“How Revival Comes” (Nehemiah 1:1-11) - Revive Us Again I -

“How Revival Comes” (Nehemiah 1:1-11)

- Revive Us Again I -

Why Revival?

One time I read the article in Newsweek magazine titled, “Remodeling the churches: Pizza Yes, Jesus No.” It is February 2007 issue, so it is not breaking news. Probably, some of you have already heard the similar stories. Across Europe many churches are disused, empty and abandoned. More and more churches have converted into Muslim mosques, cafes, concert halls, warehouses, apartments and fancy restaurants. For instance, St. Paul’s church in Bristol, England became a circus school. Madonna has performed in the former historical church turned club in Amsterdam. St. Mary’s Church in Dublin, Ireland became a famous high-end restaurant. And as you see the picture on the screen, one Anglican Church in western England became an Italian restaurant, and an outsize pizza oven is located on the site of the former altar. The article concludes by remarking that it’s an “unstoppable” trend and culture, most people are positive about this, and tomorrow’s generation will remember the old neighborhood church only as the best restaurant in town.

How do you feel about this trend and culture? Is it really unstoppable? More and more church-raised young people leave the church and never come back (“silent exodus”). As a result, more and more children grow up outside of the church. We feel powerless and overwhelmed with this trend. Today God and His people are in disgrace. But this is not new. In Nehemiah’s age the people of God were in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem was broken down by the enemy and its gates were destroyed by fire. How about the wall around our spiritual life that protects and defends us? How about the spiritual wall of our church? Is it standing strong, or is it in shambles? If we are filled with such things as selfishness, resistance to spiritual growth, no time for God, compromise, and rebellion, our walls are down. If there are hearts in our church that are cold, hard, resentful, bitter, dry, and lifeless, the walls of our church are down. If our walls are down, it is almost impossible to rebuild them with our own efforts. We need supernatural help and divine intervention. That is why we need revival. Stephen Olford says, “Revival is sovereign act of God, in which He restores His own backsliding people to repentance, faith, and obedience.” There are several great revivals recorded in the Bible. One of the greatest revivals is the revival of Nehemiah. From today, we will explore Nehemiah's revival for several weeks. My prayer is that this study will create a burning desire and thirst within us for revival!

Revival Starts with “One”

Then, how does revival come? Revival starts with one person. In today’s scripture, Nehemiah  hears the bad news from his brother. At that time, Jewish people had been held captive by the kingdoms of the east. But some of them were allowed to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah was expecting to hear some good news. Instead, he gets word that his people are not doing well at all. The work is not going on as it should. Nehemiah is brokenhearted. At this point, there are basically two options that Nehemiah can choose. He could avoid this challenge by saying to himself, “Well, I am glad that I stayed here in Babylon to serve the king as butler.” Or he could see the challenge before him, catch the burden, and get involved in it, “Here are my people in great trouble. Here I am, Lord, send me to help them.” Nehemiah chose the second option. In verse 4 Nehemiah says, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” When Nehemiah saw the challenge, he took it as his own burden. He wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. Revival starts with one and begins in the heart. In 2 Chronicles 16:9 God declares that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (KJV). God is always looking for man and woman fully devoted to Him to exert His power upon the world. Once D.L. Moody attended a prayer meeting, and evangelist Henry Varley said, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” That night Moody said to himself, “Well, I will be that man.” If we want to see revival, we need this prayer, “Lord, use me. Send me. Change me.” Revival starts with one. It starts with “me.”

Revival Starts with One through “Prayer”

In today’s passage revival starts with one person, Nehemiah. In particular, it starts with his prayer. Notice that there are three stages to his prayer: confession (vv. 6-7) – claming the promise (vv. 8-9) – petition (vv. 10-11). Nehemiah’s prayer can be a good prayer model when we pray for revival. First of all, he confessed his part in the problem. He prayed, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.” When we are in conflict with another person, we usually blame the other person and seldom consider our part in the wrong. But here Nehemiah is praying, “Lord, I am culpable. I am confessing myself to be part of the problem. Forgive me.” Then, he claimed the promise God had given. What was the promise? It was twofold. The promise was that if Israel disobeyed, they would go into a foreign land. The second part was that if they return to God and obey His commands, He would bring them back to Jerusalem and protect them. That part was unfulfilled. So now Nehemiah is praying, “Lord, you made a promise to bring us back and protect us, and that has not come to pass yet. I am claiming that it will.” Would you like your prayer to be more powerful? Pray the Scriptures. Nehemiah prayed the Scriptures. He prayed God’s promise and claimed it. Finally, he brought his petition before God. He presented his requests to God with thanksgiving, praying, “Lord, give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king.” Nehemiah’s prayer for revival was heard. Revival starts with one person through his or her prayer.  

