Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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Star Wars #4-The
Birth of the King
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>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world.
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It Is Written.
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world.
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According to online sources the
5 worst Christmas gifts received
are hand lotion, a door mat, a
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glowing toliet seat, pencils and
the number one worst gift.an
ugly sweater. While the top
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selling or best gifts of all
time are the iPod touch, Elmo
Live, the Nook Reader, the iPad
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and the number one gift.Tickle
me Elmo. Gifts, we always love
to receive them, many of us love
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giving them. Yet over the years
it becomes more and more
difficult to buy gifts for
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people. Most of us have more
than we need. Sometimes we find
a unique something for someone.
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But the Bible speaks of the
greatest gift of all. Better
than that is that there is no
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price on it. It's free. What is
this gift? Today, we continue
with the fourth part of our
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series, Star Wars. Last week we
studied how Satan, even with the
guarantee of his defeat looming
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over him, took revenge on God's
people by attacking them. Yet
hope rose with the promise of
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the coming Messiah. For four
hundred years God's people were
in bondage in Egypt, a terrible
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time of disobedience in the
wilderness, a kingdom that was
divided after the reign of
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Solomon, constant attacks from
their neighbors the Philistines,
Amorites, Ammonites and
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Jebusites - just to name a few.
Persecution under the
Babylonians, Medo-Persians,
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Greeks and now the Romans. To
many it would seem that all hope
was lost. Many of the Israelite
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people wondered, would the
promised deliverer come in their
lifetime? Where was promised one
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of Israel? Where was the one who
would retake the throne of
David? In the classic book on
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the life of Christ, The
Desire of Ages, it says,
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And it is this history that Paul
utilizes as the background for
the passage we study today.
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Galatians 4:1-7 says this,
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Paul wrote to a group of
believers in the region called
Galatia. It would seem that this
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letter was not intended for one
church, but rather a group of
churches in the region. Somehow
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apostasy had slipped into the
church. Teachers had entered
that were particularly trying to
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"Judaize" the group. This group
was erasing the gospel principle
of being saved by grace through
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faith alone and replacing it
with a more works oriented
gospel. They were reinstating
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things such as circumcision as a
means of salvation. Paul, here,
is trying to fend off the
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erroneous idea that that a man
can earn his own salvation by a
rigorous adherence to the law.
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And so it is here where we join
Paul in the midst of his
argument. Paul begins in verses
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1-3,
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Paul wanted to address the
Galatian people where they were
in their understanding of the
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gospel message. They believed
because they were descendants of
Abraham and adherents to the
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letter of the law that they had
earned their inheritance as
children of God. Yet Paul
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plucked apart such an argument
piece by piece. First he met the
group head on by simply making
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the assumtion that they are in
fact heirs. Yet he deflates
their puffed up egos by saying
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"as long as he is a child, he
does not differ at all from a
slave" The Greek word for child
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in this instance literally means
a minor or small child not much
more than 3-4 years in age. Paul
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says, yes, a child of 3 or 4 is
an heir, however at that age he
is no different than the slave
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or servant. The parents are
still in control of this child,
therefore just as a servant or
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slave, the child is not free.
Paul further emphasizes his
position of reasoning by saying,
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Yes someday this small child
will be the master of all, but
for now he is under guardians
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and stewards. Quite literally he
is under a teacher and
supervisor. This child who is
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the heir, who indeed will be the
master of all things, right now
is under the tutelege of teacher
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and a supervisor until a time
appointed by the father. It was
Middle Eastern custom to have a
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tutor and supervisor watch over
an heir so that the heir would
not squander away his
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inheritance. There was a time,
however, that was appointed when
the child would enter into full
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enjoyment of the inheritance and
would have the freedom to
choose. Paul continued by
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adding,
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The word elements, here in the
Greek, means the very basics,
the beginnings of the alphabet,
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the very rudiments of knowledge.
Paul points out that even as a
child and being under the
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tutelage of a teacher and
supervisor that a child is
limited to the very basic
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rudiments of knowledge. They do
not yet have the information in
life to make good decisions on
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their own. So the tutor and
supervisor point them in the
right direction and gives them
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guidance in decision making.
Quite eloquently Paul has
metaphorically discussed the
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history of Israel and their
understanding or experience of
the promises of God. The Hebrew
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people were the chosen of God.
Heirs according to the promise
given to Abraham. Yet their
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experience was a very limited
experience. They were still
toddlers in a spiritual sense.
