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00:00:03 today's passage is taken from first John chapter 2 verse 28 to chapter 3 verse 3 and now dear children continue in him so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming if you know that he is righteous you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him see what great love the father has lavaged 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 dear friends now we are children of God and
00:00:48 what will be has not yet been made known but what we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is all who have this hope in him purify themselves just as he is pure and from The Book of Romans chapter 8 verse 14 to3 for those who are led by the spirit of God are the children of God the spirit you receive does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again rather the spirit you receive brought about your adoption to sunship and by him we cry ABA father the spirit
00:01:31 himself the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children now if we are children then we are hairs hers of God and co-s with Christ if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to in us for the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed for the creation was subjected to frustration not by its own choice but by the will of the one who
00:02:12 subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to Decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God we know that the we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the Pains of child birth right up to the present time not only so but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sunship the Redemption of our bodies for in this hope we will saved but hope that is seen is no hope at all who hopes for what
00:02:51 they already have but if we hope for what we do not yet have we wait for it patiently in the same way the spirit helps us in our weakness we do not know what we ought to pray for but the spirit himself intercedes for us through worthless groans and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his
00:03:25 purpose for those God for you he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters and those he predestined he also called those he called he also Justified those he justified he also glorified this is the word of God good morning FBC and greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus I get myself organized as usual uh thanks to the uh the worship team and uh our sister Noel for reading the word of God to us now looking ahead uh next 3 weeks sermons are uh next week
00:04:16 uh dear brother John will continue on the topic of children of God uh and then week after in fourth of June uh brother William ya will be preaching on the character of job and followed by our Elder Arnold l on avoiding civil you know I believe it's Wars not Wars wars in the church now the um the sermon topic today will be very much a continuation and you know an expansion from what other Arnold preached two weeks ago on the he Ser top of who am I Lord on personal identity on being known by God and known by by love
00:05:00 you remember that I hope you do just two weeks ago right and and the the the the topic of children is very close to my heart obviously since I deal with very two two very active boys nine and five every waking moment except when I'm in office right um as most of us here parents grandparents in this room incidentally I it was just last week during Mother's Day where we witnessed 19 babies and children being dedicated to God praise God once again for our little ones a topic like like children of God living as children of God can be
00:05:42 a five minute devotion but it could also it's so vast a topic that you could spend 5 to 8 hours on a sermon like this but if I do that then Dr Peter will will start to say you look like that that that Antichrist church or C so so so Tim K says this somehow you have at the risk of oversimplifying this topic like this uh you know we but but you know we need to do it otherwise it becomes 5 Hour sermon so forgive me if you know we don't cover all the things we want to learn about about about children of God right but we start by
00:06:18 saying what the the question that every child has is what do I want to be when I grow up right when I was growing up it was more stereotype and I think Ann PR about this as well right standard answers uh accountant doctor lawyer engineer architect uh and maybe a few more all right uh never a teacher because why the government don't pay you well ironically both my late parents were teachers so maybe they don't be like us you don't go and find other jobs right other and this list that I mentioned you might be frown
00:07:02 upon by the time I reached University everyone was talking about top high paying careers in Investment Banking you know the likes of Gman Sachs JP Morgan Morgan Stanley or or management consultancy firms like McKenzie Boston Consulting Group Bane and Co or the big Force which still exist today h very much the K kpmg's of the world PWC ey deid and you you name it right for Aaron today these days um since the time he discovered the love for Lego he wants to be a robotics engineer uh but of late of late he wants
00:07:45 to also be a car reviewer now kids you watch too much YouTube right there's this program called car wow and the guy this British guy is really funny right both my boys are into cars these days and they can recognize most of the cars in the Road they can tell you the make and a model you know can tell you know uh this one is uh what a xc40 not the recharge version It's the hybrid one wow I I don't know where I learn this from right there this particular CRA about e these things and for us we have we
