationship between the
master of the house and the slave is
only based on works that person is not
free to go and to talk to the master he
cannot go and have intimacy with
confidence to go to the master of the
house because the slave is to work in
period you are there and I'm here but we
have not been called to be slaves
you