Morning service of 2021 October 17: Adopted children

This morning we looked at those who are in Christ Jesus who will not be judged as sinners but are taken on by God as His children. (Romans 1 & 8)

We thought of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which has made us free from the law of sin and death.

Today we express our thankfulness that God, sending his Son in the image of the evil flesh, accepted his sacrificial offering for sin, so that what was ordered by the law might be done in us, who are living, not in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit.

We do not want to be chained by the world but freed by the Spirit of Christ, him being in us. Being sure that He who made Christ Jesus come again from the dead will in the same way, through his Spirit which is in us, give life to our bodies which now are under the power of death.

We as brothers and sisters are guided by the Spirit of God and as such are sons and daughters of God. If we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; so that if we have a part in his pain, we will, in the same way, have a part in his glory.

We opened the service singing that we can not be without Him Who accepted the ransom offering of His beloved son.

Our salvation is by hope for that which many see not, but we do believe shall come unto us.

We prayed for all those who have difficulties and are in hospital and asked God to bring comfort to them. We also looked at the distressful situation for all those who fled their country for all sorts of reasons to find somewhere to sleep and have something to eat.

He Who is the Searcher of hearts has knowledge of our minds and needs. We hope He will come closer to us and to those who call upon Him. That all things may be working together for good to those who have love for God, and have been marked out by His purpose.

Ben Cox gave an exhortation about “adoption“, but also on a sewer having to fulfil certain requirements to adopt a pipe. Brother Ben and his wife also had received such a list with requirements and a tough examination of their character.

Ben Cox then compared those requirements of the adoptation office with the regulations of God for our adoption as children of God. In Christ Jesus, who are baptised in Christ, are all one in Christ Jesus and have become part of Abraham’s seed.

The Bible gives us several ideas of adopted people by God. For example, he gave the miracle adoption of Moses (Exodus 2) who was taken by the Pharaoh’s daughter. Then he looked at the orphan Esther and compared her with the many children who have to survive in Syria and other places in the East. Her relation with her adoptive father never waited. The same way we have to trust our adoptive Father and work at a good relationship with Him. As a third example, he mentioned Jesus (the answer for every Sundayschoolclass). Even we do not know much about his child and young life, we can imagine the importance of his worldly father Joseph. Mary explicitly refers to Joseph as “your father”. Joseph is on the front line to protect his family when the newborns were in danger to be killed. It is interesting to think about Jesus as an adopted one (by an ordinary human being). Those three examples help us to understand our position as adopted children of God. (Romans 8)

Life through the Spirit we do not go in the way of the flesh, but we put to death the works of the body, being guided by the Spirit of God we are sons of God. The spirit of sons was given to us, by which we say, “Abba”, Father, being co-heirs with Christ

The Spirit is a witness with our spirit that we are children of God: And if we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; so that if we have a part in his pain, we will all be one family, in the same way, we will have a part in his glory and share in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:13-17)

By having come under Christ, as children of God, we are able to overcome all these things and more through his love. (Romans 8:35-39)

Those who were named were given righteousness; and to those to whom he gave righteousness, in the same way, he gave glory. If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not keep back his only Son, but gave him up for us all, will He not with him freely give us all things?

That is something we all can look forward to. It is God who makes us clear from evil. It is Christ Jesus who not only was put to death, but came again from the dead, who is now at the right hand of God, taking our part.

We are able to overcome all the bad things, the things which have an impact on our life. We share and the bread and wine as symbols of our unity with Christ, remembering how Christ gave himself for us, to his heavenly Father and Him who wants us now to accept as brothers and sisters in Christ. Through Jesus his love and the love of our adoptive Father, not death, or life, or angels, or rulers, or things present, or things to come, or powers, or things on high, or things under the earth, or anything which is made, will be able to come between us and the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8)

Before the closing prayer, we listened to the song “Holy Overshadowing” performed by Graham Kendrick, Mark Prentice (Double Bass) and Terl Bryant (Percussion) and featuring Ben Trigg (Vocals and Acoustic Guitar). About which Graham says

“What I relate to in the song is how easy it is when we are under pressure to find refuge in the wrong places, especially if we feel guilty or that we’re not getting it right. We tend to run away from God when actually the best thing to do is run to God”.

Ben Trigg says:

“The ideas that flow through the song formed in my mind during a time of personal prayer. I was going through a set of particularly challenging circumstances and was looking for what God had to say about it all. As I meditated on things he says in his word, I began to unpack the contrasts we see sometimes – shadows of darkness can threaten us, but he offers us the shadow of his wings (Psalm 91).

Preceding

God as Father

Born of the Father

The Love of God

Outflow of foundational relationship based on acceptance of Jesus

Today’s Thought “Given for a light to the Gentile” (June 24)

Today’s thought “Those who fear him” (February 27)

Today’s thought “Gather into one the children of God” (April 18)

Additional thought for today 2 February: Transformed Christians Let evil not defeat you

Additional reading

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Taking refuge in God | From guestwriters

October 17, 2021 at 2:37 pm Reply

[…] this morning service we paid attention to the way we can let others come into our life and into our community, but how […]

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