00:08:16 always have mentors growing up right um the best in the field of Interest whether in a professional life or Hobbies those aspiring to be a business leader or CEO you know the likes of sa nadela team coach p and I actually added two more female CEOs there because the picture was all male right just to balance it up so you got the the Julie sweet from Accenture and Rosaline Brewer Walgreens boots Alliance CEO maybe not so popular as as the guys right in the engineering World maybe you want to be like Elon Musk right uh doctors you're a
00:08:51 doctor growing up I don't know many doctors so you want to become like doct Peter right or Dr Sanjay my the only one I know because my my children's Pete right uh how about preacher okay preacher of course you know the like the the usual Tim Keller da Carson John Piper Arnold lame you know football of course you know only to say if your older you might like you know the marad Donas and the PES of the world otherwise it's the Messi and the ronaldos for me growing up um loving the guitar Tommy Emanuel I don't know you know W Tommy
00:09:31 inel has been has always been a legend of all times for me but what about what about just growing up to be human we don't normally talk about these things who who do we look up to super humans exist only in cartoons and Marvel series and we continue to enjoy that but who are our real human Heroes outside of our professional and social space we need to go back to some Basics today but let's start with a word of prayer first gracious God heavenly father as we look into your word today and learn what it means to be a human
00:10:14 being fearfully and wonderfully created by you and what it means to be a child of yours we ask for your Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and cause us to respond in faith hope and love of you and the family to which we we belong in Christ your son's name we pray amen now a week ago I uh sent out a some some survey questions uh through the live groups it was definitely not meant to be comprehensive but thanks thanks to those who responded we got about 90 over uh responses which is hopefully is representative of the the the church may
00:10:53 not be may not be fully but gives me an idea of where you know where we stand in topics like this um so let's take a quick summary I share this and I might refer back to this throughout the sermon but right so um to the question do you believe you are a child of God W full marks this on 100% yes of course to the question are you a born again Christian okay A bit less score less than 90% right some not too sure so there's some doubts coming already some say uh depend how you define born again right
00:11:30 and then uh what else how would you rate your relationship with God and well the bell curve uh SES towards being pretty high between three to five ah but when we ask the question of how do you read the Bible or do your devotion this one is the lowest score less than 50% say every day the rest about once a week um then and the and in the third highest is uh every now and then when I have some time then the rest is you know a few few other responses some some do a little bit more three four times a week but
00:12:10 majority uh fall between those who are those who are more serious who do it every day otherwise once a week three times a month what about prayer prayer um not bad every day right uh but then comes comes once a week and then when I'm lost needing guide or help and then you get a lot more varied responses okay um and then what do you think of the statement okay so I purposely left one uh subjective question there right what do you think of the statement following uh sorry sorry this not a subjective one the one
00:12:47 is the one is next uh what do you think of the statement following Christ is easy right majority says is never easy some say sometimes depending on situation and then a whole bunch of other resp consons right uh and and then I I didn't I didn't stop there I say please explain your your answer to the question before right and um I'm not to read all of that thanks for those who attempted uh out of 90 over 50 over wow actually start to type answers there very good right so I say well how to summarize this 55 responses or something
00:13:23 like that right so I just check GPT you know so check GPT summarized to it stand lines around this stand top 10 I read a few key words here suffering sacrifice going against worldly values personal Ambitions must daily consent to God's changing work training of one's spiritual muscles is a battle between flesh and the spirit denying self and obeying God's command anti-christian culture facing rejection relying on God's grace strength and guidance doubts uh discipline humility Reliance on Holy Spirit you know again
00:13:58 going against the flow of worldly cultures and norms and the journey following Christ is a continuous process of growth trust and transformation who I said no need to preach this sermon already you know just compile it into a book and there you are right so but we're dealing with people who actually know right all of you know that the following Christ is not easy it's a trans transformative word right work so anyway the the passage now we go back to the passage and I hope we can learn something today um through the
00:14:30 through through the passage that was read to us today and um the the passage today for the first time in first John introduces the phrase children of God and teaches us what it means to live as one and I there there are many things we can say about this but there are three main implications number one we bear a new identity that abides in Christ number two we are adopted into a new family made possible by The Amazing Love of the father and thirdly we have a new hope that transforms us to be more
