GOD’S RUGRATS
John 1:10-13
#John1
INTRODUCTION 1… https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-funniest-thing-your-kid-said_n_7213254
I ran across some funny quotes by children this week that I wanted to share with you. I found them pretty funny. I selected the best of the best for us to enjoy and ponder on a little bit.
1 I went to see a mortgage advisor with my 7-year-old son. As I sat at the desk, my son sat down and said to the man, “Hello, I am not her husband.”
2 5 year old: Can I have a twik? Me: You mean twix? 5 year old: No, I only want one.
3 Soccer coach: When you are trying to score a goal, kick the ball with the laces of your shoes. 4 year old: Um, we are in preschool. Dere’s only belcro walking around here.
4 Me: Why is the dog’s head all wet? My 3 year old: Oh because I peed on him.
5 I told my kids that we are no longer saying ‘shut up’ because it sounds mean and can hurt people’s feelings. So my kids are getting creative with their use of words. My 9 year old daughter was talking and my 6 year old son couldn’t take it anymore and said “Silence you peasant!”
6 When my child came home from school on the bus, I paused a work conference call I was on to ask how her day was. She responded, “Shhh, go back to work. I have a list of things I want you to buy me with the money you’re making.” She’s five.
When we think of children, we think of characteristics like sweet, honest, innocent, and playful. When we think of children, we also might think of characteristics like demanding, disobedient, too honest with no filter, and selfishness. Children also need to be taught and do not know about life. I like the honesty of the kid who said there’s no ‘belcro walking around here.’ Peeing on the dog’s head is funny and expected and bad all at the same time. ‘Silence you peasant’ will probably make it to our house now. Children have a certain perspective on the world that is often lost as we get older and have more experiences. Children, according to Jesus, have a quality in their faith that you and I should emulate for He said (Matthew 18:3): "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
INTRODUCTION 2… Larry Skirvin Last week (p)
Last week, Larry Skirvin got up to do his communion meditation and before he even started he addressed the congregation and said, “Good morning… children!” Do you remember that? He then said that we don’t often think of ourselves as children, but we are according to the Bible. Our passage this week talks about believers in terms of children. As we dig into John 1:10-13, we are going to see some characteristics of God’s children and then I want to encourage us in our identity as children of the Almighty God.
READ John 1:10-13
He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
In this part of John 1, the Apostle John is reflecting on the implications of Jesus coming into the world and being the True light. He is reflecting on Jesus bringing us salvation and life. One of the huge implications in John’s mind is that we have the opportunity to become children of God.
We can have Him as our Heavenly Father.
We can be heirs of all of Creation that God has made for us.
We can be adopted into His family.
In John 1:10-13, the children of God recognize Him, receive and believe Him, and have certain rights as His children.
I. RECOGNIZE HIM (VERSE 10)
One of the first marks of a child of God that John points out is that they recognize Him. The world does not recognize Jesus because they don’t want to or have not found the need to. The world does not recognize Him, but those who are His children do. We have come to know Him and recognize His voice in the Scriptures and obey His teachings. He is our Savior. He is our True Light.
John talks about this also in 1 John 3:1-2 which says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
John really identifies this theme as being God’s children in his writings more than any other writer in the Scriptures. He states very clearly again in these verses that we are children of God, but the interesting part of that is we are not sure what that all entails after this life. We know Jesus died for us. We know Jesus promised to be with us in this life and take care of us after this life… but how that all actually works out… we aren’t so sure. It is not clear and we only see in part. It takes faith. We do know matter-of-factly that if we keep our eyes on Jesus we will one day see fully what our faith only shows us in part. It will be better than we have ever imagined!
In John 8:41-43 we see the interaction of Jesus and leaders and others in the temple. John 8 says, “We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.”
Notice what Jesus says to these folks. These folks in Jesus’ presence cannot hear what He says about God and life and wisdom because they cannot recognize Him as sent from God, teaching God’s will, or even as the Messiah. Their hearts are hard. Their necks are stiff. Their ears are closed. All of those are ways of saying that they refused to recognize Jesus and the work of the Spirit He was doing in their midst.
ILLUSTRATION… Recognizing Children (p)
I used to think that people who could recognize their children and family members in old photos and such were weird. I always used to struggle when looking at old family photos to know who was who. When you look at old pictures, how do you know who is who? People change over time. I thought that until I had children. When I look at old photos now of our family, I know which baby picture is which kid. Even the smashed faced ones where their heads are covered and you only see the pinky toe… I would know which kid was which in the picture.
What changed?
I would like to think that it is intimacy that allows me to know which kid is which… which family member is pictured… no matter the time that had elapsed. A heart of love allows me to know them. Somehow I feel like that is the same here. You and I can recognize God’s voice, His teachings, and what He wants for us, but only if we are intimate with Him. Only if we love Him. Only if we spend time with Him will we rightly recognize God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit in our lives.
II. RECEIVE AND BELIEVE HIM (VERSES 11-12)
Another of the marks of a child of God that John points out is that they receive and believe Him. Now we might think that “recognizing” Jesus and “receiving” and “believing” are the same thing. They are certainly similar, but “recognizing” seems to be internal with our minds and “receiving” and “believing” are acts of the will and deal with our obedient actions. “Receive” and “believe” have their roots in action.
