WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.740 --> 00:00:10.320 Elation Church. Week number eight in our series 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:16.239 that I've entitled, Hello, My Name is God. Everybody 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:20.500 say that with me. Hello, my name is God. I mean, 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:22.559 we all have been to those events where they give 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:24.440 you one of these name tags that look like this, 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:26.679 right? It's a little name tag and you got to 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.420 write your name on it. But we're going to be 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:32.340 talking about... We're going to start out by 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:36.100 talking about what names are about. Okay? Just 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:38.740 so we can get our head wrapped around everything 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:44.979 involved in a name. So what is in a name? First 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:48.200 of all, names signify identity. Everybody say 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:53.899 identity. Identity. Now, I've got this story 00:00:53.899 --> 00:00:55.880 that the people who have been here in this series, 00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:58.619 they already know it, but a lot of you haven't 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:03.409 been here for this series. You know, when I wanted 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:07.150 to play junior high football, anybody play sports? 00:01:07.450 --> 00:01:10.349 Any sports player? When I wanted to play junior 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:13.370 high football in the state of South Carolina, 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:18.909 I had to produce a state birth certificate. Okay? 00:01:19.650 --> 00:01:22.230 Even though I'd gone through school all the way 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:25.569 from kindergarten on, I had to have a birth certificate. 00:01:26.390 --> 00:01:28.750 So we didn't have one, so we ordered it from 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:33.129 the state, and when it came in, I found out that 00:01:33.129 --> 00:01:35.510 my name was not the name I had been going by 00:01:35.510 --> 00:01:40.109 my whole life. Because I kid you not, you can't 00:01:40.109 --> 00:01:43.450 make this stuff up. My South Carolina birth certificate 00:01:43.450 --> 00:01:49.230 had no name Forrest on it when it came in. No 00:01:49.230 --> 00:01:53.170 name Forrest. So that's why I answered anything. 00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:56.969 Because my real name is no name. I didn't find 00:01:56.969 --> 00:01:59.560 out until I was like 11, 12 years old. I mean, 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.180 that was my official name in the state of South 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.739 Carolina. It was No Name Forrest. So I missed 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.360 out on the first three weeks of my junior high 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:13.919 football career. And finally got my name changed 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.580 on my birth certificate to the name I'd been 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:18.819 going by. See, my parents didn't name me before 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.580 we left the hospital. So it just slipped through 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:26.639 the cracks. So my real name now is Jeffrey Dean 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:28.990 Forrest. I guess my real name is no name for 00:02:28.990 --> 00:02:32.150 us, but my name is Jeffrey Dean Forrest. My South 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:34.389 Carolina birth certificate has an asterisk on 00:02:34.389 --> 00:02:37.430 it signifying that my name has been changed from 00:02:37.430 --> 00:02:42.169 my birth name. Go figure. But I'm Jeffrey Dean 00:02:42.169 --> 00:02:45.530 Forrest. Most people call me Dean. Most people 00:02:45.530 --> 00:02:50.150 call me Dean. I have another identity name that 00:02:50.150 --> 00:02:54.110 I want to share with you. And that is that I 00:02:54.110 --> 00:02:59.110 am a Christian. And that's just as much my identity 00:02:59.110 --> 00:03:03.550 as my given name or my birth certificate name. 00:03:03.870 --> 00:03:09.430 Christian is my identity. It's not just a tagged 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:17.229 on description. It's who I am. So names signify 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:22.250 identity. Names also signify relationship. Everybody 00:03:22.250 --> 00:03:26.939 say relationship. I've got a lot of names. A 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:31.759 lot of names. My mom, because I was the youngest 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:37.139 of four, always, her entire life and my entire 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:42.159 life, she called me baby. Even when she was introducing 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:46.780 me to someone when I was 50 years old. In my 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:50.319 50s, she would say, this is my baby. Sometimes 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:52.780 she would forget to put Dean on it after that. 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:57.500 She would say, this is my baby. I would say Dean 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:00.039 if she didn't say Dean because I didn't want 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:04.039 everybody to call me baby. My dad never called 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.479 me baby. He just called me son. So that's one 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:12.680 of my relationship names. In 1984, I became a 00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:17.399 husband. I've been married 40 years. But my wife 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:19.420 doesn't call me husband. She doesn't say, oh, 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:25.339 husband, could you take out the trash? No. Most 00:04:25.339 --> 00:04:27.660 of the time. Everybody say most of the time. 00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:33.959 Most of the time she calls me honey. Unless I've 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:37.540 aggravated her or irritated her, and then she 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:41.439 doesn't call me honey. Look at the person beside 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.920 you and say smile. This is the comedy portion 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.240 of the program here, so at least smile. I became 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:56.439 a father in January of 92. That's my son, Jeffrey. 