00:15:07 Christlike firstly prepare a new identity that abides in Christ and now little children abide in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming if you know that he is righteous you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him him here refers to God or the spirit as opposed to Christ now I know most of you here are experts already but for the sake of the 13% or more in the congregation uh or even as a recap for us let's try to you know understand what
00:15:44 it means uh and and why do we need to be born of God or born again right sometimes we use the word regeneration why do we need to be regenerated since this is John's writing where do we find the phrase born of God or born again anyone Gospel of John the same writer to the Gospel of John the story of Nicodemus the Nicodemus Encounter With Jesus in John chapter 3 you cannot but go back to the time and Jesus introduce this concept right Jesus says unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God
00:16:30 and he repeats in verse 5 in case Nicodemus didn't get it truly I say to you unless one is born of water and spirit he expended what it means to be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God now it's easy to uh to equate uh Bond of water to to baptism but the background is more than that probably goes back to the Old Testament of what why why Jesus used the word water and spirit and is likely taken from Ezekiel 36: 25 to 2 uh verse 25- 26 where God promises that I will sprinkle clean water on you
00:17:13 and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your Idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I'll put within you and I will remove the Heart of Stone from your flesh and give you a heart of Flesh it's like a heart transplant right now sprinkling of Clean Water signifies purification but we'll come back to that later for now we focus on the word new a new heart and a new spirit remember what second Corinthians uh tell us therefore if anyone is in Christ the new creation has
00:17:46 come the old has gone the new is here it is a clean slate being a born again Christian is not Patchwork it's not quick fixing it is complete makeover CS leou puts it this way he says God became man to turn creatures into Sons not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of men it is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature essentially you are reborn with a with a new identity entity isn't it you're no longer who you are right you
00:18:32 are a new creation the it is the core of who you are your new spiritual DNA if you like that DNA that enables you to desire and recognize our Creator God more fully and more clearly through the lens of Christ Bible says we are we are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalms 139 in the image and the likeness of God Genesis 1 that is who we are our traits our attributes our character were created to mimic that of God and Christ Jesus his son who is the exact representation of God we learned that in Hebrews chapter 1 but because of sin our
00:19:20 image is marred our image is disfigured like a shattered mirror being born again is like a rediscovery of our real self because our that mirror that we look at has been shattered we we we we cannot recognize who we really are anymore being born again restarts the transformation and renewal process now one way to to kind of give an analogy is uh how many of you have seen the movie Born the born identity this is part of the born identity yeah yeah I know the born identity is part of the born Trilogy and I think they have
00:20:04 added a few more right to to this to this series right Jason Bourn uh played by Matt Damon in this story has lost his memory and is trying to discover his true identity as a former CIA assassin right and and through a series of very complicated and ironical twists that took almost the three movies to conclude Jason born is changed by his conscience who got the better of him not the best examples right but not the best analogy but we too as human beings have lost our true identity because of sin but just as born's true
00:20:45 identity is revealed to him through a process of discovery we too can discover our true identity in Christ through the process of being born again but it doesn't stop there does it with a new identity comes a new way of life right the illustration I would also use my own life is like getting a new job okay especially when it's uh you're moving to a completely different role or a different industry like what I experienced last year I was on the Telecommunications line in Maxis and I moved to to oil and energy something
00:21:24 that I've never done before right um you're given a new ID a new role new boss new company policies rules New Vision and mission statements culture new new cultural uh mindset shift it's quite big now every company is talking about cultural transformation new expectations that I must fulfill and follow even relearn in many ways it was a restart for me being a born again Christian means starting a new two-way personal relationship with Jesus and here in these two verses we see two verbs that describes
00:22:08 this right one is abiding in Christ and practicing righteousness both of which are in the continuous actions not oneof right so firstly abiding or continuing in the NIV in Christ the word abide mano is frequently used in both John's gospels and his Epistles and it carries a very rich meaning of staying remaining continuing which is what the NIV uses dwelling enduring waiting Etc it's very rich meaning that's why we have the phrase a humble aboard it's your home it's a safe place it's where you stay it's where you have your life
00:22:59 right we are to stay put it has the meaning of staying put as opposed to in in in in in the next uh as opposed to next the the next uh letter that John wrote in 2 John 9 as opposed to running ahead because John because John says if if anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ he does not have God when I when I when I think of the word run ahead uh what immediately Springs to mind is are my two kids right uh at the mall I think I've shared this example before the moment they get down of get out of
