All right, everyone, welcome. We greet you all in the mighty and matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just want to open with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for who you are. Help us to be still and know that you are God and to trust you with all our lives, not just a part. I pray in the name of Jesus that you will tabernacle with us. This morning, as I gather, I pray that your refreshing presence, and you will give the words and the understanding, Father God, of your word. Bless us, we ask of you, in Jesus' much less than mighty name. Amen and amen. Alrighty, so we are in Galatians chapter three. I'm gonna pick up back at verse 19. Galatians chapter three, picking up at verse 19. Let me see, can I move this camera? Maybe not. I'm trying to, probably Justin could, you got, I've got to help me, Justin, with the camera thingy. But until then, let's look at Galatians 3 and verse 19. I'm not sure if Sister Merlin read for us last week, but I had started talking about verse 19 of Galatians chapter 3, where Paul makes the case that the law, it still is, you know, serves some purpose. And he says, it was added because of transgression, he says, till the seed should come. And the seed there, he's dealing with the seed of, the seed refers to what? The seed refers to Galatians 3, Galatians 3. The seed refers to Abraham, and Abraham refers to, what does Abraham represent in the Bible? Righteousness, glory, no. Abraham, father Abraham, many sons, and I am one of them. Okay, how are you a son of Abraham? By faith, by faith. Okay. Abraham is a representative of faith in the Bible because he believed God and he became the father of faith because all of us get to God by believing in him, not working, not working in any form, but by believing. So he became the father of faith. All right. So that is very important to keep in mind that the seed, the seed really is a seed of faith. The seed that was really embedded in the person and the life of Abraham. However, that seed that Paul is dealing with really is Christ because we don't have faith in Abraham. We don't just have faith in faith, we have faith in a person. We have faith in Christ. So Christ is the seed that gives meaning to our faith. So our faith is not just some abstract thing that's in our soul or in our spirit or somewhere inside of us, in our heads. No, we have faith in someone who died on a cross. So we have a practical present, so to speak, representation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. So somebody said, boy, you're trusting in God. What are you trusting in? What are you trusting in? You're trusting in the complete and the full work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not just having faith in some random thing, you know? We have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 20. So this is just recapping a little. He says, Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law, given which could have given life truly righteousness would have been by the law but we cannot have righteousness by the law righteousness is righteousness only come through the lord jesus christ but the scripture has confined all under sin verse 22 that the promise by faith in jesus christ might be given to those who believe we are in galatians 3 and verse 22 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith and sister Marilyn last week asked about what does it mean that the law was our tutor and I made the case in seeking to answer the question that what happens is that the law was our you could say guide the the law was the the forerunner or the law was the the the law was what help us to see that we need or we needed someone or something greater than what we can generate of ourselves because try to keep ten commandments. You're going to break one some way somehow, you know, and then Jesus showed that if you get angry with your brother, you're guilty of murder. You might say, well, but I never murder anyone. You know what Jesus said, if you are angry with your brother, you're guilty of? murder. So for Jesus, it is very important to recognize that he's telling you that you are breaking the commandments within, not just when the action is carried out. Long before the action is carried out, you have already broken the commandments of God and you are as guilty as the person who execute the action. Are you following me? Because it has to start somewhere. There are a lot of persons concerned about what the outside looks like. You know, what to eat, what to wear, and all these things. But the Bible is concerned about what the inside looks like. You understand me? Because it makes no sense, Jesus say, the outside, they look nice, but inside they are like dead men's bones or something of that sort. But inside, you know, it's like rotten. You understand what I'm trying to say? But in the Bible, the outward man sees, the inward God sees. Of course, God sees the outward as well, not like God is blind to the outward. But God is more interested in what the inside looks like, right? That's what God is interested in. So where are we now? We are in verse 24, verse 25, but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. So the law was our guide, the law was, you could say, our teacher's assistant, you know, to help you learn that you need to go to the