Father God

Freedom for all


Why did God create man? What is man’s destiny? (Freedom from works, striving)

Children
God’s original plan for our lives: Ephesians 1; Romans 8:14ff; Gen 1:26, 27; Col 1:15 God’s original plan for our lives is to be his children.

Love is the plan for children
1 John 3:1ff; John 1:12; John 3:16; Rom 5:8
God’s love thus shines through in Him wanting us to be His children.

We were created out of love, we became His children when we received His love and He continues to love us infinitely, eternally and unconditionally.

The lifestyle of a child
Gen 1:26; Gal 4:7 reign
Isaiah 43:6, 7; glory
Isaiah 43:21; praise
Eph 2:10; good works
Matt 5:16 glory and praise by good works unto a good Father
Matt 22:37, 39; greatest commandment is to love God; not before we know His love
1 John 4:9-11

Christianity is not about what we can do for God. It is about realizing what God has done for us.

There is nothing that I can do to make God love me more;
There is nothing that I can do to make God love me less.

That’s grace. The Father wants the sinner to come back to Him.
Colton’s prodigal episode is an example.
Luke 15 is the story of the Father’s love for the lost son.

Love can never be earned. Love that is earned is not love, it I lust.
There is nobody in the world that God loves more than you.

Activity
Lies of the devil through family, friends, teacher, pastor, radio, TV, cinema etc
- You have to be like somebody else to be beautiful, successful
- God is so angry with you that He will never forgive you
- You have to do X, Y, Z for God to love and accept you; perfect Christian
- Your job, your appearance, your car, house, nationality etc defines your identity.

Prayerfully write all the lies and leave on the cross where it has already been nailed.
Does everything in life follow an inevitable course as predetermined by God?
(Freedom from fatalism)

Predestination answers the question “What?” not “Who”
“What shall become of those who receive His love in Christ?” Christ is God’s Son, revealed so that we who are made in His image would know God as Father.

“Who are the privileged people who have been nominated to go to heaven?” is not the question that predestination addresses because that would make God unjust.
On the contrary the Bible clearly teaches 1 Tim 2:4; 1 Tim 4:10, 1 John 2:2

Acts 13:48 should be understood as, all those who realized that they were appointed unto eternal life were captivated by God’s grace and love, believed in Jesus.


Romans 9, 11
Election is another thing altogether. God elects people for different purposes that the nations would know of his glory. Remember God chose Israel to represent him, nevertheless when they failed the purpose of their election, they were lost.

God’s Sovereign wisdom need not be doubted. He only uses what is beyond restoration to restore those who still have a chance.

Created to be punished!!! Is that the real Jesus?
Proverbs 16:4; 1 Peter 2:8; Romans 9:10-24


God’s plans
Jeremiah 29: 10-14 for a future and a hope

Matt 6: 9, 10
Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done
God’s plans are established on the earth only through the willful obedience of His children. God’s method is a man.

Crossroads
Y
History has not unfolded the way God had desired it to. If God’s people had obeyed God, History would be completely different. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future. Will you be a history maker for Jesus?
Why would a loving God want to test His children? (Freedom from sadism)

Gen 22 God tested Abraham
Deut 8:2, 16 God tested the Israelites
Mark 7:25-30

To prepare us, to bring out what is in our hearts, to refine us etc

What about Paul? Thorn in the flesh
2 Cor 12:7

What about the blind man?
John 9

What about Job? Half-truths
Job 1:21 John 10:10
Job 2:10 James 1:13
Job 3:25 1 John 4:18

What about Adam and Eve?
Gen 3
Assassination of God’s character (His goodness)
Satan’s strategy is to create doubt, and to speak lies to corrupt our knowledge of Who God is?

God didn’t want them to enter judgment and so he told them not to eat the fruit of knowledge.

But they believed Satan’s lies and thus doubted God’s love and goodness. One of the


Pain and suffering serve the purpose of telling us that there is something seriously wrong with the world we are living in.

Don’t try to link to direct cause in somebody else’s case and judge them or condemn them. Instead believe that God intends to change all things for the better. It has started now and will culminate in the creation of the new world.


When we doubt the character or goodness of God, focus on the cross of Christ.






Evil, Devil and Judgment

Free will was abused and led to evil.
Satan has a claim where there is sin, in man and his world.

God’s mercy delays Judgment.
Rev 20

In Christ

Christ has always been God’s Son not only when He became Jesus and lived in this world; but even before time began (creation) He was the Son of God and will always be the Son of God.

Nobody can ever know God unless He chooses to reveal Himself. In eternity (before creation) God revealed Himself completely in Christ, the Son of God. Christ in turn reveals God as Father, to man, who is a created being. Man is destined to become God’s son through faith in Christ, God’s only begotten Son.

The Bible teaches that all things were within Christ even before they were created. During creation God brought forth all things into existence through Christ, the Word of God, the Word of Life, the Promise of Life, and the Promise of Eternal Life.

Remember our original design was in Christ before we came to be in human form in Adam. Our original design in Christ was flawless and uncorrupted before sin corrupted us in Adam. Our original design was holy and blameless in Christ before we became unholy and guilty in Adam because of his sin.

So when Christ came into the world as Jesus, the original uncorrupted design of every human being took upon a flesh and blood version for the second time inside the body of Jesus Christ.

So just like the first ‘you’ came into existence on Day 6 of creation indirectly inside Adam, the second ‘you’ came into existence indirectly inside baby Jesus.

Just like the first “you” was found unrighteous and unholy in Genesis 3 indirectly in Adam when he had sinned, the second “you” was found righteous and holy in Matt 1 indirectly in Jesus Christ.

The moment you hear about Jesus you are actually at a crossroads. You have to decide who the real “you” is. Are you the “you” who is the great great great grandchild of Adam or the “you” who exists in Christ who rose again and lives forever?

Faith in Jesus means that you disregard your identity in Adam in exchange for your identity in Christ. That’s not a difficult decision to make because the “you” in Adam will never see life. But the “you” in Christ will never see death.

Choosing Christ is choosing life.

Think about it, when Jesus Christ was cruelly beaten and crucified it wasn’t because of anything wrong that he had done. He was beaten for the sake of the “you” and “I” in Him.

Hence the Bible teaches that we were crucified when Christ was crucified. We have to believe that we died with Him. If we do, then we have also risen with Him, because Jesus Christ rose again bodily on the third day, never to die again.

Let’s not forget that the second “you” never belonged to anybody else but Christ, existing inside Him.

Hence the Bible teaches that we are holy, righteous, redeemed, in Christ, literally In Christ, never outside Christ. Neither is there salvation in any other…..

So don’t strive to make the first “you” holy and righteous. Just believe that the real “you” is holy and righteous in Christ, the Holy and Righteous One. You were freely justified in Christ. That’s grace excluding works; there can be no boasting except in “The Finished” work of the Cross of Christ.

Now “you” who are in Christ are a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things are new. The Spirit of Life who has resurrected Jesus from the grave works inside you to give life to your mortal body. It will produce in you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; a desire and ability to do God’s will.

To live by faith is to live in Christ, by the power of the His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Event - ____________ - emotion - reaction


My belief that I am in Christ will change the way I live.


Ministry

Matt 28:19, 20 they will do it. God’s trust in us
Eph 4 everybody is called to serve
1 Cor 12 complementary gifts in the body

A.W.Tozer: it’s not what you do that makes work ministry, it is why we do it that matters.

Motivated by love, just like Jesus. Sustained by God’s grace.