00:23:38 the car park into the mall like a wound up Spring they are ready to Sprint walking is not in their DNA at this one now it is running they have to run and then we'll be my my wife and I will be yelling stop wait stop wait but to no avail because and you just to watch them disappear from sight unfortunately I know where this energy and this hyperness comes from in many ways I'm also like that right so like father like son as the same goes John definitely had in mind um John 15 where he recounted Jesus's words I am
00:24:23 the vine you are the branches whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that be much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing and the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-controls self-control what else abides in us and what should we abide in as we learned from John's Epistles in many places uh in in first John uh he uses the synonyms of the word of God what we have heard from the beginning truth the teaching of Christ and then he uh uh this the the the few
00:25:09 verses before the passage that we read today in verse 27 the anointing the Holy Spirit abides in us later in the uh later in chapter uh 3:9 God seed his nature abides in us and then we we're going to learn more later down the sermon series love abides in us and we we are asked to abide in love we will delve deeper into each of these Concepts as we progress through the sermon series but for now we stay at high level these are this is what it means to really abide in Christ and he in US CS Lou in
00:25:45 his book called Mere Christianity gave a beautiful analogy of what it means to abide in Christ and he in us he says imagine yourself as a living house God comes in to rebuild that house he's building quite a different house from the one you thought of throwing out a new Wing here putting on an extra floor there running up Towers making Courtyards you thought you were being made into a decent little cottage but he is building a new Palace he intends to come and live in it himself that is the Born Again house not
00:26:26 Patchwork fixing of leaks like my house today right we have been fixing leaks since the time we we bought the house in fact we in fact we had to change all the flooring as well because of a bad you know the bad developer who did the house some sometimes the leak and in our wall and looks you know looks like a like like waterfall because this day is raining heavily waterfall is terrible right being born again is not fixing patchwork it is a new a new A New Beginning a new house that God is building in your life and secondly um
00:27:07 the one who is born of God practices righteousness or does what is right one's righteousness is the evidence not the cause of the new birth right if I may paraphrase this verse it would sound like since God is righteous and we are born of him we must manifest his righteousness too and this is repeated in verse 7 down in chapter 3 in the words of John start the child exhibits the parents character because he shares the parents nature the converse is also true that if you're are not practicing righteousness we are not born of God but
00:27:39 rather of the devil as we will learn later too in verse 10 however the idea is not that we have perfect righteousness like that of Christ but to continually put this into practice to exercise our spiritual muscles to continually bear the fruit of the spirit when Aon and Ryan were taking music lessons Aaron on the guitar and Ryan on the piano my wife and I have to constantly remind them to practice please practice because we we say practice makes perfect but Aaron would always correct me and says no daddy my teacher in school said
00:28:14 practice makes progress W now the things they learn in school you know you know they're trying to tell Daddy no need Perfection as long as I'm progressing good enough maybe I would add uh practice makes permanent or habit so I say okay you're making progress but make sure you also do it quite habitually right nevertheless aim for aiming for perfection in the sense of completing what Christ has begun in Us in the sense of following the highest standards of Christ needs needs to be there right and that's why in Matthew 5
00:28:49 in in the seron of the mount Jesus says be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect recently my office just acquired a new next one styo Milo coffee machine one that requires like Barista to get right okay first you got to do the beans right grind the beans single shot double shot right put it in press you know espresso or not espresso one double shot and then comes the milk part the milk is the cream de laem creme de laem on top of it yeah so uh have to practice in fact they even have courses in office
00:29:33 and teach them how to make coffee good coffee okay I didn't attend the training that's why so bad today but I practice okay this is where I am today not the best bit of a distorted heart right this is what my tea lady who is our resident Barista can do ra and she's getting better every day so when I'm lazy I say make for me like your nicee I like to see the nice heart not like mine this is the utopian ideal ultimate coffee this is the one in the Fox Hole ss8 Cafe right we'll get there sometime right so where was I
00:30:19 yeah talking about coffee yeah so we talking about Abiding and living a righteous life in Christ and that we need to practice righteousness right practice means progress and permanence and when we do that we are ready for his second coming Bible speaks about being confident um the same word is used later on in the same book to mean when we confident because our hearts do not condemn us because Christ's love is being perfected in us the same word used when we approach him in prayer the same word used in Hebrews