master, so to speak, to fully be, to be saved and to be declared righteous. Truth be told, we who were not born Jews, we who live in the 21st century, much of this, we might not understand the weight of it. But for those who were born Jews, they were told all their life that they have to keep the law to be declared righteous. This is a shock to them. And that is why the Jews came to these Christians and say to them, you need to be circumcised to be saved. You know, some persons say you need to baptize in Jesus name only to be saved. Some persons say you need to worship on a Sabbath to be saved. Sister Foster, I like your hat, but in some churches, they say the women, they have to cover their heads to be saved. Well, they might not say to be saved, but they make it like if you don't cover your head, you're sinning against God. You understand what I'm trying to say? Or in some churches, the men have to wear a tie know, I could give you stories but you know, they make these rules rules but ask them, my friend, we're in the Bible. Your rule can be found. You know what I'm trying to say? Ask them. We're in the Bible can that rule that they that they have because you are making it a rule for righteousness because you are saying if I You know what I mean? So now you are saying if I keep this rule, I am more righteous. Last week I told you about how many times I've heard sermons preached on people's clothes. I don't know why some pastors get stuck on that and what people wearing. I wonder what they would have said if they lived back then in the first century when everybody wear a sheet. pretty much a sheet, a big one piece of sheet, you just cut out a hole. That's what they were, first century people. It was very, I guess, difficult to deal with, hot and whatever. But anyhow, My dear friends, you have to be careful of these things because, you know, it does remind me of when these missionaries go to the tribe. There are some, I don't know if it was Amazon, in the Amazon or somewhere down in the bottom of Australia, but there were some tribes in one of these regions, I think. They don't wear clothes. Maybe, maybe, but they don't wear clothes. The women? They just, they go about, but everybody's okay. Nobody's like, you know, he's not weird. It's normal. The tribe, they don't wear clothes. And the Christians go there with their Western t-shirt and their Coca-Cola cans and all these other things and telling the women that they need to cover themselves. And they pretty much said to the missionary, if you are going to minister to us, you have to take off your clothes. You have to take off the top. You have to become like us. So what you're gonna do is either you leave, because you think, just because you come from a Western context, where persons wear clothes, that that is right. But in those context, these persons have been living for hundreds of thousands of years just like that, and they don't have a problem. You understand what I'm trying to say? In those cultures, I'm talking about some of these tribal people. And probably you have seen some of the documentary as well. What I'm trying to say is, my dear friends, ultimately, what do you get to? You get to the heart. You get to the heart. Heart of the individual, that's what really matters. No, I'm not saying persons need to go around and not be modest because the Bible says, especially for females, they should be modest. But you don't take it overboard. modest outside, but barking at her husband. You understand what I'm trying to say? You understand what I'm trying to say? You're modest on one form, you present to the world like everything is okay, but inside, there is just too much anger, too much rage, too much that God is not. And the same thing for men too, because a man could come to church in a jacket and tie, but he's as corrupt and Everything he sees, he's lusting after it. He's as corrupt as anybody else. He might as well have come in four o'clock this morning from the club. You know what I mean? So, what the Bible is very important. God sees the heart and all these laws quote-unquote uplifters, many of them can't keep the same law that they're quote-unquote uplifting. That is why we needed a savior. We needed someone to represent us before God because we are unrighteous. Verse 26, Galatians 3 verse 26. For you are all sons of God through what? Faith in Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus. This is how we are children of God. This is the contract. This is very important. Faith is the contract. The contract, T-R-A-C-T, the contract of my what? Of my adoption. A-D-O-P-T-I-O-N, adoption. Because through Christ, we were adopted into God's family. What does that mean? It means we have the full rights of any natural born son. So, Sir Barry, according to the laws of this country, if you and your wife decide to adopt a child, You know there's no way you can treat that child lesser than your natural born children. That child has full rights of all you own, all you have, just as if they are or they were your natural born child or children. So I say that to say is the same thing in the Bible. When a child is adopted, it's not no black sheep of the family. A child that is adopted has full rights to everything you have and to your heart, to your possession, just like your natural born child. When Paul