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They were only enjoying a very
limited aspect of the covenant
promises of God. They were given
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a great number of symbols of the
grace and mercy of God: They
were given the symbol of
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circumcision They were given the
Ten Commandments They were given
the ceremonial law They were
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given the civil laws Yet in all
of this, they were still yet
babes. All of these symbols
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acted as guardians and tutors or
supervisors. They educated and
pointed to one very important
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thing. They pointed beyond
themselves, they pointed to the
time of the Messiah. Yet, these
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symbols only give us a basic and
very rudimentary understanding
of the reality of who God really
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is. And it is here where Paul
pauses and he uses a very small
word, the word but - moreover,
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on the contrary. He makes a
distinctive pause to inform us
that he is about to give us a
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very powerful exposition on the
plan of salvation, he is about
to give us a new hope. And here
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in verse four he
provides that hope,
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Here Paul says, "But when the
fullness of time had come, God
sent forth His Son." The Bible
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does not state, when an
emergency came and all was
thought to be lost - God sent
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His son. No, it says when the
fullness of time had come. The
word fullness in Greek literally
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means that which has been
brought to completion. The Bible
states that when time came to
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its fulfillment and when it had
been completed, God sent forth
His Son. What was the indication
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of this fulfillment? God had
sent messages of hope through
His prophets over the centuries.
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Through the prophet Micah,
He says in Micah 5:2 - NKJ Micah
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5:2 The fullness of time had
come that this small city would
bring forth the Chosen One. The
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490 years of Daniel 9:25,26 was
given so that that the time had
come that the Messiah would be
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anointed as the specified time.
The prophet Isaiah would be
given many messages speaking to
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the coming Messiah.
Isaiah 7:14 - NKJ Isaiah 7:14
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Each of these verses speaking to
the fact that the fullness of
time had come so that all might
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be fulfilled. Each of them
fulfilled in One Man Jesus
Christ. His birth was foretold
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by the ancients. This Son wasn't
just thrown into the mix. But He
was born into the Jewish
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community "under" the law. Paul
had just talked about this
situation metaphorically. They
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lived under the tutelage and
supervision of the law it
pointed forward to the coming of
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God's Son. So, He was born into
this community. But He was also
born as a part of this
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community. He was born of a
woman. There need be no doubt on
the full humanity of Christ. He
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was born from a woman. And yet
the text states that He is God's
son so we need not question His
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full divinity. And it is here in
these final three verses that
Paul gives us the reason for the
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birth of the King. In the
Christmas season where we
celebrate the birth of Christ in
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gift giving, family visiting,
mall shopping, and sharing meals
together. Paul calls our
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attention to the ultimate gift.
Listen to why God sent His son,
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Notice clearly the two
principles that Paul outlines
for the reason for the birth of
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the king. One, To redeem those
who were under the law. Second,
To initiate our adoption into
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God's family. Paul's speaking of
redeeming those who are under
the law is simply understood,
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God's Son, Jesus Christ, was to
pay the price for our freedom
under the law. Notice it did not
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and does not say He came to
destroy the law, but rather it
says His Son came to set them
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free. No longer do we need to be
tutored or be instructed on the
first coming of Christ. No
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longer do we need to sacrifice
different animals to point
forward to the true sacrifice
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for our sins, no longer do we
need to be shown symbolically
what the love of God is all
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about. Why not? Because Jesus
came. Paul is asking them, why
are you doing all this
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ceremonial stuff? These items
are merely a shadow to the
reality. Jesus is here. Does His
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coming negate the moral law? No,
but now it serves its more
complete purpose in the person
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of Jesus Christ. Yet, not only
does Paul speak about our
redemption, but he also points
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to our adoption. In the Greek
the word for adoption is
huiothesia. From the Lou-Nida
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lexicon it literally means, "to
formally and legally declare
that someone who is not one's
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own child is henceforth to be
treated and cared for as one's
own child, including complete
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rights of inheritance" So God
sent His Son that there might be
a formal and legal declaration
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that we are to become sons and
daughters of God. We legally
become heirs according to the
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promise. The covenant finds its
completeness in the first coming
of Christ and the birth of the
00:21:36.96\00:21:47.17
king. No longer are we to
concern ourselves with any
identity issues, because we find
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it in our adoption by God. And
it is because of this adoption
that the Spirit of Christ has
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breathed within us the desire to
cry out Abba, Father. The word
Abba, being the endearing Hebrew
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word for father - in today's
words it would be the word Papa
By this adoption we are to
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experience the closest of
relationships with the Father.
And because of that adoption
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friend, as the last verse
states, we are no longer slaves
to law. We are no longer
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children without a full
understanding or full experience
of the blessings of God, but
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rather we are now sons and
daughters of God truly His
rightful heirs. Friends, because
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Jesus Christ came to this earth
we have become legally adopted
children of God. It is with this
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adoption that we realize a more
fulfilling and special life with
God. Jesus came that we might
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be redeemed and that we might be
adopted as sons and daughters of
God. Friend, has something been
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missing in your relationship
with Christ? Has your
relationship been very basic and
00:23:17.43\00:23:24.07
rudimentary? Are you not truly
experiencing the full blessings
of a relationship with Him?
