Independence Day
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Do you know where the declaration of independence was signed? Right at the bottom!
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Why do ducks love the 4th of July? Fire-Quackers!
Tuesday is Independence Day. As you know, the United States of America only became the country we know and love because back on July 4th, 1776 a group of representatives from the 13 original colonies- called the Continental Congress-adopted a document called the Declaration of Independence.
They declared that they no longer wanted to be under the control of a King. They declared that all people are created equally and have rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We celebrate this declaration that led to the founding of our country. I am thankful, and I know you are thankful to be called American.
Today I want to talk about a different declaration that we as believers can make in our lives. We, like the founding fathers of our country, can take a stand in a lost world. We can declare that we are part of the Kingdom of God.
We have a RIGHT to declare our independence from death, destruction, and our sinful human nature. As adopted children of God we now have new rights. We are completely new through Christ.
Listen to this amazing scripture of independence:
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
15 For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.
In Romans 8 we are told that every saved person has been brought into the family of God and enjoys all the rights and privileges of natural born children. We are no longer slaves to fear.
To experience real freedom we need to understand this truth. We can declare our independence today from our old way of living, our old way of thinking, and even our old ways of believing, because we are God’s children. We are a new creation in Him.
God wants you to know that you’re His child. He loves you unconditionally. He wants to set you free from your past, your addictions, your struggles, and freedom from what’s holding back in living all out for Him.
We Have A New Family
We Have A New Family
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
When we surrender to Jesus as the Lord of our lives, we became the God’s children. That is, we were removed from the family of Adam and were transplanted into the family of God.
1 Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children. The reason the world doesn’t recognize who we are is that they didn’t recognize him.
The apostle John tell us that we are His children now, and that one day, we will be just like our new Father.
You know, the Bible tells us that as we mature and grow in our walk with Christ, we become more and more like Christ.
It’s how God made us physically, and how He made us Spiritually.
Remember, way back, when you were a kid and your parents would say or do something and you think in your head, “I’ll never say that or do that to my kids!”, but sure enough one day you find yourself doing the exact thing that your parents did?
Didn’t it just burn you up?
It’s human nature to develop traits that are similar to our family. It just happens, whether we like it or not!
The same holds true in the life of the believer. If a person is saved, they will develop traits that are like the Father’s family.
The primary trait being that they will be led by the Spirit of God!
Remember, every child of God has the Holy Spirit living within him, Rom. 8:9
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
If you are part of God’s family, then you will take on the traits of His family.
If you plant an apple tree, over time, once it matures it will produce apples - not oranges!
When the Spirit of God is in you, as you mature, you will bear the fruit of His Spirit!
Here’s a quick self-test - not to condemn you or make you feel bad, but you need to ask yourself if you’re part of God’s family. One of the ways to do this is to examine if your life is a reflection of this scripture:
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT)
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control.
These are the traits of a person who’s part of the family of God. When you’re part of God’s family you need to ask Him to help you produce this type of fruit in all areas of your life.
Really, the only way to show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is to surrender our lives fully and completely to Him.
Surrender is the key. What did you have before Christ? Nothing!
We want to be part of God’s family, but we don’t want to obey our Father. This is immaturity. We need to stop trying to see what we can get away with and start trying to please the Lord through our faith in Him.
The truth is that only when we surrender to Him can we actually experience freedom!
36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Free from guilt, shame, and the debt of our sin nature.
We have a new family and...
We Have A New Father
We Have A New Father
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
We have been delivered from the bondage of fear because we have been adopted into the family of God. In our society, adopted children often feel, and are perceived to be, second class members of the family.
Having three girls, I’ve watched Cinderella more times then I want to admit. Remember how she was treated? She lived in a fireplace!
Or have you ever heard the statement, Red Headed Step-Child?
Society hasn’t been kind to adopted children. Positive thoughts or feelings are not always associated with being adopted.
That is sad, but true for many. They are forever reminded of the fact that they were not born in to the adoptive family.
When the Bible says we are adopted into God’s family it doesn’t mean we are second class.
It means to place as a son. The picture of adoption is a beautiful picture of what God does for the Christian.
Remember Paul was writing to people living in Rome. They had certain laws.
In ancient Rome, to be adopted was considered a great privilege.
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. If you were placed in a new family that father had complete control over your life.
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.
Look at what Paul was saying: When you gave your life over to Christ you were adopted into the family of God.
You have a new Father!
1 - You can’t be taken away from Him. You can be sure that once you’re in the family no one can take you from His family. It’s a permanent arrangement.
2 - You have new rights! You’ve been washed clean and made whole. You can stand boldly before God the Father as His legitimate child!
3 - As an adopted child you have been made a new person. Your old obligations and debts are wiped clean. The old you doesn’t exist anymore. You’re a place son or daughter of the Most High God!