says we are adopted into God's family, just as though Christ, Jesus himself, who is a son of God, very son of God, has full rights to God, in like manner, all of us have full rights to God. Because we are no call what? Paul says we are sons of God. the scriptures, we are used to Christ alone, especially Daniel and some of those other passages coming up. Son of God, son of God, son of only one person you could refer to as son of God. And that's Christ, of course. So there is, for instance, don't get me wrong, son of God, son of God, there in one sense, you could say Christ has the natural the natural born sense and we as Christians have the adopted sense. Are you following me? So in one sense, Christ wasn't quote unquote adopted. Christ, you could say, he came into the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. So you could say he was born of God. in a natural sense. He is more interrelated with God than we are. However, this does not mean that Christ came into being because you're gonna end up with a heresy. If you say, like for instance, there are those who say Christ began to exist. No, that's a heresy. Jesus forever was, according to what the text tells us, in the beginning was the word, And the word was with God. And the word was God. And the word was God. This is John 1 and verse 1. So this tells us, and in John 1 and verse 14, and the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. So this is God coming to us. So we don't believe that Jesus began to exist like some heretics say. or like Jehovah's Witness who says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was a God. You know what I mean? I just can't understand why people stay Jehovah's Witness. it must be that God give those persons a delusion or something so that they don't understand because that more than anything else is one of the most blatant spitting in the face of God. To take someone like Jesus Christ, change the Bible to subjugate Jesus to the point of being created, to being a God, a lesser God, Satan and then say he's like a like an archangel or something like brother of Michael or brother of Satan. Look, Jehovah Witness really is a demonic system. You know, it really is when you really take your time and go through it. Really nice people. I'm not saying they're not nice people. Some really nice people but the doctrine when you get the doctrine and really start to tear the doctrine apart, you really end up worshiping And I say, and I say, don't they think about what they're saying? Don't they really think about what they're doing? We are all sons of God through faith, faith. So watch Paul develops this now, verse 27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. By putting on Christ, what does he mean here? He means that we are what? Give me an idea. 26, by putting on Christ, it means what? We are, we are, we have been, yeah, we are children of God, but give me something else. We have put on Christ, meaning, give me something else. When I put on something, what does that mean? No, no, no, you put on something, where are you going? Raymond said protection. But put on, put on, what comes to mind when you hear the word put on? cover. Okay. Clothes. Clothes. CLOTED. Clothes. Now, what does it mean to be clothed in Christ? Remember, remember, when you're dealing with Paul, follow his line of reasoning. What is Paul dealing with in Galatians? He's The law cannot clothe you in the righteousness of God, as in the law cannot make you please God or justify you before God, but faith can close you in the righteousness of God because you have faith in Jesus, but it's not just faith in any random thing or faith all over the place, faith in Jesus. And the faith that you have in Jesus now is seen before God as putting on Jesus. What does that mean? It means just for time's sake that you have been replaced. So your righteousness, your righteousness is replaced. What is it replaced by? Replaced by the righteousness of Christ through faith. So now, it's no longer about what I do, but it is what God has done through Christ Jesus. That is the basis on which I am justified before God. That is why a thief on a cross could say, remember me. And immediately, Jesus said, today you shall be with me. He doesn't have to go and do fifty priors. He don't have to go and do ten push ups. He don't have to go and go go go church for twenty years. He don't have to go and sit on the back bench. You know, you know that some person put people on but you know, he didn't have to do all these things. He don't have to jump the hoops Remember the man is hanging on a cross for him to come down to get baptized in Jesus name. Right. But Jesus said today, immediately upon the confession of your mouth, immediately he is closed and he is adopted into the family of God. And so the cross that Jesus is on, the very cross that Jesus is on, that cross, that Jesus was in the process of signing the contract of his adoption with his blood. You see? So Paul makes it very clear that we have been baptized into Christ and have put on Christ. And that baptism is a baptism of? Not water baptism, this is a baptism of faith. So the thief on the cross was baptized into Christ, not because he went into a pool, because he never get the time to go in a pool, or any river, or any sea, or anything else that people... I have