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:00.240 So that's one of my names. One of my relationship 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.259 names is I'm a father. But he's never called 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:05.939 me father because we don't live in the UK. Oh, 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:10.160 father, could I have $20? No, he just calls me 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:12.399 dad. He started out calling me daddy, but then 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:15.399 as he got older, you know, we dropped the D -Y, 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:19.379 so he just calls me dad. So I've got other names. 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:22.319 I'm an uncle. I'm a great uncle. I'm a nephew. 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:26.389 I'm a cousin. All of those are relationship names. 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:30.290 Everybody say relationship. Then there are also 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:34.329 names that signify people's activity. Everybody 00:05:34.329 --> 00:05:38.750 say activity. What a person does. Has anyone 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:42.470 ever had a business card made at work? And it 00:05:42.470 --> 00:05:44.629 would have what you do on the business card. 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:47.370 You know what I'm talking about? So names signify 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:50.009 activity as well. I've got a lot of those names. 00:05:50.129 --> 00:05:53.910 I was a student for a very long time. when i 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:57.490 was in high school i was a cook for quincy's 00:05:57.490 --> 00:06:00.149 family steakhouse they're now out of business 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:03.350 but it's not my fault they were in business long 00:06:03.350 --> 00:06:07.769 after i left i've been a salesman at multiple 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:11.470 businesses i've been a sound man i actually paid 00:06:11.470 --> 00:06:15.170 to run sound at events i was a custodian at disney 00:06:15.170 --> 00:06:17.529 for a little while when we got here i was also 00:06:17.529 --> 00:06:22.410 a trainer and a coordinator there my wife and 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:26.529 i After work, after a real job, we picked up 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:29.290 a job cleaning offices, and we'd go clean offices 00:06:29.290 --> 00:06:32.110 three days a week after we got off of our real 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:36.569 job. So we were janitors there. I had my own 00:06:36.569 --> 00:06:39.410 screen printing business for a while, screen 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:42.350 printing T -shirts and all that's involved in 00:06:42.350 --> 00:06:45.889 that. I was an A &R director for Mark V Records. 00:06:46.269 --> 00:06:49.250 You may have never heard of Mark V Records. You 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:51.050 wouldn't have heard of them unless you were into 00:06:51.050 --> 00:06:55.649 southern gospel music. So I was the A &R director 00:06:55.649 --> 00:06:59.269 at Mark V Records. I actually got a business 00:06:59.269 --> 00:07:01.889 card one day when I was at Mark V Sandcastle 00:07:01.889 --> 00:07:04.709 Recording Studios. I got a business card one 00:07:04.709 --> 00:07:07.689 day that said I was the vice president of Heart 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.689 Look Records. We had three record companies, 00:07:10.810 --> 00:07:13.129 Mark V, Heart Look, and Evidence. I became the 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:15.870 vice president, but I didn't get a raise. I just 00:07:15.870 --> 00:07:18.189 got a business card. I got a vice president title. 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:23.029 I've also been the vice president of State. and 00:07:23.029 --> 00:07:26.329 national organizations the music director of 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:28.529 state and national organizations i've been an 00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:31.350 event planner i was just talking about planning 00:07:31.350 --> 00:07:35.529 an event in indianapolis with the family here 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:39.389 from indiana but i planned events and rented 00:07:39.389 --> 00:07:42.930 space all over the united states for events been 00:07:42.930 --> 00:07:45.269 a crusade director our ministry we were on the 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:49.410 road for over 20 years and i was a crusade director 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:53.449 we had 31 area -wide crusades and I was the crusade 00:07:53.449 --> 00:07:57.029 director at two or three of them. J .T., who's 00:07:57.029 --> 00:07:58.269 sitting back there in the back waving at everybody, 00:07:58.350 --> 00:08:02.250 his dad was the festival director and crusade 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:04.170 director at all the other ones. I've been the 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:07.930 president of state and national organizations, 00:08:08.009 --> 00:08:11.490 president of a nonprofit corporation, been the 00:08:11.490 --> 00:08:16.189 worship leader at some events. Me and my family 00:08:16.189 --> 00:08:19.730 led worship, and my claim to fame there is I... 00:08:20.029 --> 00:08:22.670 We were the worship leaders at the Ryman Auditorium 00:08:22.670 --> 00:08:25.610 in Nashville one time, which is a historic place 00:08:25.610 --> 00:08:27.550 for those of you who've never heard of the Ryman. 00:08:29.529 --> 00:08:31.029 Look at the person beside you and say that and 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:33.309 about $20 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. 00:08:34.029 --> 00:08:36.970 All right. Let's see. I've been a conference 00:08:36.970 --> 00:08:38.970 director. We had a youth conference called the 00:08:38.970 --> 00:08:44.570 Big God Conference where as many as 1 ,900 students 00:08:44.570 --> 00:08:47.049 came over New Year's to a conference that we 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:50.289 did. I was an evangelist, like I said, on the 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:53.070 road for 20 years, a chaplain for nine years 00:08:53.070 --> 00:08:55.529 at Lakewood Camper Resort. Some people call me 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:59.649 preacher. Some people call me pastor. You can 00:08:59.649 --> 00:09:01.909 call me anything. Look at the person beside you 00:09:01.909 --> 00:09:03.990 and say, that's a lot of names. Now, if you've 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.990 never met me before, you just found out a lot 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:09.950 about me, didn't you? Probably more than you 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:14.230 wanted to know. You found out my abilities and 00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:18.000 things that I've done. Because names signify 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:24.059 identity, relationship, and activity. I've shared 00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:26.480 with you over 29 names, but I'm just one person. 