Revival Starts with One through “Persistent” Prayer

Nehemiah prayed, prayed, and prayed until revival did come! He began to pray in the month of Kislev (1:1), that is around December, and he kept on praying day and night, and God answered his prayer in the month of Nisan (2:1), that is around April. That means he had prayed and waited at least for 4 months. He did not give up or take any other action until God answered. God does not always answer our prayer the first time we ask. But we should not give up. We should keep on praying until we do get it. Our Lord Jesus told us a parable of the persistent widow to show us that we should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1-8): The widow kept coming to an unjust judge with her plea. She came to him not just once or twice, but until she would get justice. Then Jesus said, “How much more will our loving God answer the persistent cries of His children?” Surely, He will answer our persevering prayers. But then, why doesn’t God always answer our prayers the first time we ask? The answer is clear. It is because he wants us to be equipped with persistent and strong faith. God knew that Nehemiah would face spiritual battles and severe oppositions once the construction started. So, he should be prepared and fully armed with great faith. That’s why God made him pray persistently and intensely for at least 4 months. For many of us there are things that we pray through and through. For me, personally, from day one in Houlton my prayer for our church is “Lord, send your revival.” Has the revival come? No, not as far as we can see. Then, when is it coming? We don’t know. How long are we going to pray? The answer is, “until it comes.”

Be a Good Sailor!

God could flow unhindered through Nehemiah. There is nothing too hard for God if He can find the right person of prayer. Lastly, I want to share a story of a man of prayer who is like Nehemiah. His name is Adoniram Judson. At the age of 25, he got a vision from God for mission. He became a first missionary to Myanmar. It took 6 years for him to baptize his first Burmese convert. It also took 12 years to make 18 converts. But, he prayed through, and through, and through for Burmese revival. When he died, he left Burmese Bible, 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers. And now Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists worldwide. Still many Burmese and missionaries do remember Judson and celebrate “Judson’s Day” in July. Many others’ religious work and their visions were like footsteps in the sands. They disappeared. But, Judson has engraved his work on imperishable granite. The secret of its endurance is his persistent and constant prayer. Judson said, “Endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift up thy soul to God in private retirement. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening dawn find thee at the same work. Let the hours of 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9 at night witness the same. Be resolute in His cause. Make all practical sacrifices to maintain it. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.” My prayer is that my life may be shaped by prayer, filled with prayer, steeped in prayer. My prayer is that our homes and our church will be the “houses of prayer.” Revival is the sovereign work of God. We cannot make it happen. A sailor has no impact on the wind. But a good sailor knows the wind, and knows how to set the sails when the wind blows. We cannot make wind blow, but we can hoist a sail to keep the vessel before the wind. Let us hoist our sails of prayer day by day until God sends the wind of revival to our lives and to our church! Amen. 

“Carry Each Other’s Burdens” (Gal 6:1-10) - Galatians: Be Free VII -

“Carry Each Other’s Burdens” (Gal 6:1-10)

- Galatians: Be Free VII -

The Spiritual Person

Who is a spiritual person? One day a Christian brother came to see Watchman Nee, Chinese Christian leader, and whined about his situation. He said, “Teacher, listen. I have a terrible neighbor. You know how much we are all suffering from famine. I work hard all day to irritate my rice paddy. But my neighbor broke down the bank around my paddy to turn the watercourse into his paddy. It already happened two times. I can’t stand this any more.” Watchman Nee said to him, “This time when you go back to your field, irrigate his paddy first before doing yours.” The farmer didn’t understand why he would have to do this. But he decided to follow this instruction. At first, he reluctantly started, but at the end he got filled with joy. That night an unexpected guest came to see him. That was his neighbor. The neighbor said to him, “Forgive me. I desperately needed water but was not able to find time to get it because I had to take care of my sick wife and children.” In his book Watchman Nee says that this Christian farmer who stopped judging his neighbor and carried his burden is a spiritual person.