00:30:58 in the boldness of approach when we draw near to the throne of grace and we will not shrink in shame when we do that because not like the parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22 if you remember where a man who was not wearing the parable of the The Wedding Banquet the man was not wearing wedding clothes with tight hands and legs were thrown outside into the darkness on Revelation 6 the opening of The Sixth Seal which signifies Judgment Day rebellious Humanity from Kings to the rich to to the powerful to everyone slave and free
00:31:30 will hide and seek covering shame during the day of judgment Brothers and Sisters in Christ we will not shrink in shame because we would have abided in Christ practiced righteousness instead we will stand without hates up high held high when we meet him face to face we'll come back to this point at the end second point is we are adopted into being a child of God being born again means we are adopted into a new family and this made possible by The Amazing Love of the father and we have sung about that in the songs
00:32:03 earlier this is probably the high point of the passage that we're studying today and he reads see what great love the father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God and that is what we are now I like the King James version some some of you who are uh not so young like me um reads it in in this in this manner behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called sons of God how many people remember that that that chorus you behold what man of love the father has given unto
00:32:38 us manner of love the father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God and then we sing that in rounds right quite fun during during uh you know youth days so yes so so so the word the reason why I'm I I put the KJV next to NIV is captures that that meaning better right the word what manner of comes from the word the Greek word poose literally literally means from what country from what country the love of God is so out of this world so from a different planet that it invites all and
00:33:24 wonder you know how many times when someone say something really strange you say hey what country you come from what planet you come from but this is in a in a good sense like it's like this is so different I've never seen this before poos Agape right what manner of love that's what it means right it invites awe and wonder and we ask the question me after all the ugly stuff I've done accepted into the King's family no way I don't deserve this that's the kind of beholding right and to top it all
00:34:01 this love is lavished and gifted bestowed to us even while we were yet undeserving Sinners this amazing out of this world kind of love needs to be beheld KJV right behold which means we need to pause stay put abide contemplate gaze in order to Marvel as opposed to a fleeting glance or a or a glimp it's not a touch and go but requires a continual abiding in his word and prayers we learn from the first point the hymn and can it be by Charles Wesley probably captures the richness of this verse best and can it be that I should
00:34:44 gain an interest in the savior's blood died he for me who caus his pain for me who him to death pursued amazing love how can it be that thou my God should die for me we're not only children by name but that is what we truly are our DNA has changed we're born again in Romans 8 uh they we read ear elaborates further how this work what does it mean how do we become the children of God so we read um Romans 8 for those who are led by the spirit of God are children of God the spirit you receive does not make you
00:35:24 slaves so that you live in fear but the spirit you receive brought about your adoption to sunship we're not going to another one hour sermon on adoption we're going to keep it simple but that is the the the principle of uh of children of God is is also adoption to sunship and by him we cry ABA father right and the spirit himself Bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and the children then hes hes of God and fellow as with Christ provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified in him
00:36:00 with him let's pause a moment to think about this now in order to appreciate um this this adoption to sunship concept we have to go back to uh oh sorry yeah this is hesia to about sunship right that's the Greek word hesia adoption to to sunship now in order to understand the meaning of adoption to sunship we have to go back to the Greco Roman time the culture in Paul's days when the letter was written right an adopted son in the first century Roman world was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive
00:36:39 father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate he enjoys the adop an adopted son in Roman family enjoys the same status as a son born in the ordinary way the most notable case of adoption in the Roman world as I've showed here is Caesar Augustus uh during which time during whose Reign Jesus was born as we know in Luke Chapter 2 Caesar Augustus originally known as Octavian that's his real name uh was a grand nephew of Julius Caesar after attaining victory over the Roman Roman general Pompei
00:37:17 Julius Caesar was able to secure his Reign Over Rome it is his prime time right however Caesar was assassinated and Octavian who was soon to become Caesar August discovered in Julius Caesar's will that his Grand uncle has had made him air right this was secured through the postumus act of adoption right now julus Cesar apparently had a son I you know that I was was doing a reading his name was cerian and probably had it with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra those of you are better in his Greek history than me
