Sermon || 2011.01.08

Sermon, Taught at Lighthouse Mission 2011 Jan 08



--note: I didn't start 1John, but continued from where we went over last week--

Started reviewing from Romans 8 about Boldness, and freedom from fear,and God's real purpose.

Went over Romans 8:15: adoption and joint heirs, and how both adoption and making said adoptee a joint heir are 2 things that must be conscious decisions. Adoption is not accidental, there are many steps and they all are decision points where each one has to be decided and the process either ends there or goes to the next choice. Pregnancy can be an accident, adoption is on purpose, on purpose, on purpose, and then some. And then after adoption, to make someone an heir is also a process and joint heir makes the expression a deliberate one of full acceptance. We are not loved as God's step-children, but we have been selected long before we were His, and at every turn leading up to our lives He decided He wanted us. And then after we reached Him, our inheritance is equal with His own son.

So what do we inherit from an immortal God. How does that work. Most inheritance is payable on death, which would work if we were inheriting only what jesus had to give away. God, immortal and infinite, creating and sustaining, offers Himself: Love.

Our adoption is an expression of the "Father", which was spoken of the previous week. Joint inheritance is an expression of "Abba"/"Daddy". But what is love? Where does that fit? Relationship is the only relevant expression of love. Chocolate, money, gifts, even provision (by itself) is temporal (as is suffering, which Paul mentions). That means it is immortally non-existent. Relationship is what matters.

This relationship - this love - is inseparable from us. [Romans 37-39]

The rest of the chapter talks about how the result of our adoption and the realization of the inheritance of love will free creation itself from the futility/emptiness/uselessness/vanity that it groans to be free of. The purpose of all creation itself is that we would come to the inheritance we jointly are promised with Jesus.

Victory over Chocolate, money, gifts, provision, addiction, suffering, and everything which Paul mentions (which includes everything) is Love. Its what we can't be separated from.

Nave's topical bible does not contain an entry for "Victory". (Dunno how they missed this one, it seems like a kind of central theme to the scripture.) There is a few verses for "Victory [in battle]", but nothing for victory: so i took a while thinking of a cross-reference that would include victory. I came up with "Overcoming". (Sounds reasonable, nu?) Entry says "see Perseverance".

First scripture in the list is from 1 Chronicles 16. Where we find a psalm of David (Which i always thought were exclusive to the book of Psalms, but i learned something).

Verses 8-11 are basically a set of instructions for successful perseverance:
Give thanks > [about Him, to other people]
Call Him > [to Him]
Make Him known > [about Him, to other people]
sing songs to Him > [to Him]
say His wonders > [about Him, to other people, to ourselves]
let your heart rejoice > [from Him, to us]
Seek God and His Strength > [together this indicates relationship: looking, and strength is only visible in demonstration]
Seek Him continually > overcome, He is eternal - why would you stop?


The following verses (12-13) are basically doing those steps a time or 2 through.

So we need to spend time with God, seeking Him, praying, singing songs, lifting Him up.

we need to spend time with God like a friend we like. Get to know Him, and as we do we become like Him. And we begin to make Him more visible in our acquired likeness. Its what we really need.

~JLB