Sunday, April 28, 2024 AM
CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS OF SERVICE: God’s Children
Mike Teel, Pastor
Focal Passages:
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 See what great 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 Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. —I John 2:28-3:2
GOD’S CHILDREN ARE SPECIAL – BECAUSE THEY ARE
How are we connected to God?
1. WE ARE CONNECTED BY
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. —I John 2:29
–You cannot enter the Family of God by intelligence, education, good deeds or any other method.
–You enter the Family of God by a new birth.
2. WE ARE CONNECTED BY MEANS OF
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! —I John 3:1
–The love of God comes from another world; it seems foreign to the human race.
–And this love has been lavished on us, poured out on us, as shown by the fact that God allows us to be called children of God.
3. WE ARE CONNECTED BY OUR
ON GOD
–The longer I live the more I realize how totally dependent I am on God in the Spiritual realm.
–If we continue in God, we will experience the things we mentioned above: salvation, sustenance, direction, purpose, etc.
GOD’S CHILDREN ARE SPECIAL – BECAUSE WE REFLECT GOD’S
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 Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. —I John 3:2
–Have you ever noticed that children tend to reflect the character and mannerism of their parents?
–This is the central teaching of I John – when God is your father you will reflect His character.
1. GOD’S CHILDREN DISPLAY VICTORY
SIN
–Notice I said victory over, not victory from sin.
–Another part of our victory over sin is God’s safety net.
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. —I John 2:1
–The character of God’ children are displayed in victory over sin.
2. THE CHARACTER OF GOD’S CHILDREN IS DISPLAYED IN
GOD’S LOVE
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. —I John 3:16
–Most of you are aware there are 4 words for love in the Greek New Testament.
–John is saying that the believer is given the ability to love as God loves.
–Jesus loved the outcast, the immoral, the leper, the racially mixed and society’s rejects.
GOD’S CHILDREN ARE SPECIAL – BECAUSE OF THEIR
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 Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. —I John 3:2
–This confidence is based on the Father’s faithfulness and not the child’s strength!
–God’s children are confident because God has repeatedly trained us to be this way.
–John touches four areas in which we will have confidence:
WE WILL HAVE CONFIDENCE WHEN
.
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. —I John 2:28
WE WILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN OUR
.
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. —I John 2:28
WE WILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN
.
WE WILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN KNOWING
.
LIVE IT OUT
–Do you feel special?
–If you are a Child of God and do not feel special – Why?