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:32.879 And this series is about the names of God. And 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:34.980 I want you to realize that even though God has 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:38.679 given us a lot of names, so that we can know 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:45.240 who He is, His identity, we can know His... what 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:48.500 kind of relationship he wants to be in with us, 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:53.360 and we can know his activity, what he wants to 00:09:53.360 --> 00:10:00.600 do in our lives by knowing his names. This verse 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:04.500 is very important in the study. Psalm 910 says 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:07.500 this, and those who know your name, everybody 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:11.639 say God's name, those who know your name will 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:16.919 put their trust, See, when we find out who God 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:22.500 is, how he has revealed himself to us, then we 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:26.500 can put our trust in him. That Hebrew word that's 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:29.659 translated trust here in English can also be 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:34.620 translated confidence. So when we know his name, 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:37.659 we can put our trust, we can put our confidence 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:44.100 in him based on who he is, his person. Somebody 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:48.519 smile or say amen or something. Okay. So when 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:51.120 we know Him, we can put our trust and confidence 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:54.179 in Him. And then it says this, For you, Lord, 00:10:54.360 --> 00:11:01.440 have not forsaken those who seek you. So when 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:06.960 we seek God based on who He is and who He has 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:12.250 revealed Himself as, then we can be confident 00:11:12.250 --> 00:11:15.970 that He's not going to turn His back on us. He's 00:11:15.970 --> 00:11:17.590 not going to say, well, you know, I do that for 00:11:17.590 --> 00:11:19.110 some people, but I'm not going to do it for you. 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.409 I'm going to forsake you, even though I haven't 00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:25.169 forsook some other people based on who I am. 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:31.870 No. He has not forsaken those who seek Him. Now, 00:11:31.889 --> 00:11:36.490 sometimes we seek Him not knowing that that's 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:38.750 who He is or what He wants to do, and then we 00:11:38.750 --> 00:11:43.139 find out that, That seeking is not fulfilled 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:47.940 because God's never made that promise. God's 00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:50.960 never identified himself to do that. Are you 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:56.879 with me? It's not just our imagination. It's 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.960 based on who he is. And when we seek him based 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.720 on who he is, then we know that he's not going 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:06.500 to forsake us. Somebody smile. That ought to 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:09.159 make you smile. Right there. That ought to make 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:13.610 you smile. Hello, my name is God. Today we're 00:12:13.610 --> 00:12:18.690 going to focus in on two names of God that are 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:20.870 very close to being the same, but a little bit 00:12:20.870 --> 00:12:23.990 different. They have to do with relationship. 00:12:24.210 --> 00:12:29.649 Everybody say relationship. Relationship. So, 00:12:29.730 --> 00:12:33.789 the first name is this. Jesus said in Matthew 00:12:33.789 --> 00:12:36.350 6, 9, talking to His disciples, He said, Pray 00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:41.500 like this. Our Father in Heaven. Everybody say, 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:48.100 Our Father. Our Father. Now, that word is the 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:53.919 Greek word... Wait a minute. Sometimes I put 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.820 the wrong... I put the accent on the wrong syllable. 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.419 But you don't speak Greek anyway, probably. But 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:06.840 I believe it's pater. Pater. You'd look at it 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:10.750 and say patter, but it's pater. I don't know 00:13:10.750 --> 00:13:12.110 if I'm pronouncing it right or not. I'm just 00:13:12.110 --> 00:13:19.110 trying. Pater. Father. Now, the New Testament 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:21.990 brings greater emphasis and deeper revelation 00:13:21.990 --> 00:13:25.669 on God being our Father than in the Old Testament. 00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:30.289 Father is used as a name for God only 15 times 00:13:30.289 --> 00:13:34.149 in the Old Testament. But it occurs, get this, 00:13:34.190 --> 00:13:40.220 at least 245 times in the New Testament. God 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:44.200 being your father. Now, when you say God is a 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.960 father, that messes some people up. Because their 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:52.799 only understanding of a father is based on their 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.320 earthly father. And that's the only concept that 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:59.700 they have. And when you compare our heavenly 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:02.159 father with our earthly father, you know what? 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:07.080 Some earthly fathers are absent. Some earthly 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.429 fathers are abusive. Some earthly fathers are 00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:15.970 neglecting. In a room this size, there are people 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:19.649 who have experienced earthly fathers that this 00:14:19.649 --> 00:14:22.289 would be a good description of. That they were 00:14:22.289 --> 00:14:25.009 absent, abusive, or neglecting. I'm not going 00:14:25.009 --> 00:14:29.070 to make you raise your hand. Alright? But some 00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:32.990 of you know exactly what I'm talking about. And 00:14:32.990 --> 00:14:35.049 I want to tell you this, even if you had a great 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:40.639 father, You know, even the best earthly father 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:46.580 is still limited. They're limited in ability 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:52.580 and their resources. There's a limit. But when 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:56.700 we look at God being our father, you know what? 