00:37:56 um but some how julus Caesar never acknowledged him his his own son hence the the act of adoption superseded Cesar own bloodline he probably julus probably saw something great in in Octavian and says you you are the one who's going to be my son and to lead Rome to get he was only about 18 and 19 years old then but he he Julius gave him the the the claim to the wealth the military forces the Roman Imperial Authority that was uh in that time right hence the the New Testament historian Robert Lou states that uh there could be no higher
00:38:37 claim than anyone who is adopted by the ruler of Rome right and that's the kind of adoption that Paul is talking about it is his Spirit adoption of adoption that enables us to cry ABA father the same intimate name that Jesus used in his prayer in Mark 14:36 where he CED ABA father all things are possible for you remove this cup from me yet not my will but you yours be done in other words being born again as children of God as adopted Sons we have full access to God accepted into his royal family bearing his name Heir and
00:39:11 coair with Christ inheriting all that Christ has that's quite a privilege don't you think regardless of our Earthly family name as far as our spiritual family is concerned we bear the same last name in the family of God amen amen speaking of last name let me tell you a fun fact about myself running of time I hope I can squeeze in this fun fact right my late Father's Side uh tan family I'm Alexan right churn the churn family had all kinds of last name spelled in their birth certificate right they got
00:39:53 Dan th like Thanos th right sing sing because I think chin sounds like Chen when you when when you when you're at the nrd naal ReliOn department and my grandfather couldn't pronounce on these words is written down as these variance of tan danan s sing right so my dad was fortunately had the sin so he was Sint Tha King Elias tantai King in his school as a chemistry teacher he is known as Mr sin but a well respected one nonetheless by the grace of God I did not inherit that surname otherwise I be speaking to you
00:40:36 here the preacher's name is Alex sin not something you are very proud of jokes aside we all offens as far as our spiritual family is concerned we are adopted into the same family the body of Christ God is our God is the father of the fatherless Psalm 65 685 he loves us because we bear his name each of has a responsibility to guard it to stick up for it to live up to it unless you are some D son or aong or or some royal family it's easy to say hey do you know who my father is or not right not when
00:41:11 you got you got friends who father is a d right and you someh you don't know like do you know my father is that's making a b statement there not many of us come anywhere close to that privilege here on Earth right are sometimes even embarrassed to talk about a family right this what why John continues to write in the second half verse one the reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him right it's the same um vain when Jesus says john5 if the world hates you know that he has hated me
00:41:41 before he hated you right as Christians we are often being misunderstood even hated by the world but we belong to the royal family the Kingdom of Heaven that is now and eternal so continue to know the our loving heavenly father being forever ever grateful to that privilege that we have as adopted children of God so that we can also say do you know who my my father is do you know who my heavenly father is and lastly we have a new hope that transform us to be more Christlike we move from a new identity that we put
00:42:16 our faith once we put our faith in Christ to beholding his love for us as children of God into a new adopted family to a new hope that fixes our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith beloved we're God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is and everyone with us hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure what kind of a hope is this firstly let's let's say what it is not it is not
00:42:57 a sincere wish as in I hope you get well soon HH hope to see you soon it's not wanting something good to happen or be the case as in I'm hoping to get the job offer I'm hoping to address all these issues neither is it feelings of optimism being hopeful or hoping that hoping for the best crossing your fingers but what can we learn from this few verses here and I I'm going to use to summarize the four W's and the 1 h why what who when how why do we need hope why do we need hope we live in the now and the not yet
00:43:36 my friends we are that's what John St says half saved what we will be has not yet appeared we have yet to be saved from the day of judgment from from the final vest vestages of sin in our human personality our flesh our the Greek SS have not been obliterated our body our s have yet to be redeemed in fact Romans 8 teaches us right when you Romans 8 you will find these two similing contradicting verse he says that the spirit you receive have brought you about your adoption and sunship and then later on in 23 he says um you who have
00:44:14 the first fruit of the spirit must wait eagerly for our adoption to sunship which is it have you got it now or not the fact is that you you've got the spirit of adoption and sunship but you still wait eagerly for your adoption for your full adoption to sunship the first fruits of the spirits is the deposit the down payment that Christ put in our that God put in our hearts guaranteeing what is to come and then the what right the second W what is it that we hope for right here in this verse says the
