THE THOUGHT OF ADOPTION
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Much like most of us I had had my mindset on the fact that by accepting God's invitation to believe in Christ it gave me an automatic pass into the kingdom of heaven. At least that's the way I felt until the Holy Spirit began to give me information one night about the process we go through with God in our true acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is this adoption process that is the next subject of our discussion this week.
"What is it that we can say then concerning our inheritance in God's kingdom? Like all others we too believe that Jesus is the son of God. We believe he suffered, died, and was buried then rose again on the third day to forgive us of sins past present and future so that we as God's crown jewel of creation could once again have a relationship with the father and not be thwarted by the power that sin has had over us. We have been given the second of the greatest gifts ever given; the first being our chance to have eternal life with the father because of being created in his image. The second is the gift we have been given of choice that our relationship to the father would be truthful. We are like him in that we can choose to love and serve him out of our own will to do so, or we can choose to ignore his love for us and by our own will turn away from his love and gifts to us. The father has extended to us the opportunity of being adopted into his family out of his grace and love toward us as his creation. It is our own actions which dictate whether or not it is or is not to be so in our lives. Too many times those who speak of God's unbending love toward us tend to lead us to believe that God expects nothing in return from us except for a certain amount of lip service and a few hours of worship per week.
If we come together to worship and just sit through a sermon on how we can live for him we have done all that is necessary to inherit the kingdom of God... But is that the real truth? How many have you heard of who have chosen to separate themselves from their families and divorced themselves from what they have? Don't we realize that by turning a deaf ear to the needs of God's family we are saying I don't want you or what you stand for? Don't we know that if we choose to continue in this manner with God's chosen purpose in our lives we will find ourselves divorced from his calling and principles; therefore divorced from his kingdom by our own wills? We must bear fruit to be a part of his vineyard! We must take a stand for his principles in our lives if we are to become a part of the inheritance that he has offered to us. We must give an account for what we believe in Christ Jesus and why we believe it, otherwise we be of no grounded value to his purpose in us and of no value in bearing fruit in his vineyard. If that is the case then we are of no commitment in becoming an adopted child or of having a part in the inheritance of his kingdom. It is time for each one of us to take into consideration our own values to the spiritual family. It is time to pay even the smallest prices to be a member of God's kingdom. It does none of us any good to take from the father with no intent of giving back out of love. Where is the love and the gratitude for what he has set before us? Our worship and our lives conducted in such a way as to make the father proud of us as his children is what is called for in this age. While it is true that we can do nothing toward earning our salvation it is also true that we must be able to be genuine in our affections toward someone whom we love and acknowledge as our father in heaven. If we cannot do this at all we really do become a mockery to Christ and our family status is of no value to the father. We do have a great stake in our Christian lives to become as fully a part of God's family as we can. It is good for us to bask in the light of God's love and assist children, but equally as important that we take out the trash sometimes as well. Our limes can be so filled with God's presence and power and yet it is we who must start the process by our own will to become a part and an important part of our new family and of our eternal inheritance into God's kingdom." It is when I began to realize this that my attitude changed toward seeking after God in my life. I pray that some of what I share with you causes you to ask some very important spiritual questions to yourself about where you are, and what your commitment to Christ is. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Much like most of us I had had my mindset on the fact that by accepting God's invitation to believe in Christ it gave me an automatic pass into the kingdom of heaven. At least that's the way I felt until the Holy Spirit began to give me information one night about the process we go through with God in our true acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is this adoption process that is the next subject of our discussion this week.
"What is it that we can say then concerning our inheritance in God's kingdom? Like all others we too believe that Jesus is the son of God. We believe he suffered, died, and was buried then rose again on the third day to forgive us of sins past present and future so that we as God's crown jewel of creation could once again have a relationship with the father and not be thwarted by the power that sin has had over us. We have been given the second of the greatest gifts ever given; the first being our chance to have eternal life with the father because of being created in his image. The second is the gift we have been given of choice that our relationship to the father would be truthful. We are like him in that we can choose to love and serve him out of our own will to do so, or we can choose to ignore his love for us and by our own will turn away from his love and gifts to us. The father has extended to us the opportunity of being adopted into his family out of his grace and love toward us as his creation. It is our own actions which dictate whether or not it is or is not to be so in our lives. Too many times those who speak of God's unbending love toward us tend to lead us to believe that God expects nothing in return from us except for a certain amount of lip service and a few hours of worship per week.
If we come together to worship and just sit through a sermon on how we can live for him we have done all that is necessary to inherit the kingdom of God... But is that the real truth? How many have you heard of who have chosen to separate themselves from their families and divorced themselves from what they have? Don't we realize that by turning a deaf ear to the needs of God's family we are saying I don't want you or what you stand for? Don't we know that if we choose to continue in this manner with God's chosen purpose in our lives we will find ourselves divorced from his calling and principles; therefore divorced from his kingdom by our own wills? We must bear fruit to be a part of his vineyard! We must take a stand for his principles in our lives if we are to become a part of the inheritance that he has offered to us. We must give an account for what we believe in Christ Jesus and why we believe it, otherwise we be of no grounded value to his purpose in us and of no value in bearing fruit in his vineyard. If that is the case then we are of no commitment in becoming an adopted child or of having a part in the inheritance of his kingdom. It is time for each one of us to take into consideration our own values to the spiritual family. It is time to pay even the smallest prices to be a member of God's kingdom. It does none of us any good to take from the father with no intent of giving back out of love. Where is the love and the gratitude for what he has set before us? Our worship and our lives conducted in such a way as to make the father proud of us as his children is what is called for in this age. While it is true that we can do nothing toward earning our salvation it is also true that we must be able to be genuine in our affections toward someone whom we love and acknowledge as our father in heaven. If we cannot do this at all we really do become a mockery to Christ and our family status is of no value to the father. We do have a great stake in our Christian lives to become as fully a part of God's family as we can. It is good for us to bask in the light of God's love and assist children, but equally as important that we take out the trash sometimes as well. Our limes can be so filled with God's presence and power and yet it is we who must start the process by our own will to become a part and an important part of our new family and of our eternal inheritance into God's kingdom." It is when I began to realize this that my attitude changed toward seeking after God in my life. I pray that some of what I share with you causes you to ask some very important spiritual questions to yourself about where you are, and what your commitment to Christ is. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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