“Welcome to the Family!”
TLH 32: Redeemed, Restored, Forgiven
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Please join me for a word of prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You this day as heirs in Jesus Christ. We are Your promised children. Born not of the Law, but of Your Spirit of grace. Empower and strengthen us, to embrace our new identity as sons and daughters in Jesus Christ, born of Your everlasting love. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen… Amen!
Kindly read Galatians 4:4-7
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to son-ship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
For many, family is relative. Before I married, I had many sons and daughters… my wife and I have 2 daughters, our girls, however have many other siblings…. I have never been a divorcee neither have I been a widower, my other children are not products of wedlock… it sounds confusing; how could I probably have children without marriage. It’s beautifully messy isn’t it.
No worries… probably you might figured it out; I run a Charitable Organization. Family for me is not simply determined by the bonds of blood, but by the bonds of love. Many I consider family are not connected to me in anyway by blood; they are none-the-less my family by adoption.
Rev. if I get you right… family can be related by either blood or adoption
Mr. Kyei; in God’s family, both cases are true. As the children of promise we are both adopted and connected by blood—not by the blood of our earthly parents, but by the blood of Jesus. This has been the promise all along… way back in the Garden of Eden… Gen 3:15 records; the promised Seed of the woman will crush the head of satan the devil; the original serpant.
It was a covenant made by God Himself and ultimately made possible in the God-man Jesus. This promise made to our spiritual forefather, Abraham, known at that time as Abram—was a big promise to keep…
Rev. At the time of the promise, Abram was without an heir,
Yes, and fearing that he would die without a child, Abram believed his estate would pass to his head steward. But God’s plan was different.
Dear listeners, God has plans for you! Just keep your dial as we …..
Genesis 15:4-6 records: “… the word of the Lord came to (Abram): ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ Then God took Abram outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can number them.’ Then God said to Abram, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
This resolute promise of God; would be kept generation after generation, until the right time that Jesus would be born. Kindly read Gal..
Galatians 4:4-7
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive adoption to son-ship.
Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir.”
Dear listener, if you are Baptized in the name of the Triune God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit; You are legitimate sons and daughters of God… Hallelujah! Amen!
You are gifted the very Spirit of God—a Spirit that cries out to God, “Father, Father!” that Spirit resides within you; You are God’s child and His everlasting heir, and not even satan has power to take that away from you; Hallelujah. Amen!
Rev. Abram believed and it was credited to him as righteousness…how are we connected to Abram?
We simply connect to Abraham by faith; when we believe God’s promise…
Quick reference to Galatians 3:7-9: “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Learn here that Scriptures foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and therefore God announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham: saying ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ Dear listeners; those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Hallelujah! Amen!
However until the coming of Jesus, we like Abraham’s household, were under a steward.
Rev. who was this steward, if I may ask?
Interestingly, this steward was not a man. Rather the Law of God as recorded in Galatians 3:23-25 I quote: “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the Law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the Law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” Praise God. Amen!
- This is one of the most beautiful-yet-difficult truths to hold-on-to as Christians.
- Just like Abraham, true Christians are people of faith, not people of works.
- We are people of grace, not people of the Law.
Friends…to be honest, As I look back in recent times, I am amazed and saddened at how often I forget this wonderful truth of God…Lord help my unbelief and increase my faith.
Cherished listeners: many a times I fell back into the grips of the guardian, allowing myself to be locked up again, and again. I wasn’t simply locked up in my house due COVID-19 pandemic, NO! I was locked up in my spirit, by the Law. During times of doubt and temptation, times of insecurity, my faith weakened and the law consumed me…
Quickly ref to Galatians 3:10-14: “For all who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse, as it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’
Friends: Clearly, no one who relies on the Law is justified before God, because ‘the righteous will live by faith.’ The Law is not based on faith but works.
Dear listeners! Hear me well; I am not condemning good works… our neighbors and Governments need our good works! In fact, Christians are to do more good works than the unbeliever because we have a hope!. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming our substitute, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ Jesus redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Him, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”… Hallelujah! Amen!
Rev. how does all this work-out, kindly simplify it for us!
Thank you for the opportunity; Jesus, through the Waters of baptism, took our filthiness upon Himself and simultaneously impacts His righteousness unto us… remember, when John the Baptizer attempted to prevent Jesus from coming to him to be baptized… Jesus replied saying, for the sake of all righteousness… let it be so.
Friends, by your baptism Jesus has redeemed you from the curse of the Law. For all our sin and failures, Jesus allowed Himself to be bound, to be beaten, to be killed, to be crucified, so that we might have an eternal family in the household of God…
Jesus provides forgiveness. Jesus provides a way back home. And through Him alone true believers are saved… Hallelujah! Amen!