00:44:51 hope is to be like him seeing him as he is that's the ultimate aim of every Christian every believer to be transformed into Christ's image as part of God's salvation plan for each of us is essentially the hope of Salvation And this is consistent with many parts of Paul's writings I'm just going to name one or two second Corinthians 3:18 says we are transformed we're being transformed into his image with ever increasing GL increasing Glory we are predestined to be conform to the image of Christ we are to put on a new self
00:45:24 and this new self this Born Again self is to be like God in true righteousness and Holiness finally in Philippians 3 we aware as Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body thirdly uh sorry uh seeing him as he is what does it mean to hope to see Christ as he is this has confounded a lot of the scholars what does it mean what does it mean that we will be like him when we see when we see him right and and and there's no better verse to explain from Corinthians 1312 for now
00:45:59 now we see in a mirror dimly but then in future Glory we we see him face to face now we know in part then we know fully even as I have been fully known we know partially today and that's why we have doubts today right but when we see him face to face that is no more doubt that transformation will be complete and we say yes Lord I see you now and thirdly who of course in Christ and Christ alone until when when when he appears it is a when and not if not a not a hope he will come it is a when because he will
00:46:44 certainly come as we learned and finally how and this spend a bit of time here right how this one hope in God it is certainly not waiting and doing nothing not a passive one but a proactive one that continually purifies himself but what what does it mean how does one purify s right I just kind of summarized it each of these can be one hour on his own again but we purify ourselves by confessing and repenting of our sin by the renewing of our minds through the reading and studying of God's word and prayer through the power
00:47:24 of the Holy Spirit working through us continuing as we continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling but it is is God who works in you to Will and to act according to to his to his Good Will and little by little every day little by little every day anyone has read the the book The Atomic habits actually I was introduced to this book by Yeah by Elder Arnold Atomic habit and I think now quite a number of people have already have seen and read some of these books or even all other the
00:47:56 summaries of it it plenty of it on the internet in his bestselling book Atomic habits James Clear writes that if we start at one right and we do 1% better every day right by the power of compounding effect by the end of the year you would have you have improved 37 37 times on the flip side if you do 1% worse every day we'll be close to Zero by year end it's a very clever way of saying this you know it just Ms Right In The Same Book CLA also explains the three layers of change the three layers of change
00:48:37 outcomes is what you achieve process is what and how you do it it's the system which you do it an identity is who you are and what you believe in many approach from the outside in James CA says right outside in you you change an outcome hope oping to change your identity but that won't last I think James Clear gave an example of those who approaching from outside in says I will try to quit smoking you're trying to patch the the outcomes right what you want to achieve but one who truly want to change has to say no I am not a
00:49:16 smoker anymore so that's that's the Inside Out approach that James CLA taught in this book right from Identity knowing yourself and then doing what you you want to be he says true Behavior change is identity change first decide who you want to be that's your identity then think about what you're are going to do to achieve it the system and that will produce the expected results our goal brothers and sisters is not to do Christianity or do Church our goal is being a child of God and that's what CS
00:49:49 Le calls a little Christ in conclusion I hope I my time is is out I'm I'm going to conclude our Ron Ron debt or reson reson de right and God's Eternal purpose for us is to be like Jesus it starts or is seed the moment we believe or put our faith in him being born again as children of God adopted into his family we have to lead a completely different way of life one that continues to grow as we abide in him and is his fatherly love this is a lifelong process until we are Sanctified transformed from the inside out into his
00:50:33 glorious image this completes that we finally meet him face to face this may be a long and arduous Journey with ups and downs but we have his spirit's power working within us and Christ is our perfect example what it means to be human in him in Christ there is no blemish he was tempted in every way yet without sin pure and perfectly righteous he taught us how to live through the The Sermon on the Mount and he walked his talk he loved and ate with Sinners and tax collectors he empathized with and
00:51:09 healed the sick he abided in God his father and demonstrated the ultimate love for us by his sacrificial death on the cross Christ is our coair our Mentor our role model Son of God and this is our purifying hope in Christ Christ is our refiner fire who in Malachi 3:3 says will purify and refiners like gold and silver and I'll end with a quote from a great and treasured teacher preacher Pastor one who has not only kept his faith and followed Christ but one who was faithful to pastoring teaching and preaching to thousands
00:51:55 whose life has been transformed the dear pastor and theologian Timothy Keller whom we have just heard a few days ago I think just just a day or two ago have have gone back to the Lord right and he says this our Christian hope is that we are going to live with Christ in A New Earth where there is not only no more death but where life is what it was always meant to be and there's a whole series of of videos being made of uh you know the obituaries of him uh one is ncy gri an author and teacher who say Tim Keller sat out there