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:03.340 Nothing is too big for him. Nothing is too hard 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:09.039 for him. Nothing is beyond. His ability. Hello, 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.460 somebody. I need to put a mirror up here so you 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:15.460 can see your faces. I mean, you need to smile 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:19.440 at least every once in a while. Because the kingdom 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:21.659 of God is about righteousness, peace, and joy 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:24.580 in the Holy Spirit. So if you've got joy in the 00:15:24.580 --> 00:15:26.200 Holy Spirit like we were singing about, it's 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:28.039 good to remind your face that every once in a 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:33.120 while. We have joy. But even the best earthly 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:36.279 followers are limited, but God is limitless. 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:41.500 He's a good father. He's a good father. And a 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:45.919 good father always loves. A good father always 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:51.960 leads. A good father always provides. And a good 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:56.600 father always protects. Those are some signs 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:01.559 of a good father. And God is a good father. Jesus 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:06.549 preached on this parable. I don't know, even 00:16:06.549 --> 00:16:09.950 since Christmas and another series, I brought 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:14.090 this parable up, but that's okay. I believe we 00:16:14.090 --> 00:16:16.669 can look at the same text every week for at least 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:19.809 two or three months and not exhaust it. Because 00:16:19.809 --> 00:16:22.230 the Word of God is living and powerful and effective. 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:28.029 I need an amen right there. Amen. Alright. Let's 00:16:28.029 --> 00:16:30.210 take a look at this familiar story. Don't tune 00:16:30.210 --> 00:16:33.600 out on me because you're familiar with it. Luke 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.580 15, verses 11 through 24. A certain man had two 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:42.120 sons. And the younger of them said to his father... 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.720 Now, I'm going to go ahead and bring this out. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.620 I believe this parable has more to do with God 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:53.899 than it does with the sons. Most of the time 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:56.120 when we look at this parable, we just focus on 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:58.379 the sons. And we're going to talk about the sons 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:04.940 because the sons represent us. It represents 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:14.579 our two misaligned relationships with God. Let's 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:18.559 put it that way. So it represents how messed 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:24.740 up we can be. But most importantly, it represents 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:28.859 God, our Father. Certain men had two sons. A 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:31.140 younger of them said to his father, Father, give 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:34.269 me the portion. of goods that falls to me. Give 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:37.970 me my inheritance. So he divided to them his 00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:41.450 livelihood. Not many days after, the younger 00:17:41.450 --> 00:17:44.890 son gathered all together, journeyed to a far 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:48.529 country, and there wasted his possessions with 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:52.849 prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there 00:17:52.849 --> 00:17:57.650 arose a severe famine in that land. And he began 00:17:57.650 --> 00:18:01.920 to be in want. Then he went and joined himself 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.880 to a citizen of that country, and he sent him 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:12.400 into his fields to feed pigs, swine. And he would 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:16.079 gladly have filled his stomach with the pods 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.660 that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:26.880 Has anyone ever been around pigs? We had some 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.859 pigs when I was growing up. and we had a slop 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:33.500 bucket. Has anybody ever had pigs in a slop bucket? 00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:40.480 You take all your leftover food and all the parts 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.839 of the vegetables, really, that you don't want 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:47.140 to eat, and you throw them in a slop bucket under 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:51.799 the sink. I don't know if the slop bucket ever 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:58.809 got washed, but I can still smell it. And that's 00:18:58.809 --> 00:19:03.329 been over 50 years ago. I can still smell it. 00:19:04.869 --> 00:19:06.950 But we had a slop bucket, and then when that 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:08.970 slop bucket would fill up, we'd take it out to 00:19:08.970 --> 00:19:11.230 the pigs and throw it in the pig pen, and pigs 00:19:11.230 --> 00:19:16.970 will eat anything. They will eat anything. So 00:19:16.970 --> 00:19:23.269 this boy was taking care of pigs, and he was 00:19:23.269 --> 00:19:27.390 so hungry, he wanted to eat out of the slop bucket. 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:34.259 Somebody say, yuck. He would have gladly eaten 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:39.440 what the pigs ate. But he couldn't even eat that, 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:44.259 so he was very hungry. But when he came to himself, 00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:51.420 he said, how many of my brothers, I'm sorry, 00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:55.099 how many of my father's hired servants have bread 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:59.920 enough and to spare? And I perish with hunger. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.740 I will arise and go to my father, and I will 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:06.019 say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:09.039 and before you, and I am no longer worthy to 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.680 be called your son. Make me like one of your 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.900 hired servants. And he arose and came to his 00:20:15.900 --> 00:20:18.619 father. But when he was still a great way off, 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:23.240 his father saw him and had compassion. Everybody 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:28.119 say compassion. And ran. Everybody say ran. And 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:33.160 ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. So when 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.259 the father saw the son coming over the horizon, 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:39.539 I can't help but think that he probably looked 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:41.819 out over that horizon every day that his son 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:48.359 was gone. Because his love for his son was so 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:54.859 great. He was saying, is today the day? Is today 00:20:54.859 --> 00:21:00.819 the day? And my son's going to come home? What 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:04.440 great love. And the son said to him, Father, 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:06.680 I have... He did his rehearsed speech. Father, 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:08.819 I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:13.160 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:16.500 the father, notice that he didn't even acknowledge 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:20.440 what his son said. Because that was his son. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:27.220 He loved his son. I mean, If I was writing this 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:32.440 story, I'd say, well, you know what? I told you 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:35.599 you were going to mess up. I told you you were 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:38.480 doing the wrong thing. I told you that this wasn't 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.759 going to work out too good. So tell me how miserable 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:46.619 you've been. Right? Even a good earthly father 00:21:46.619 --> 00:21:53.039 would probably, you know, call out a little bit. 00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:56.470 I mean, I think I'm a pretty good dad, but I 00:21:56.470 --> 00:22:01.150 would probably call him out a little bit. I know 00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:02.630 you're in church, and you would say you would 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:07.250 never do that because you're in church. But if 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:08.930 you weren't in church, just think about this 00:22:08.930 --> 00:22:11.970 story. If you were not in church, how would you 00:22:11.970 --> 00:22:18.730 respond to a child that ran away and wasted all 00:22:18.730 --> 00:22:20.970 of his inheritance and came back smelling like 00:22:20.970 --> 00:22:26.240 pigs? And remember, this is a Jewish family, 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:28.319 and you know what they think about pigs, right? 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:34.099 But the father said to his servants, didn't even 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.460 acknowledge what his son said. His father said 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.920 to his servants, bring out the best robe. He 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:42.539 didn't say go get the hose pipe and a brush and 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:46.579 wash him down. He said go get the... Come on, 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:51.640 somebody. Bring out the best robe. That robe, 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:53.380 the one, you know which one I'm talking about. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:56.519 Put it on him. Put a ring on his hand. Sandals 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:00.299 on his feet. Bring the fatted calf here and kill 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:05.200 it. And let's eat and be merry. For this my son 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.859 was dead and is alive again. He was lost and 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:15.059 is found. And they began to be merry. This is 00:23:15.059 --> 00:23:17.160 a picture of God. And God is a loving father. 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:23.299 God is a running father. I talk to people all 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:25.400 the time and they're like, I've messed up and 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:28.980 God's mad at me. Have you ever felt that way 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:34.559 before? Come on, let's be honest. You know, I've 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:38.740 messed up again and God has to be disappointed 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:42.619 in me because I've let him down again. God has 00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:49.619 to be mad at me. God's out to get me now. A lot 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:52.289 of times when... When bad things happen because 00:23:52.289 --> 00:23:54.410 we live in a fallen world and it rains on the 00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:56.829 just and the unjust, a lot of times we say, oh, 00:23:56.869 --> 00:24:01.910 that's God getting me. It's God getting me back 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:06.650 because of what I've done. But that's not God. 00:24:08.910 --> 00:24:11.210 God's a loving Father. God's a running Father. 00:24:11.369 --> 00:24:13.910 He's just waiting on you to turn to Him. He's 00:24:13.910 --> 00:24:16.529 waiting on you to come to your senses. And He's 00:24:16.529 --> 00:24:19.650 going to run to you just like this parable Jesus 00:24:19.650 --> 00:24:22.230 said. He wants us to know who the Father is. 00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:26.410 And religion will tell you that the Father is 00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:32.009 mean. He's out to get you. He's putting all this 00:24:32.009 --> 00:24:34.029 bad stuff on you to teach you something because 00:24:34.029 --> 00:24:37.150 you did that wrong thing. That's what religion 00:24:37.150 --> 00:24:41.809 will tell you. But Jesus in this story is saying, 00:24:41.849 --> 00:24:49.420 no, the Father... will run to you, hug you. He 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:54.720 won't even listen to that talk about your unworthiness. 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:01.200 Because you've been made worthy not based on 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:05.359 your ability to perform, but you've been made 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:10.720 worthy by what Jesus did on the cross. If we 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:14.509 can only be in right relationship. With our Father. 00:25:15.890 --> 00:25:19.430 James 4 .8 says, draw near to God and He'll draw 00:25:19.430 --> 00:25:22.230 near to you. You turn to God, He'll run to you. 00:25:23.190 --> 00:25:27.529 That's what the Bible says and teaches. God is 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:31.970 a restoring Father. He's a restoring Father. 00:25:33.490 --> 00:25:37.569 By calling for that robe, you know, His Son said, 00:25:37.730 --> 00:25:43.859 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. The 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.700 father didn't even acknowledge that. He said, 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:51.759 go get the robe. And when you study in the language, 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:54.920 it's like he's talking about a specific robe. 