Carry Each Other’s Burdens

In Galatians 5 the Apostle Paul tells us how we can grow as God’s adopted children. He exhorts us to walk by the Spirit (v.16), to be led by the Spirit (v.18) and to live by the Spirit (v.25). In Galatians 6 Paul expounds what it looks like to live by the Spirit. Today’s scripture is about how life in the Spirit should lead Christians to live out their faith especially in faith community. In Galatians 6:1 he says, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are spiritual gently and humbly help (restore) that person back onto the right path” (NLT). The Greek translated “restore” here is katartizdo. This was the term used for setting a dislocated bone back into place. A dislocated bone is extremely painful, and to put a bone back in place will inevitably inflict pain, but it is a healing pain. To restore another believer is a painful healing process to both the restorer and restoree, and to the whole body of Christ.

Then, how can we restore another Christian brother or sister gently and humbly? Paul answers this question in the following verse. He continues, “You restore that person by sharing his or her burden together” (v.2). Jesus shows us a perfect example how we may restore someone caught in a sin gently. In John 8 the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. The people wanted to destroy her. But Jesus wanted to restore her. After the accusers left, Jesus says to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She says, “No one, sir.” Jesus declares, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.” This statement has a profound meaning. The law is God’s word, so Jesus cannot break the law. Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” According to the law, this woman has to be condemned and put to death. Then, how can Jesus say, “Neither do I condemn you”? Here Jesus is saying, “Woman, I will carry your burden of sin and die in your place. So now you are forgiven. I don’t condemn you. Don't commit adultery any more. Not because you fear stoning. But because you have met God, and have been rescued by his grace.” Jesus restored the woman gently by carrying her burden. Jesus confronts us gently and speaks truth in love. Along with these, he shares our trials and struggles together. This is how God restores us.

The Law of Christ

In verse 2 Paul says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Then, what is the law of Christ? Galatians 5:14 says, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The law of Christ is the law which is summed up as love-your-neighbor. To love our neighbor, to carry another’s burden, is a big commitment and sacrifice for sure. But actually, by doing this, we live. In Luke 10 a lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells him the parable of the good Samaritan. And he says, “Go and do the same, and you will live” (vv. 28, 37). Henry Nouwen, a well-known spiritual writer and Catholic priest, had taught at some of America’s premier universities. But despite his academic success, he left those institutions and became a priest in residence for mentally and physically handicapped people at Daybreak community. In particular, Nouwen became a close friend of Adam, who was profoundly retarded and unable to speak, walk, or dress himself.  Each day Nouwen took almost two hours to finish this task – bathing, shaving, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, helping him eat breakfast, and so on. In his book, Adam: God’s Beloved, Nouwen tells us that it is he, not Adam, who gets the main benefit from their friendship. At first, it was hard for Nouwen to carry Adam’s burden. But as time went by, he had learned to love Adam, truly to love him. In the process he had learned what it must be like for God to love us—spiritually uncoordinated, retarded, able to respond with what must seem to God like inarticulate grunts and groans. In the process Nouwen found his true identity in Christ. He says, “We, like him (Adam), are also precious, graced, and beloved children of God, whether we see ourselves as rich or poor, intelligent or disabled, good-looking or unattractive.” As we carry our Christian brother or sister’s burden within the church, it might be difficult for us at first, but in the process we will benefit from our relationship with that person. And by doing this, we will live.

How can we carry each other’s burdens within the church? That may mean visiting and spending time with our shut-ins or homebound church family members. That may mean helping with transportation. That may mean paying a bill for someone who lost his or her job. That may mean baby-sitting for parents. There are various ways to carry each other’s burdens. But along with all these, the most powerful and effective way to share another’s burden is intercessory prayer. S.D. Gordon said, “The greatest thing anyone can do for God or man is pray.” Samuel promised to the people of Israel and said, “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right” (1Sam 12:23, NLT). This is my prayer and promise to God and to you. I will never cease to pray for you. Oftentimes, when I visit our shut-ins, they say, “I wish I could do more for others. There is almost nothing I can do for the church now.” And I always say to them, “If you pray for your family and for the church, you are doing the greatest thing you can do for them. Please continue to pray for us.” Then, their faces brighten into a smile. Let us carry each other’s burdens by praying for each other.