00:23:24.17\00:23:31.21
Today, Jesus Christ calls out to
you, through the writings of
Paul, He calls out to you and
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says, "you cannot work your way
into heaven, you cannot redeem
yourself, you can only
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experience hope and fulfillment
through coming and experiencing
my adoption. Friends, Jesus
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calls out to you to experience
further hope in Him, to
experience the full blessings of
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His promise. Today, won't you
receive that blessing? Won't you
receive your redemption and
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adoption. Won't you accept the
ultimate gift offered in these
great star wars? He offers this
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gift to you for free. Heavenly
Father, we are so grateful that
You sent Your Son Jesus that we
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might be adopted as sons and
daughters. Some of us today have
lived a life, some of us have
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struggled in our lives, with
very difficult circumstances and
situations. Today, as we see our
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adoption is possible through
Jesus Your Son, we come, hearts
broken, and we say we want to be
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Your son, we want to be Your
daughter. Maybe somebody's been
watching today that has always
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sensed that they were a son or
daughter, but today, has a
renewed sense of that. I pray,
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dear God, that all, everyone
that is watching and hearing
these words today, would cry
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out, "Abba, Father," and through
the adoption in Jesus, enjoy a
fruitful relationship with Him.
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We pray this in
Jesus' name, amen.
00:25:50.95\00:25:58.12
Dear friends, what a
thrilling promise. God desires
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us to be His son, to be His
daughter. Would you like to
learn what it means to become
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that son, to become that
daughter, to accept this
adoption? For today's offer, I
00:26:13.07\00:26:18.37
want to give you the little
booklet Three Steps to Heaven.
This thrilling journey walks
00:26:18.47\00:26:25.51
step by step on how you might
fully realize that adoption with
Jesus Christ. The chapters
00:26:25.61\00:26:34.42
include "What is repentance?"
"What does it mean to repent?"
"How do I repent?" And "Why
00:26:34.52\00:26:42.60
should we confess our sins?"
"Why should we confess?" "Is
there any need to?" And the book
00:26:42.70\00:26:49.67
will instruct us on how we can.
And then lastly, "Claiming the
victory." This little booklet
00:26:49.77\00:26:56.61
will talk to us about victory
and Jesus and what it means to
walk with Him as a son and a
00:26:56.71\00:27:02.85
daughter, to experience the full
joy of our adoption in Him.
Here's the information you need
00:27:02.95\00:27:10.36
to receive today's offer.
00:27:10.46\00:27:13.23
The promise to become a son or
daughter of God. It is a serious
promise. It is a serious
00:28:07.72\00:28:14.16
proposition. It is a wonderful
invitation. Do you want to
accept that invitation today? I
00:28:14.26\00:28:21.56
want to invite you to go to our
website, itiswrittencanada.ca,
and there you'll find resources
00:28:21.66\00:28:27.24
on how you can grow and develop
in your relationship with Jesus.
There on the website, you can
00:28:27.34\00:28:34.04
sign up for free Bible studies,
you can find archives of our
past programs, and you can find
00:28:34.14\00:28:40.35
other wonderful resources to
help you on that joy with Jesus.
I want to also encourage you to
00:28:40.45\00:28:47.02
like our Facebook page so you
can keep up with the ministry
and what's happening and receive
00:28:47.12\00:28:52.13
the promises of God. You can
also follow us on Twitter. You
can follow me on Twitter,
00:28:52.23\00:28:57.97
@PastorHolland. To be a son or
daughter of God is an experience
of joy with Jesus. Some of us
00:28:58.07\00:29:09.18
may have grown up in a troubled
home and we don't know what it's
like to have a real father. But
00:29:09.28\00:29:15.72
Jesus is the best Father of all.
He'll never let us down. He'll
never leave us nor will He
00:29:15.82\00:29:22.49
forsake us. In fact, Joshua 1:9
says that God will be with us
wherever we go. He'll be right
00:29:22.59\00:29:33.54
there at our side. He'll take us
by the hand. He'll walk us along
the way. Today Jesus invites you
00:29:33.64\00:29:40.64
to enter into that type of a
relationship with Him. I hope
you make that choice today. I
00:29:40.74\00:29:47.15
hope you join us again next
week. Until then, remember, it
is written: "Man shall not live
00:29:47.25\00:29:53.49
by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from the
00:29:53.59\00:30:00.10