Romans 8:12-15
One morning, a seminary professors family was eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished-looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here.” But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.'
“Howdy! Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice. “Oklahoma,” they answered. “Well, great to have you here in Tennessee,” the stranger said. “What do you do for a living?” “I teach at a seminary,” he replied. “Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really good story for you.” And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great, just what I need—another preacher story!”
The man started, “See that mountain over there?” (pointing out a restaurant window). “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question. ‘Hey boy, who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so much.
When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about the boy, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘son, who’s your daddy?’
“The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’
“The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy. ‘Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.’
“With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’
“With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them, ‘I’m a child of God.’ ”
The distinguished gentlemen got up from the table and said, “Isn’t this a great story?” The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!” And he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “Do you know that man who just left that was sitting at our table?”
The waitress grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!”
So many people walk through life not truly knowing their true Daddy. They get caught up with their earthly image of their dad. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are as a father, we all mess up at some point and the image of our heavenly Father is filtered through our image of our earthly father.
So if your father wasn’t there, you struggle to believe that God can really be there
If your father was abusive, you struggle to see God as a loving God.
If your father was Godly, and took care of your family, but worked so hard that he was never around, you may struggle to God as always being there—even if you know he is always taking care of you.
Over the past few weeks, we have been focusing on the Holy Spirit, but one of Holy Spirit is to bring Glory to Jesus and one of Jesus’ roles is to bring glory to the Father. Even with that imagery, when I say Father, I picture some British stuffy old dude, Father can you pass the grape Jelly. It almost seems impersonal. I have never heard Josiah walk up to me and call be Father. He sees me and usually runs up to me yelling “Daddy” and he jumps into my arms. God wants to be intimate with us, for us to always really on him, to run up to him and yell daddy.
According to one expert children, go through 4 stages of dealing with their fathers. In stage one, they call you da-da. In stage 2 they grow and call you daddy. As they mature and reach stage 3 they call you dad. Finally in stage 4 they call you to ask for money.
The roll of God the Father is not to replace your earthly Father, but rather to show you what a Father should be—to show you the true meaning of the Father’s love. A Godly Father should point to the glory and love of our Heavenly Father. Today we are going to look at 3 important things God the Father does for us.
Friday night, I was outside laying in my hammock and cuddling Josiah as I read my text book for class. Joy called me to ask if I knew where Josiah was so I turned on the camera and showed her a happy Josiah snuggling in the hammock with Daddy. Meanwhile Joy was holding Judah. I Josiah and I started to talk to Judah and he looked at the phone very confused at why daddy and brother were in there. Joy hung up, but she called me back a second later. From what she told me the second she hung up Judah started screaming. When I picked up the facetime again, he smiled and stopped. She tested the theory and every time she put the phone down he would scream. He wanted his daddy. I told Joy to try and call my mom and see if Grandma could cheer up Judah. Nope it worked for a second, but as soon as Judah realized it was not daddy he started to scream. Joy hung up with me and tried to calm Judah as I continued to study. A little bit later she called asking me to come in because nothing was calming him.
I came inside and held him and he started to talking and whimpering. Then I started to sing to Judah and just started to giggle. Judah wanted his daddy and I as his daddy sang over him and changed his sorrows into giggles-sweet baby Giggles at that.
1. God the father, delights in his children and sings over us.
Zeph 3:17: The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Did you know that God sings, shouts for Joy and dances over you because he loves you so much? He delights in his children. Just like I sang over Judah to calm him, he sings over us, and he wants the same response that Judah gave me. He want us to delight in him. To worship him in Spirit and truth. Take time this morning and think about how much your heavenly father loves you. He loves you enough to give up his one and only son so that we could have a relationships with him. Let the Holy Spirit imbed this truth in your spirit.
Together the words “spirit and truth” mean that real worship comes from the spirit within and is based on true views of God. Worship must have heart and worship must have head. Worship must engage your emotions and worship must engage your thought. Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full of unspiritual fighters. Emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates flaky people who reject the discipline of rigorous thought. True worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine—deep and sound truth. It’s not just worshiping the Lord through the Holy Spirit, but allowing your spirit to touch his—to truly be born of the Spirit.
When Jesus says that true worshipers worship in spirit, he must mean that true worship only comes from spirits that are made alive and sensitive and vital by the touch of the Holy Spirit. Worship the Lord is the only appropriated response to the knowledge and understanding that the Lord Sings over us…it should give us a case of the spiritual giggles—the Joy that comes from the Lord.