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:58.220 He's talking about a family robe. He's talking 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:01.539 about a son's robe, that robe. You know the one 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:05.279 I'm talking about. That's all included in this 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:09.140 language. And here's what he did. He didn't wash 00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:15.089 him up. He smelled like pigs. It was nasty, dirty. 00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:20.730 But when he came back home, the father put that 00:26:20.730 --> 00:26:25.829 robe on him. And that robe covered all the filth 00:26:25.829 --> 00:26:32.109 and dirt, all of his mistakes. When you're in 00:26:32.109 --> 00:26:35.470 Christ and when you come to Christ, you're clothed 00:26:35.470 --> 00:26:43.680 in the righteousness of Christ. That's what you're 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.099 robed in. That's what the Bible tells us. I'm 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:51.119 not just making this up. He covers us with a 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:54.500 robe of righteousness. And the garments of salvation 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:57.579 is what the verse says. And the robe of righteousness. 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:02.380 And in the ring. He put a ring on his finger. 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:07.119 He was immediately restored to the authority 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.819 that he had walked away from. Immediately restored. 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.359 He didn't have to grovel and work his way up. 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:19.980 No, he's immediately restored. Put shoes on his 00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:23.140 feet. How many of you like to wear shoes, especially 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:27.980 in the hot sun in Florida with asphalt? Aren't 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.460 you glad you have on shoes on hot days when the 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:34.900 asphalt is 120 degrees? Shoes made his walk. 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:37.099 He didn't have asphalt, but he had rocks and 00:27:37.099 --> 00:27:40.140 dirt and all that. Shoes made his walk and his 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:44.779 work easier. Let's everybody say this with me. 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:50.940 God is a good father, a loving father, a running 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:56.059 father, a restoring father. That's who He is. 00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:59.839 Now let's look at the other son. Meanwhile, the 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.180 older son was in the fields working. When he 00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:04.880 returned home, he heard music and dancing in 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:07.339 the house. And he asked one of the servants, 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.940 What's going on? Your brother is back. He was 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:13.799 told, and your father has killed the fattened 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:16.839 calf. We are celebrating because of his safe 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:21.900 return. Let's be happy. The older brother was 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:26.319 not happy. He was angry. He wouldn't go in. He 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.660 refused to go into the party. His father came 00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:32.400 out and begged him, son, come in. Come inside. 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:36.099 Come to the party. But he replied, all these 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:42.440 years, I've slaved for you. And you've never 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:47.539 once refused to do a single thing. Wait a minute. 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:51.160 I've never once refused to do a single thing 00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:56.299 you told me to do. And in all that time, you 00:28:56.299 --> 00:29:00.539 never gave me even one young goat for a party 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:04.420 with my friends, to feast with my friends. You 00:29:04.420 --> 00:29:06.400 didn't even give me a goat. Now you done killed 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.079 the fatted calf and he ran off and wasted everything. 00:29:10.730 --> 00:29:15.670 I've been serving you. I've slaved for you. All 00:29:15.670 --> 00:29:19.630 these years since he's been gone. Yet when this 00:29:19.630 --> 00:29:22.950 son of yours, notice he didn't say when my brother 00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:26.930 comes home. When this son of yours comes back 00:29:26.930 --> 00:29:30.190 after squandering your money on prostitutes, 00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:35.670 you celebrate by killing the fattened calf. His 00:29:35.670 --> 00:29:42.839 father said to him, listen. Look, dear son, you 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:48.099 have always stayed by me and everything I have 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:53.259 is yours. He didn't just give it to him. It was 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:58.380 already his. Hello? Everything I have is yours. 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:09.700 Neither son. was in a good relationship with 00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:15.980 their good father. They were both not in the 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:19.039 type of relationship that their father wanted 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:22.279 to have with them. That's why it's important 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:24.839 for us to know who God is and what kind of father 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:29.839 He is. Because He wants us to be in the right 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:33.559 kind of relationship with Him. But based on what 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:36.140 they each believed about their father, neither 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:39.559 one of them were in the right relationship. The 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:42.640 first son, he thought it would be better to live 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:47.079 independent of his good father, to take what 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:52.019 he could from his good father, and then run off 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:56.539 and be in relationship not with his father or 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:58.839 the things his father was concerned about, but 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:01.900 to be in relationship with the world. He took 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:08.619 all he could and then ran out on his own. And 00:31:08.619 --> 00:31:12.519 that's how a lot of people are with God. They 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:16.039 want to take all they can, but then they want 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:23.779 to live independent of God. They might even come 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:26.579 to church on Sunday morning, but... They live 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:29.519 independent of God on Sunday evening and Monday 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:31.359 and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:37.220 They live their lives independent of God. Look 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:38.559 to the person beside you and say, he's preaching 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:41.599 a little hard. Just pulling your toes just a 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:47.579 little bit. But that's son number one. Living 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:50.900 independent of his good father. Son number two. 