John also talks about being children of God and being “overcomers” in 1 John when he writes, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (4:4). Notice that we are able to recognize God, the voice of God, and the teachings of Jesus and can overcome the world because we have the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. The children of God overcome the sinfulness and temptations of this world because we are children of God and we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. We are marked as God’s territory. One huge mark of being a child of God is having the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as a seal and sign that we belong to God and He has adopted us.
John continues later in 1 John 5:1-4 by saying, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world.” Again, John speaks of the children of God as overcomers because we act on what we have received and believe. We obey His commands. We obey the teachings of Jesus. Please understand that your life and standing before God are dependent upon your obedience to the faith that you have professed.
Christianity is not a faith where one can say some magic words once, get dunked in a pool, and then you are good to go the rest of your life. If that is what you think, you have missed it. That is NOT a child of God.
Christianity is a faith where we confess our sinfulness and need for Christ, are buried with Him in baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and we then walk in a brand new life daily seeking to leave our old life behind and grow up in our salvation. That is a child of God.
TRANSITION AND ILLUSTRATION
The Scriptures establish, in John 1 and as we will see in a few minutes, in some other places as well, that we who recognize, believe, and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are children of God. That status brings with it some rights. That adoption into the family of God has extreme consequences, benefits, and calling on our lives. Being a child of God is significant.
ILLUSTRATION… https://nccs.net/blogs/americas-founding-documents/bill-of-rights-amendments-1-10
As I was thinking about this, I could not help but think of the United States and the Bill of Rights that we enjoy as citizens. If you are a citizen of the United States, then the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are rights you have as citizens.
Amendment 1: Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press
Amendment 2: The Right to Bear Arms
Amendment 3: The Housing of Soldiers
Amendment 4: Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
Amendment 5: The Right to be Innocent until Proven Guilty
Amendment 6: Rights of Accused to Speedy Fair Trials
Amendment 7: Right of a Trial by Jury
Amendment 8: Excessive Bail, Fines, and Punishments Forbidden
Amendment 9: Rights are not just ones in the Constitution
Amendment 10: Federal Government is limited by the Constitution
This is not history or civics class, but those rights are yours because you are an American Citizen. You have them. They are yours. Men and women have died and spilled their blood to ensure that no one can take them away from you. We should note that not everyone in the world has these same rights. In other countries many of these wonderful freedoms are only a dream and they might laugh if we suggested that everyone should have such rights.
Having these rights makes me stand taller.
Having these rights makes me proud to be an American.
Having these rights makes me pray for those who defend these freedoms.
As we think about such things, please understand that you and I have rights because we are children of God. We are citizens of Heaven and being citizens of Heaven brings more blessings for us than we can possibly imagine.
III. RIGHTS AS CHILDREN (VERSES 12-13)
What I’d like to do is read a few passages that address us as children of God and lay out for us what that means. Full disclosure: I want you to be encouraged. As a child of God, I want you to hold your head high... not because of us, but because of Him! I want you to enjoy being a believer and desire that other people around you might also find faith. I want you to have a lightness to your heart as you think about these things.
I also want you to know that Jesus Christ died and shed His blood for you so that you could have these rights and live this life as a child of God. Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we could be children of God. Without Jesus, we are spiritual orphans. Without Jesus, we have no spiritual connection with God. Jesus died that we might belong to God and be adopted into His family and saved.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
First,
READ Romans 8:16-21
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”
What does it mean to be a child of God?
Article 1: We have the Holy Spirit that ensures us personally that we are God’s children.
Article 2: We inherit Heaven sharing in the sufferings and then the glory of Christ.
Article 3: We have hope and faith rooted in Christ in the midst of present sufferings.
Article 4: We share in the liberation from sin and decay and have freedom in Christ instead.
Second,
READ Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
Article 5: We have the ability to imitate God and His way of life.
Article 6: We have the ability to love others sacrificially as Christ loved us sacrificially.
Third,
READ Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life-- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
Article 7: We are blameless and pure in the sight of Almighty God.
Article 8: We can shine like a star in a world that is dark and in need.
Article 9: We have the Word of life and can share it.
Article 10: We have Jesus Christ our Savior Who is coming back for us.
CHILDREN OF GOD SUMMARY/RECAP
Article 1: We have the Holy Spirit that ensures us personally that we are God’s children.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 2: We inherit Heaven sharing in the sufferings and then the glory of Christ.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 3: We have hope and faith rooted in Christ in the midst of present sufferings.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 4: We share in the liberation from sin and decay and have freedom in Christ instead.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 5: We have the ability to imitate God and His way of life.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 6: We have the ability to love others sacrificially as Christ loved us sacrificially.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 7: We are blameless and pure in the sight of Almighty God.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 8: We can shine like a star in a world that is dark and in need.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 9: We have the Word of life and can share it.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
Article 10: We have Jesus Christ our Savior Who is coming back for us.
[expand as the Spirit leads]
ENCOURAGEMENT… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKw6uqtGFfo
Or
ENCOURAGEMENT… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcC1Bp13n_4
CLOSE IN PRAYER