2. God the Father is Transforming us
The Holy Spirit is in the business of transforming us in order for us to reflect the glory of Father. We were made in the image of God, but when sin came into the world, it distorted that image and polluted how we see ourselves. We were born into death not life.
Turn with me to Romans 8:12-14.
We were born into flesh and while we are made in the image of God, the flesh has been corrupted by sin—which brings death and destruction. Why is there suffering, because we chose sin, but through the blood of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit we are together brought from death to life. Jesus explains it in John 3: 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” We are not trapped to the debt of sin, but because Jesus paid the price of our sin, we can be born of Spirit and live according to the Spirit. This is what it means to be led, and born of the Spirit.
Vs 14-17
When we were born of the Spirit He brought us into the spirit of adoption. Heirs with Christ who sits in glory…jump over to 2 Cor 3:17
Where the spirit the Lord is there is liberty—there is FREEDOM! We are not bound by sin or guilt, but giving the full privilege of the adopted. The Romans took adoption very seriously. When verse 16 says, “but you have received the the Spirit of Adoption.” The Greek word is “????es?a?” and means “the placement of a son, that does not naturally belong to a father, into a position where he has the same privileges, benefits, and responsibilities as a natural born son.” This was not a Jewish tradition, but rather a Roman one.
Romans went through a process where rights were transferred…where a child was symbolically purchased from the other family line…it was called Patria Potestas. When it was complete the adopted child had every single privilege and right of the natural born. It was done in the presence of 7 witnesses who stepped forward and swore the adoption was genuine (many of the Roman emperors were adopted sons…including Caesar Augustus)]
The Apostle Paul is a Roman Citizen…He knows the process and the result…1) the adopted child loses all rights to his former life, including all debts. 2) Even if other children are born afterwards it doesn’t affect his inheritance…he is a co-heir. 3) He receives a new name…He is regarded as a new person, and 4) in the eyes of the law he is absolutely the son of a new father—a greatly treasured because the Father chose him rather than was given him through natural means.
The Apostle Paul carries every single one of these Roman truths over to our Spiritual adoption by God, the Father…Our former life is erased, our debts are cancelled. We are co-heirs with God’s only son, Jesus Christ…We are brand new people.
And the witness to the process…the one who proclaims the adoption is absolutely real and true…God’s Spirit.
His witness and affirmation of this adoption is so convincing it makes us yell out “Abba.” This is the Aramaic word for Father…but it’s really more deeply intimate…it means “Daddy.”
2 Cor 3:18 Not only are full sons and daughter’s of the father, but we are being transformed into his likeness in order to reflect His glory by the Holy Spirit. Moses reflected the glory of God, but chose to hide it behind a vail, but we as children of the Lord are called to live in freedom—by taking off the veil…the mask and reflecting the Lord’s glory where we go. Through this God is transforming who we are…no longer slavers to sin and flesh, but freedom through the Spirit.
As we continue to live according to the spirit we are to called to not reflect the customs of our world, but of the father. Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
God the Father transforms us into glory and when we reflect his glory our very thoughts should be transformed through the renewing of our mind so that we may know the will of God…why because we are reflecting his full glory through that same transformation.
3. God the Father is Holding us close
Yesterday morning, Judah was ready for a nap. When he gets this way he will scream and fight and make some of the worst noises a baby can make. Joy and I both recognize this behavior and try to comfort him, well yesterday Joy had tried for about 5 min and Judah was just as mad so she passed him over to me. With my left hand I held him tight so that he could not move and with my right hand I held his hand and he mine. As I rocked him he slowly gave into his father’s arms and fell asleep. This is the same thing God does for us.
There are times—quite a few times—when we don’t know what we want, so we cry and scream at God, but he just holds us tight… Read Psalm 63:3-8
He holds us tight, he shelters us from evil all we have to do is to stop struggling against him and be still and know that He has it all under control. '
(Altar Music)
As I close this morning I want you to close your eyes and picture your Abba Father, your daddy God. Breath in his loving kindness, picture him this morning singing over you. Slowly breath in and out…
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God. (Psalm 62)
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us
As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks, (Psalm 42)
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
Picture him coming over you and as his waves crash, he washes away your sings, and the waves pull out they pull out the curse of death, as they flow over you they transform you through the spirit of adoption so that you can call him Abab Father, and reflect the Glory of God
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
Fear not, for I am with you; (Is 41:10)
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Feel the presence of the Lord holding you tight through your hardships and feel his comfort come over you, as you find refuge in his wings.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Allow God to fill you, Feel his peace, feel his Joy and hope flow though you through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Close in song: Song Recommendation Goodness of God)