Joining God’s family means you have been set FREE! You are placed as a Son or Daughter of the most High God. He is your new Father.
I hope you hear this scripture today and take it to heart...
You have a new family, a new father, and
We Have A New Freedom
We Have A New Freedom
Look again at verse 15 - we need to focus on this thought of being set free from fear.
15 And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”
You and I can never ever measure up. No matter how good we are, we still mess things up. Because of that fact, religion has set out certain rules for us to follow to try to obtain some sort of perfection.
Well, the people Paul was writing too knew all to well that the religious laws were impossible to keep. They lived in fear of not measuring up. Fear that God would ultimately reject them for not being perfect.
Paul wanted them to know that through Christ we have been given a new family, a new father, and also a freedom to know that we are accepted!
Now, in Jesus, we are brought into a close relationship with our new Heavenly Father. A relationship so close that we are permitted to address Him as “Abba” or “Daddy.”
Well, our relationship with our Father in Heaven is not “Dad” - it’s “Daddy” because we need Him so much. We don’t have fear, we have intimacy.
We have reverence and respect, of course, but we know that our Father will not harm us, He loved us enough to lay down His own life.
Come to Him knowing that He’s not a far off “father”, but He’s the daddy we can cling to throughout every thing we face in life.
In your private time, reach up to Him, call Him Daddy. He loves you so much more than you know.
The freedom that comes with being part of God’s family also comes with assurance that we are His children!
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Not only have we been adopted into the family of God, but we are given priceless assurance of that fact in our hearts day by day.
The child of God has a blessed communion with the Holy Spirit of God. It was this relationship that was predicted by the Lord Jesus Himself, John 14:16–18; John 16:7–15. .
The Spirit of God has fellowship with those who are saved by grace and that is one of the surest ways to know that you have been born again! If you are genuinely saved, you will know it because the Spirit of God will bear witness 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 through His Word.
People who haven’t placed faith in Christ might think this is nuts, but it’s only because they haven’t experienced God’s Spirit.
Like a mother who wraps her arms around that insecure child everyday and expresses her undying love, the Spirit of God does the same things for the redeemed child of the Lord. He is the Divine lover of our soul!
We have a new family, a new Father, a new freedom, and..
I’ve been waiting all day to share this one...
We Have a New Inheritance
We Have a New Inheritance
17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Not only are we adopted into the family and assured of that fact everyday of our lives, we are also wealthy beyond measure.
This verse teaches us that we are the heirs of God. May I remind you that our Heavenly Father is wealthy beyond measure?
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
We have the privilege of sharing in the vast wealth of our heavenly Father.
Don’t forget what Paul says:
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
He is able to meet our needs no matter how great they may appear. What He has belongs to us right now, Luke 12:32
32 So don’t ever be afraid, dearest friends! Your loving Father joyously gives you his kingdom realm with all its promises!
In this life we may not be materialistically wealthy, but we are spiritually wealthy.
Not only are we the heirs of God, but we have been made joint-heirs with Jesus.
Literally, we are given an equal share in the wealth of our Father.
Under Roman Law, what Paul was referring too here in this scripture, 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 - 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!
I like how Warren Wiersbe comments on this scripture:
Every believer is a child of God by birth and an heir of God through adoption. In fact, we are joint-heirs with Christ, so that He cannot receive His inheritance in glory until we are there to share it with Him.
We are join-heirs with Christ - He cannot receive HIS inheritance in glory until we are THERE to share it WITH Him!
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. One look around will tell the tale forever, Rev. 21:1–22:5
Even if you’re just a janitor in Heaven, it’ll be great because you’ll be sweep up gold dust from the streets of gold!
I don’t know what Heaven and the presence of God will be like. John was writing what he saw from an earthly perspective with words thats that couldn’t really capture the Glory of God.
There is no comparison between what we have now in the Spirit and what we endured in the flesh.
Now, back to our Declaration of Independence. Today can be the day for you to have everything changed.
I’m going to ask a simple question that could change your life forever.
Do you want to be Adopted?
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
and
8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.
9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.
10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
Everyone, please stand to your feet today. Every head bowed and eyes closed.
There are people here today that need a family, they need a father, they need freedom, and they need an inheritance.
My question to you is, are you ready to be adopted. If you are this morning, can I ask you to raise your hand?
Please join me at the front of the stage today.
You might be here struggling with this matter of assurance (knowing that you are an heir with Christ).
If so, the Holy Spirit can help you get your sonship settled.
Others may be dealing with a need in their lives.
Why not bring that need to the One Who owns it all and let Him meet it for you?
Some may just want to come before the Lord and thank Him for adopting you into His family.
We are a blessed people and we need to be grateful. Whatever the need of your heart, there is help in the presence of God.