00:52:39 as an aim for a teacher or a preacher to cause your audience to adore Christ that we will put Christ forward in such a way that would help people see his Beauty his necessity his significance in such a way that it would cause people to she repeats adore Christ may we say together with Keller and Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 follow my example as I follow the example of Christ let's close in prayer and then we'll sing the song refin This Fire loving Heavenly Father we behold and thank you for your great and amazing
00:53:19 agape love so much so that you sent your only son Jesus to die for us so that in believing and being United with him we may be born again into this new life in Christ and be accepted and adopted as children of yours so that we may be as and coair with Christ Empower us Lord by your spirit so that we continue to abide in Christ coming daily into his into your presence following after Christ's example pursuing his righteousness and Holiness even as we are trans being transformed and change into his image
00:53:52 and likeness refine us fire purify our hearts Hearts our desires so that we will always choose to be holy set apart for you Lord ready to do your and to obey your will until we see you face to face we pray this in Jesus name and for his name sake amen shall We All Rise As we sing the the song of response refin us [Music] fire pure pufy my heart let me be as go and precious Sil purify my heart let me be as go pure go findest SP my heart one this it's to be holy set aart for you Lord I choose to be
00:55:28 [Music] holy set aart for you my master ready to do [Music] your puy pufy my heart and be from within and make me holy pufy my heart cleanse me from my de with [Music] re us far my heart desire is to be holy s aart for you Lord I choose to be holy set aart for you Lord I choose to be holy setart for you Lord I just to to [Music] be holy s a for you my master ready to do your [Music] will I would like to invite all of us to to pray to just seek the Lord even in this Precious Moment reflecting about what we just
00:58:01 learned and the word of God that we just read maybe some of us here who have yet to receive Christ and be born again into this new life with Christ even though you may be coming to church on a regular basis or attending live group I want to pray for you I want to pray that the eyes of your heart may be open Lord I pray for those those who have yet to make that that step of of of faith we pray that their eyes the eyes of their hearts may be opened allowing Christ to turn their hearts of stone to
00:58:37 Hearts of Flesh and that they may call on your name and be saved I pray that you may give them a new heart and a new spirit within [Music] them I want to pray for those who have been a Christians who have been Christians for a long time for a very long time and attending church regularly but because of the pressures of work of family of social life haven't been devoting time to reading God's word and prayer I pray for you I pray Lord that they will that you will awaken our spirit man and cause us to
00:59:14 desire you more than anything else to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness for all the other things will be added to them in your Providence and Grace send Revival into our heart so that we may Delight in your word your word which is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path may we come worshiping you in prayer and worship knowing well that you are our loving father who hears our prayers and understand our deepest needs I want to pray for those who just find following Christ such a challenge
00:59:51 and we and we see this in the survey that we did because it's counterculture because we often Buckle under peer pressure I pray Lord that in your spirit you may give us the assurance that we are your children and that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor Heights nor depth or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus and when we fall pray to sin that we may confess our sins to you and seek forgiveness for you are
01:00:27 faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins restoring us back to faith hope and love I want to pray for parents since we're on a topic of of uh children parents and grandparents guardians of our children I pray that Lord you may that we may imitate Christ because they are watching us I pray that they too May imitate us because we imitate Christ Christ and they will see Christ manifested in our own lives that we bear the fruit of the spirit and for all of us here I want to pray generally to that we will all they
01:01:10 help us that God may help us to continue to abide in him to abide in his love so that we may continue to Bear the fruit of the spirit of love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control following the example of Christ in whose name we pray amen let's sing the chorus once again I choose to be holy set upart for you Lord I choose to be holy set aart for you Lord I choose to be I choose to be holy set aart for you Lord I choose to be [Music] holy set aart for you my
01:02:40 master ready to do you're ready ready to do you sing ready ready to do your [Music] amen may we all be able to say I choose every moment of our life to choose to follow Christ and let's end with the benediction it is taken from Philippians 1:9 it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory
01:03:26 and praise of God Amen please be seated and after a moment of silent meditation uh you may be dismissed those who need continue to need prayer I want to talk to to to to us to the elders please feel free to come forward and we would pray with you [Music]