Carry Your Own Load

In today’s scripture Paul warns us that we will not be able to bear each other’s burdens, unless we have a proper, gospel-based self-view. When we carry another person’s burden, we are easily tempted to fall into pride. We can find a biblical example of this tendency to elevate self in Nehemiah. As the people were working on various parts of the wall, some declined to get involved. The writer says, “Their nobles did not lift a finger to help their supervisors” (Neh 3:5). Pride will create a heart that resists humble service to the church family. That is why in verse 5 Paul says, “Each one should carry his own load.” Now we see there are two different kinds of burdens. Paul uses the term baros in verse 2, meaning a “weight or heavy load.” But he uses the term phortion in verse 5, referring to a “man’s pack.” In other words, some things in life are so heavy we cannot bear them alone. We need help. Other matters in life are like carrying a backpack. Pastor Timothy Keller says, “God has given each of us a different set of difficulties and opportunities, a different set of weaknesses and gifts. These are our “load”—our responsibility before God.” Our load makes it possible for us to bear the burdens of others and to stay humble at the same time.

The Harvest Is Coming!

It is not easy to carry our own load and share other believers’ burdens. Our church missions and ministries, especially compassionate ministry, can make us weary. Standing up against injustice can make us exhausted. All of us in this room can become discouraged in doing good deeds. So Paul says in verse 9, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (NLT). I love the word, “harvest.” The Bible says that the harvest is coming! Some of us may not be satisfied with where we are. Some of us may not feel a sense of family and community in this place yet. But let us not give up. If we sow love today, we will reap the fruit of love. If we sow hope today, we will reap the fruit of hope. So let us diligently keep sowing. Let us continue loving one another. Let us keep bearing one another’s burdens. Let us keep doing good. In His time we will reap what we sow today, although it may take years. Some of us, including myself, may not see fruit, but it is still worth it. Last April my family and I had a chance to visit Washington D.C. For me, personally, the most impressive place was Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. There is a 30 feet-high relief of King named the "Stone of Hope," which stands past two other pieces of granite that symbolize the "mountain of despair." Visitors figuratively "pass through" the Mountain of Despair on the way to the Stone of Hope. Dr. King said, “I have a dream today… with this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” So by faith let us keep sowing to the Spirit. The harvest is coming! Amen. 

“Walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16-26) - Galatians: Be Free VI -

“Walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16-26)

- Galatians: Be Free VI -

Spiritual Growth?

Babies grow up. Baby Grace was born on July 30, 2015, weighing 7 pounds. And now she is 6 weeks old, a happy and chubby little girl, weighing 12 pounds. Grace is a good eater. I feel like she eats all the time. In the same way, spiritual growth requires food, exercise, and time – just like human physical growth. At the moment when we receive and believe Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we are born again (John 1:12). Some of you may clearly remember the exact time and place. Some may not. But as long as we confess that Jesus is my Lord, we are the people who have been born of the Spirit (1 Co 12:3b). There is a great similarity between physical growth and spiritual growth. But at the same time, there are some differences between the two. One of the biggest differences is that our body grows and become mature, as we get older. But that doesn’t apply to our spiritual growth. Spiritual growth does not just happen. It is not automatic. It is intentional. It requires commitment. We must make an intentional effort to grow. Last week we studied Galatians 4 and explored how God adopted us as his sons and daughters. And now in Galatians 5 the Apostle Paul tells us how we can grow as God’s adopted children. What would you say if someone asked how can we grow spiritually? Paul says very plainly about this in verse 16. He says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit” (ESV). But what does it really mean to walk by the Spirit? And how can we walk by the Spirit? Paul tells us three steps to walk by the Spirit.

Say “Yes” to the Spirit!  