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.900 He had been with his father. He had never left 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:57.019 his father. He was there all the time. He slaved. 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:05.279 But in that position, in wrong relationship, 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:10.299 everybody say wrong relationship, he lived below 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:14.579 the privileges of his good father. His father 00:32:14.579 --> 00:32:18.240 said, look, everything I've got is yours. Why 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:19.859 are you complaining? Because I've never given 00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:22.059 you anything. I've already given you everything 00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:26.039 you need. But you've never taken hold of it. 00:32:27.779 --> 00:32:31.640 And a lot of people live that way. Don't they? 00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:36.119 Oh, they're serious about the things of God, 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:37.880 serious about coming to church, all that kind 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:40.480 of stuff. And they've been slaving for God for 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:42.319 a long time. I mean, they're working, they're 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:45.720 volunteering, they're doing all they can. But 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:49.180 then they're like... You'd never do anything 00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:55.059 for me. You know, I see you blessing these other 00:32:55.059 --> 00:33:01.000 people, but you'd never do anything for me. Can 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:08.039 you see it? Both in a wrong relationship. In 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:11.599 a wrong relationship with a good father. Both 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:18.519 of them were. Romans 8, 15. So you have not received 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:23.559 a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:28.920 you received God's spirit, listen, when he adopted 00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:35.240 you as his own children. And now we call him 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:40.700 Abba, Father. This is the other name that we're 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:45.700 looking at today. Abba. God wants us to know. 00:33:47.240 --> 00:33:53.279 That he is our Abba. Abba means dearest father. 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:58.839 We can look at it like a child calling out daddy 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:05.440 to God. Now, that verse says that we've been 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:11.139 adopted. Is anyone in Christ today? If you're 00:34:11.139 --> 00:34:13.139 in Christ, it means that you've been adopted 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:19.179 into the family of God. Now, adoption is the 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:23.820 legal act of permanently placing a child with 00:34:23.820 --> 00:34:27.980 a parent or parents other than their birth parents. 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:32.820 It's just a definition of adoption. And this 00:34:32.820 --> 00:34:35.360 is what we need to understand. Adoption was not 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:37.940 prescribed in Jewish law. I mean, we look at 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:40.599 the Old Testament and you read through Leviticus 00:34:40.599 --> 00:34:45.559 and you don't see any rules for adoption in the 00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:50.380 Old Testament. surrounding the law. It wasn't 00:34:50.380 --> 00:34:54.360 really practiced by the Israelites. In fact, 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:57.900 the term adoption does not occur in the entire 00:34:57.900 --> 00:35:02.619 Old Testament. Now, you might say, now wait a 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:06.980 minute. What about Moses? What about Esther? 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:11.340 Well, those didn't happen in Jewish culture. 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:14.880 They took place in foreign societies in Egypt 00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:22.059 and in Persia. So, here's what we have to understand. 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:26.440 Because when we look at the Word of God, we need 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:31.320 to see how the original hearers heard it and 00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:34.219 how it was written. We don't just take it into 00:35:34.219 --> 00:35:38.300 our own modern day understanding all of the time. 00:35:38.420 --> 00:35:42.079 We need to see how it worked. And what would 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:45.079 have been Paul's understanding? Paul's understanding 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:48.409 of adoption would not be from, him being a scholar 00:35:48.409 --> 00:35:50.889 of the Old Testament, the law and the prophets. 00:35:51.070 --> 00:35:56.210 No, it didn't come from that. It came from Roman 00:35:56.210 --> 00:36:00.449 law and culture. So here's a couple of things 00:36:00.449 --> 00:36:03.829 we need to understand about adoption and Roman 00:36:03.829 --> 00:36:09.869 culture. Adopted children had equal rights with 00:36:09.869 --> 00:36:13.909 biological children, and adopted children had 00:36:13.909 --> 00:36:18.150 full inheritance rights. You could not adopt 00:36:18.150 --> 00:36:21.949 a child and give your inheritance to your naturally 00:36:21.949 --> 00:36:25.309 born children and exclude the adopted child. 00:36:25.590 --> 00:36:29.070 That was part of the adoption. It was a legal 00:36:29.070 --> 00:36:34.070 transaction. They had equal rights with the natural 00:36:34.070 --> 00:36:37.070 born children. And they had full inheritance 00:36:37.070 --> 00:36:44.909 rights. Also, this is even more important. An 00:36:44.909 --> 00:36:50.650 adopted child's past was erased. All previous 00:36:50.650 --> 00:36:56.210 debt was canceled. They were regarded as a new 00:36:56.210 --> 00:37:00.469 person. I mean, even if they're 12 years old, 00:37:00.630 --> 00:37:04.489 it's like they had no life before that point. 