Read Verse 26-29 of the Book of Galatians 3:
Galatians 3:26-29 “So in Christ Jesus you are all the children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Thanks be to God!. Dear Baptized believer; rejoice greatly because you are a promise fulfilled. The promise given to father Abraham that through Jesus- his offspring, God would create a nation—a nation that outnumbered the stars, a nation that would bless the world…. Hallelujah! Amen!
What a revelation; Rev. it was Isaac born for Abraham, but you are saying Jesus…
The birth of Isaac to Abraham was a shadow pointing to Jesus… I said earlier that Jesus is the promises made in the Garden of Eden and God’s promise was kept generation after generation till Jesus…Dear Christians; We are the children of the promise, the children of Abraham. By faith, we are God’s mighty nation dressed in white robes of righteousness washed scarlet clean in Jesus’ blood… Hallelujah! Amen!
Cherished listeners: God’s nation is unlike all others. For it is not bound by geography, race, or political affiliation—its a nation in which no ballots are cast, but eternal election is secured.
Thanks for that input; God’s nation, finds its unity in the promised offspring, who is the Son of the living God… Jesus is the Son of God; the Truth of the Rock upon which the church is built, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. And in this Christian unity we become a kingdom of priests, a holy people, a family of grace, bound together in the God-man Jesus. Friends and my dear listeners; Jesus is the promise for you and for your children to believe in, not by works that anyone should boast… no! but by faith!
On that note we take a Break… when we come back… summarize
As we reflect on events… COVID-19, elections 2020 and the after mouth, of the funeral and burial of our beloved Ex President Jerry John Rawlings-may his souls Rest in Peace!; we are reminded of our identity as God’s adopted children, we are children of the promise, and heirs to God’s kingdom.
In the scheme of things; I encourage you to move in this baptismal faith, clinging to God’s unending grace, embracing the freedom Jesus won on that rugged cross.
Rev. What are the hallmarks of our new adopted family?
The book of Galatians gives indications. It describes our Christian family as one that stands firm in Christ’s freedom, and walks united in the Spirit, bearing one another’s burdens in love.
Without standing firm in Christ’s freedom—everything else fails. Everything we are called to be and do is rooted in the freedom we have received in Christ Jesus… Hallelujah! Amen!
Its important to Note! That falling back under the Law, or to rule our brothers and sisters by the Law, is fatal to the Christian family on earth. This was the very concern of Paul as he wrote to the church in Galatia.
Rev. Old habits die hard,
Sure; but falling back into old habit brings death ok. This is not to say that the Law has no purpose in the life of God’s children… No! The Law still shows us God’s will and it faithfully directs our daily lives, but the law no longer defines who we are.
Wuao! No longer are we held captive to the Law, or defined by it.
Yes, we have a new identity, one that is rooted in Christ Jesus. Dear listener; It can take a lifetime for you to accept this transformational truth; to see yourselves and other as forgiven children of God, who continually sin, yet are not defined by it.
Rev. This is a deep Christian mystery.
Clinging to this liberation, Apostle Paul describe that we can begin to walk united in the Spirit. Each and every day in the Christian life; we are presented with two very different roads to travel. The first is defined by the desires of the flesh and the second by the fruits of the Spirit.
The road defined by desire is a familiar one. On it we find; enmity, strife, jealousy and anger, rivalries, divisions, envy, and the list goes on. This never-ending list which includes your secret sin is the very reason the Law exists.
Alternatively there is another road—the one defined by the fruits of the Spirit’s. The Spirit lead us to find different things which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
On this road, we follow the Spirit, united with our brothers and sisters, leaving all conceit, provocation, and envy behind.
But there will be times, as in every family, sin and conflicts arise, what are we to do… Rev
- In any and every transgression, we are called to restore our brother or sister in a spirit of gentleness, a gift provided by the Spirit Himself.
- To bear the burden of one another is one of the greatest expressions of love itself. It’s what Jesus did for us, bearing the burden of our sin on the cross so that we might be set free and welcomed to the family of God.
- Bearing one another’s burdens, takes all the fruits of the Spirit in combination with humility; recognizing who we are…we are God’s adopted children.
In challenging times of: Fear, anger, depression, division, death ect— we can easily forget who we are.
- If you’re tempted to listen to the the Law, I want you to know that Jesus has set you free.
- If you feel worthless, know that God considered you to be worth the life of His Son.
- If you feel unloved, I proclaim to you that God’s love for you in Jesus is deeper and eternal than any you have ever experienced. God always love you. There is no need to fear. For in Jesus, God is on your side. He is your Father and you are His child.
Welcome to the family! Amen.
Credit: Rev. Dr. Anthony (Tony) Cook