First of all, we must say “yes” to the Spirit. When God created man and woman, they had perfect free will. They were able to sin and able not to sin. Unfortunately, they chose to sin and disobey God. After the Fall, natural man is unable not to sin. In Romans 7 Paul describes the state of natural man in this way: “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” (19). And he cries out in despair, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” But he continues, “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!... Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death!” (7:25-8:2) In other words, Christians, who belong to Christ, are now able not to sin! Praise the Lord! Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 1 John 3:9 says, “Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” (NLT). Now we, as God’s children, have power not to sin! We have freedom to grow! We have freedom to say “yes” to the Spirit!

The thing is that many Christians have a hard time hearing the voice of the Spirit. Some of them even think that God speaks to specially chosen people on special occasions. But in John 10:27 Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” If we are Jesus’ sheep, all of us in this room listen to His voice. That is not a special spiritual gift. We can hear His voice all the time. But there is one condition. We must choose to do his will. Jesus says, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (7:17). There are rare moments when God speaks in very special ways – through vision, prophecy, or audible voice. But most of time in everyday life we hear His inner voice. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church community to reveal His purposes and His ways. And also there are times when God seems silent. Even in those moments we can still say “yes” to the Spirit. Oswald Chambers asks us the following question, “Can we do our duty when God has shut up heaven?” Then, he says, “We are making a fetish of the moments when God did come and speak, and insisting that He must do it again; whereas what God wants us to do is to walk by faith. How many of us have laid ourselves by, as it were, and said—‘I cannot do any more until God appears to me.’ He never will, and without any inspiration, without any sudden touch of God, we will have to get up. Then comes the surprise—‘Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!’ God speaks all the time. Even when He is silent, He reveals Himself, His purposes, and His ways in other ways. Let us never live for the rare moments, but let us say “yes” to the Spirit in our daily lives. 

Say “No” to the Flesh!

Secondly, in order to walk by the Spirit and grow spiritually, not only do we say “yes” to the Spirit, but also we must say “no” to the flesh. By the power of the cross our sinful nature is no longer able to reign us (Col 2:13-15). But we still feel the temptations to sin. That is our on-going battle until Christ comes back. In today’s scripture Paul lists the acts of the sinful nature. This list can be divided into three major categories: the sensual sins, the superstitious sins, and the social sins. It is worth noticing that all of the works of the sinful nature arise from a problem with our hearts. In other words, Satan puts thoughts into our hearts. John 13:2 says, “The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him” (NRSV). What should we do? How can we overcome the enemy’s temptations? How can we crucify our sinful nature? Paul does not tell us to crucify ourselves, because it is impossible. He tells us that the flesh (our sinful nature) has already been crucified. In Galatians 5:24 he says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” It’s a present perfect tense. It’s already done. Our old self was crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin (Rom 6:6). Our responsibility is to believe this truth and act on it. When we are tempted, what we must do is not to try harder to suppress our sinful nature but to consider ourselves dead to sin (6:11). By the power of the cross now we have freedom and power to say “no” to our sinful nature. When the enemy puts thoughts into your hearts and minds, immediately rebuke him and his thoughts in the name of Jesus Christ and he will run away because he has no longer authority over you.

Keep in Step with the Spirit!

Thirdly, in order to grow spiritually, we must keep in step with the Spirit. In Galatians 5:25 Paul says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” And he talks about “fruit” of the Spirit. He doesn’t say “acts” or “works” of the Spirit. The single word “fruit” tells us an important spiritual principle about how the Spirit works. Probably, many of you have a garden. As you know, it takes time to bear fruit. In other words, spiritual growth is unnoticed and gradual. It takes time. Although we say “yes” to the Spirit and “no” to the flesh today, we may not see the results of this tomorrow. But the Apostle Paul encourages us, “Keep going! Do not give up!” In his book, “The Screwtape Letters” written by C.S. Lewis, a senior demon named Screwtape wrote a series of letters to his nephew Wormwood to give him advice how to lure human away from God. One of the advices is like this: “Don’t be afraid of what they say. But don’t make them come to resolution. If that happens, tempt them to do it just for a certain period of time, not continually.” There is a time when our emotion says, “I've had enough! I’m done!” But, we must not obey our emotion. Instead, we must keep in step with the Spirit and keep on doing the good work of the Lord by the act of will.