00:37:06.150 --> 00:37:10.409 Every debt canceled. A past, anything they did 00:37:10.409 --> 00:37:13.360 in their past was completely erased. Any bad 00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:17.019 thing that they did. They were regarded as a 00:37:17.019 --> 00:37:20.099 new person with a new name and a brand new life. 00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:30.940 Somebody ought to get excited. What did I just 00:37:30.940 --> 00:37:37.000 read? You have not received a spirit that makes 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:39.619 you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's 00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:47.860 spirit when He adopted you. So when you came 00:37:47.860 --> 00:37:50.960 into a relationship with Christ, you know what? 00:37:51.420 --> 00:37:58.780 Your past was completely erased. Any debt you 00:37:58.780 --> 00:38:01.559 have was canceled. You're regarded as a new person 00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:06.539 with a new name and a brand new life. You have 00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:12.800 equal rights. Guess what? The Bible says Jesus 00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:17.980 is our joint heir. I've got a question. What 00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:23.579 do you think is available to Jesus? I've got 00:38:23.579 --> 00:38:25.800 two everythings over here on the front row. I 00:38:25.800 --> 00:38:29.739 think they're getting what I'm saying here. What's 00:38:29.739 --> 00:38:37.440 available to Jesus? What's available? Everything 00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:42.480 that you are confident is available to Jesus 00:38:42.480 --> 00:38:47.510 is available to you if you're in Christ. If we 00:38:47.510 --> 00:38:51.670 could only get a hold of this and apply it to 00:38:51.670 --> 00:38:54.630 our everyday lives, in our relationship with 00:38:54.630 --> 00:39:00.449 our good Father, if we could get it. Here's some 00:39:00.449 --> 00:39:03.449 more verses for you. Galatians 4, 4 -7. But when 00:39:03.449 --> 00:39:07.989 the right time came, God sent His Son, born of 00:39:07.989 --> 00:39:10.670 a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to 00:39:10.670 --> 00:39:13.849 buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law 00:39:13.849 --> 00:39:17.960 so that He could adopt us. As his very own children. 00:39:19.380 --> 00:39:21.800 Somebody say hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. Amen. 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:27.880 And because we are his children. God has sent 00:39:27.880 --> 00:39:31.659 the spirit of his son into our hearts. Prompting 00:39:31.659 --> 00:39:39.000 us to call out daddy. Abba. Father. Now you're 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:42.860 no longer a slave. But God's own child. And since 00:39:42.860 --> 00:39:46.420 you're His child, God has made you His heir. 00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:51.719 If we could only grab a hold of this, I think 00:39:51.719 --> 00:39:55.860 it would change the way we live on Monday and 00:39:55.860 --> 00:40:00.039 Friday and every other day. If we could only 00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:05.260 get a hold of this, through faith in Christ, 00:40:05.619 --> 00:40:11.280 I have been adopted by a good Father. He indwells 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:15.300 me by His Spirit, drawing me into an intimate 00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:19.300 relationship and prompting me to call out to 00:40:19.300 --> 00:40:23.719 Him, to cry out to Him, Daddy, and I possess 00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:27.099 and have access to all the resources of heaven. 00:40:31.460 --> 00:40:33.559 That's what those verses say that I just read. 00:40:35.239 --> 00:40:37.500 Would you be bold enough to say this with me? 00:40:39.920 --> 00:40:42.480 Would you be bold enough to believe what the 00:40:42.480 --> 00:40:48.980 Bible says? Let's say it. Through faith in Christ, 00:40:49.199 --> 00:40:56.360 I have been adopted by a good father. He indwells 00:40:56.360 --> 00:41:02.719 me by his spirit, drawing me into an intimate 00:41:02.719 --> 00:41:07.320 relationship and prompting me to call him daddy. 00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:14.920 I possess and have access to all the resources 00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:20.539 of heaven. That's his name. That's who he is. 00:41:21.019 --> 00:41:23.420 It's the relationship he wants to have with us. 00:41:23.639 --> 00:41:27.260 And those who know your name, when you know him 00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:30.460 as a good father, when you know him as daddy, 00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:34.480 you can put your trust in him. You can put your 00:41:34.480 --> 00:41:37.800 confidence in him. And know that he's not going 00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:41.739 to turn his back on you. When you seek him, when 00:41:41.739 --> 00:41:44.320 you seek him as your good father, when you seek 00:41:44.320 --> 00:41:48.599 him as your daddy, you know he will not forsake 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:53.440 you. When we confidently trust in and know God 00:41:53.440 --> 00:41:58.579 as our dearest good father, daddy, we can live 00:41:58.579 --> 00:42:03.019 in close fellowship with him and enjoy the blessings 00:42:03.019 --> 00:42:13.030 of his inheritance. We need to embrace who God 00:42:13.030 --> 00:42:19.949 is. I wish I could come up with specific applications 00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:23.610 for each person and each age group in this room. 00:42:26.250 --> 00:42:29.429 But we see who He is, what kind of relationship 00:42:29.429 --> 00:42:35.530 He wants to be in with us. And we need to believe 00:42:35.530 --> 00:42:39.829 it. And we need to begin acting like it's true. 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:50.840 Just act like it's true. I mean, how many kids, 00:42:51.199 --> 00:42:54.280 when they find themselves in trouble, run to 00:42:54.280 --> 00:43:03.000 daddy? Huh? I remember running to daddy when 00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:07.960 I felt challenged. Has anybody ever felt challenged 00:43:07.960 --> 00:43:17.909 in life? Has anybody ever felt pressured? Anybody? 00:43:17.909 --> 00:43:23.570 When we turn to Him, He'll run to us. Here's 00:43:23.570 --> 00:43:25.690 the problem. We turn to everything else before 00:43:25.690 --> 00:43:30.269 we wind up last resort turning to God. Really? 00:43:31.869 --> 00:43:35.010 Can anybody say, yep, that's me? A lot of times, 00:43:35.010 --> 00:43:37.329 that's me. You know, we don't want to raise our 00:43:37.329 --> 00:43:38.989 hands because we're in church and we want everybody 00:43:38.989 --> 00:43:42.289 around us to think how spiritual we are. But 00:43:42.289 --> 00:43:50.590 I'm talking about in life. Do we wait to go to 00:43:50.590 --> 00:43:55.869 God as a last resort? Or do we say, wow, this 00:43:55.869 --> 00:44:00.690 thing that I'm facing, I know my God is big enough 00:44:00.690 --> 00:44:02.670 to take care of it, so I'm going to run to Him 00:44:02.670 --> 00:44:06.769 first. I'm going to run to Him first. Because 00:44:06.769 --> 00:44:10.269 He's my good Father. He's going to protect me. 00:44:10.760 --> 00:44:13.760 He's going to provide for me. He's going to love 00:44:13.760 --> 00:44:20.820 me. He's going to restore me. He's a good God. 00:44:22.420 --> 00:44:25.159 This online worship experience was brought to 00:44:25.159 --> 00:44:27.920 you by the friends and partners of Eulation Church.