Keep Going!

All of our spiritual ancestors walked through the same path, the path of perseverance. Abraham had to wait for 25 years to have the promised son, Isaac. Moses had to wait for 40 year until the Lord delivered his people. William Wilberforce is another good example. He was an English politician, and he was a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. At the time, a third of the national income was from the slave trade. The majority of the privileged class objected this movement. William Wilberforce had to fight and wait for 30 years to abolish the slave trade. Then, he led campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and he had to wait for another 26 years. He died just 3 days after hearing the Slavery Abolition Act was assured. We have countless witnesses and spiritual giants to follow, but the greatest and the most perfect example is Jesus Christ our Lord. When he was tempted by the devil, he said “no” to him and drove him out with the word of God (Matt 4:1-11). And he always said “yes” to the Spirit. In 2 Co 1:19 Paul says, “For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No… and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says.” Jesus always did keep in step with the Holy Spirit. He walked slowly enough to touch the ill, chat with widows, help for the poor, and embrace children. He walked slowly enough to reach out to us and comfort our pain and suffering. And he was able to say on the cross, “It is finished,” because he always did what God said.

Today the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives within us. By the power of the Spirit we are able not to sin. We have freedom to say “yes” to the Spirit and “no” to our sinful nature. As we keep in step with the Spirit, we will bear much fruit of the Spirit in His time. In the meantime, let us not give up but keep going. Let us keep on praying. Let us keep holding fast God’s word. Let us keep on serving God. Let us keep taking care of others. Let us keeping on encouraging each other. and let us keep on loving each other all the more until we bear the fruit of the Spirit. People around us are starving for love, joy, peace, and all the other fruits of the Spirit. As we bear the fruit of the Spirit, many people will be fed and helped, and God will be glorified. “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) Amen. 

“Free as Sons and Daughters” (Gal 3:26-4:7) - Galatians: Be Free V -

“Free as Sons and Daughters” (Gal 3:26-4:7)

- Galatians: Be Free V -

Contemporary Picture of Adoption

Adoption is often glorified. We think about sweet, innocent children all over the world just waiting to be adopted by a family. Russell Moore, himself an adoptive parent, makes the following analogy with respect to the contemporary picture of adoption: Imagine for a moment that you’re adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you’re told that this 12-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things, and attempting repeatedly to skin animals alive. He acts out sexually. The social worker continues with a little family history. This boy’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended their own lives. Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn’t you watch nervously as he played with your other children? Would you watch him nervously as he looks at the knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on TV with your daughter?

Am I Adopted?

Then Moore identifies this potentially problematic 12-year-old: “He’s you. And he’s me. That’s what the Gospel is telling us.” In Ephesians 2 the people who are adopted by God are objects of wrath who follow the ruler of this world, Satan, gratifying the cravings of their sinful nature (vv. 1-3). The Bible says, “You were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (2:12). The Bible also says, “Once you were full of darkness” (5:8 NLT). God took a huge risk in order to adopt fallen, rebellious, dangerous children. God adopted us. Some people, particularly the Unitarian Universalists, argue that man is not a fallen sinner. They put an emphasis on humankind's capacity for goodness. They say that God is the Father of all human beings because all humans have been made in His image. And they believe that all human beings gain salvation through personal improvement. According to the Universalists, the mere idea someone might go to hell is not compatible with the character of a loving God. Yes, our God is a loving and compassionate God. He wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Yes, God is the Father of everyone because he made all humans (Acts 17:29). But, the Bible says man is separated from God by sin (Isa 59:2). Man is not good, but sinful, hopelessly lost, and totally depraved. Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” That is how God sees human beings. But God does not stop there. Our loving God determined to adopt sinful, hopeless, depraved us. God’s adoption of us is not one of many ways, but it is one and only way for us to be saved and reconciled to Him.

Through faith in Christ Jesus

Then, how are we adopted by God? In verse 26 the Apostle Paul says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” He also says in 4:4, “God sent his Son… to redeem those under law.” God sent his Son to adopt us so that we may enjoy the full rights of sons. This sonship is not a universal given. We are not “children of God” in some general way, by virtue of having been created by Him. Here Paul is speaking of a much deeper kind of relationship. This sonship only comes “through faith in Christ Jesus.” We are only His sons when we have faith in the Son. If you want to adopt a child, you have to possess the right qualifications. In order to go through a contemporary adoption process, you have to go through screenings, fingerprint tests, background studies, and home studies, all in order to fit the qualifications. About two years ago God gave my wife, Joyce, and me a strong desire to adopt a North Korean child. So we began to do some research and contact adoption agents. We found out that we couldn’t adopt because we are not U.S. citizens. So we tried to adopt a South Korean child. But still, we couldn’t adopt because we live abroad. My wife and I are still praying that the Lord may give us a privilege to adopt a child at the right time.

Adoption requires someone who possesses the right qualifications. In the same way, adoption into God’s family requires the right qualifications. Jesus Christ is the only person who has the right qualifications in history. Then, what are His qualifications? First, Jesus is fully human. Paul tells us Jesus was “born of a woman, born under law” (Gal 4:4). Why is it so important that Jesus is fully human? It is because only human can be crucified and shed blood. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Jesus has come to us in the flesh to die on the cross and shed his blood, so that he could pay the price for us to be saved. Hebrews 2:14-15 elucidates the point further in this way: “Because God's children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (NLT). As the last Adam, the Son of Man, Jesus embraced death to destroy the Devil’s strongest and sharpest weapon, that is, death. Secondly, Jesus is fully divine. Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” Then why is it so important that Jesus is fully divine? It is because only God can be raised from the dead. In human history there is no one raised from the dead. Only Christ, the Son of God, the very nature of God, rose again from the dead. By the resurrection of Christ God demonstrated that Christ is righteous and truly the Son of God. And now God counts anyone who believes Jesus’ death and resurrection as righteous. Romans 4:25 says, “Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Justification means “made righteous.” By the resurrection of the Christ, the Son of God, we become righteous children of God. Jesus has fulfilled the right requirements of divine adoption – fully human and fully divine.

Live as God’s Child, Not as His Servant

God sent His Son to adopt us, and now through faith in Christ Jesus we have become His sons and daughters. We have clothed with Christ (Gal 3:27). Our identity is now found in Christ. This is an objective legal condition. This is done externally to us, so we may not feel it. Our inner being is still sinful and unrighteous, but God counts us as righteous. He sees us in Christ. But there is more! God sent His Spirit to transform our inner being. In verse 6 Paul says, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”” Through the Son, we become God’s children legally, and through the Spirit, we become God’s children experientially. Martin Lloyd Jones explains the work of the Spirit in this way: A man and his little child are walking down the road and they are walking hand in hand, and the child knows that he is a child of his father, and he knows that his father loves him, and he rejoices in that, and he is happy in it. There is no uncertainty about it at all, but suddenly the father, moved by some impulse, takes hold of the child and picks him up, fondles him in his arms, kisses him, embraces him, showers his love upon him, and then he puts him down again and they go on walking together. The work of the Spirit helps us not only intellectually know and understand the love of the Father, but also emotionally feel and experience it. Have you experienced, and more importantly, are you experiencing this shower of God’s love?

In today’s Scripture Paul was concern for the Galatians because they intellectually agreed the gospel and did all religious works, but they had no intimacy with God. The conversion of John Wesley is a perfect example. He was active in practical good works. He regularly visited the inmates of prisons. He prayed and fasted and lived an exemplary moral life. He even spent several years as a missionary to American Indians. But on his way home England he confessed in his journal, “I who went to America to convert others was never myself converted to God.” Later reflecting on his preconversion condition, he said, “I had even then the faith of a servant, though not that of a son.” The son obeys out of love, but the servant obeys out of fear. Are you a son? Or are you a servant? In Galatians 4:4 Paul reaches the climax of the gospel: “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir” (NLT). So live as God’s children and heirs, not as His servants. Put all your trust in Jesus Christ and believe the gospel that you are adopted as God’s sons and daughters in Christ. At all times cry out to Abba Father, and he will shower his love upon you and you will find all of the riches of God hidden in Christ (Col 2:3) moment by moment! Amen.