a video where they baptize this guy in a drum of water. which is okay, you know. Immersion, they just fully jump, make him stoop down in there and come up and sing, I found a new life. You know, praise the Lord, he got baptized. Yeah, once is not no sprinkling, that's something that those persons invent. Immersion, death, burial, and resurrection. Death, when you go under the water, Stop your breath. Life out. If you think you can't keep breathing there, guess what? You will really die for true. But you stop your breath. Death. No more of me. Dead, dead, dead, dead. Come up. New life in Christ. Resurrection. Same thing that's going to happen to us on that day when we are risen from the dead. You know? Morning. so paul makes it very clear that we have been baptized into christ and put on christ morning there is neither jew nor greek there is neither slave nor free there is neither male nor female for you are all one in christ jesus what is paul saying It's not about black and white. Black and white is probably very similar to Jew and Greek back then, where one class think they're better than the other. In fact, even in Acts chapter six, when they were dealing with the distribution of food, some of the non-Jewish Christians were complaining that they weren't being served well because it seems like even in the church, they were prioritizing those who were Jews. You understand me? So you can see that there was a little classism and a little racism or whatever you want. Some ism going on still in the Bible. And you saw where Peter, of course, is accused of that in so many cases. And Paul had to call him a hypocrite. You know, some person said Paul should have called him a racist. Maybe Paul didn't have that word, but he believed that the Jews were superior, which is what racism is, exaltation of one race. But Paul says there is neither Jew nor Greek. So right now, you are, this is very important. My dear friends, you are not important to God because of your skin color. That don't make sense. You're not important to god because of where you were born. You are important to god because of the fact that you have put on Christ through faith and god sees Christ in you. And this is very important to know. Very important. First of all, your importance was embedded in the fact that you were made in the image of You're a human being. You were made in the image of God and you were created to worship God and to love him forever. That's why you are not like dogs and monkeys and giraffes and donkeys. They don't worship, they can't worship. They function of instinct to fulfill a purpose. But we were created to worship God. We were created to honor him and to glorify him and to magnify his holy name. So, in that sense, we were made in the image of God for the honor of God. Do not let the enemy say, you know what? You're important because of the texture of your hair. Look at him here, picky, picky. Remember that? Black, pepper, green. I got a lot of that. Why you have but but I didn't even know that is the is the strength and equality of me here. Make it roll up, roll up and all of that. I used to think that, you know, but this is what persons do when they don't know the scriptures. They try to find some way to see how can I think of myself as more important than another person? My dear friends in heaven, you're not going to have a a tall people section, a slim people section, you know, you're not gonna have that. Paul says, any form of distinction, even male and female categories, you know, it's not about that anymore. Paul says, it's all about who Christ is. In any church you go to, one of the questions you need to ask, is Christ central in this church? Christ is central when the word of God is preached because the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Christ through the Bible. And that is why I say walk with your Bibles because don't trust the screen. People can't put up any, I can't put up, I can't change any word in any verse and put it on the screen. You understand what I'm saying? I can't put up things, not everything on the screen have to be true. No, of course, I'm not going to play with God's word in this church, but I only can speak for myself. You know, when you go to some other churches, you don't know what people people might have them idea where they want to like the Jehovah witness. So they just include a word in John one or a letter in John one and verse one because they want to spread their first thing. But when you have a solid Bible, always walk with a Bible and you check it, check your Bible. know, and I and I recommend certain versions like a ESV or a new King James version or NASB or a King James version. I recommend, I don't recommend, honestly, I don't recommend every every Bible because some of them, honestly, some of them are just pushing certain ideas. I wouldn't recommend to you a Jehovah Witness Bible. They call it Bible but it's a corruption of the Bible. The true one, a true Bible. Ultimately, Maybe one day you will learn Hebrew and Greek, which is the original language of the text, so you can tell when an English translation is going off. You hear me say the word chesed a lot. That's coming from the Hebrew text, you see. And that's very important, you know, for us to fully understand God's word. My dear friends, there is no distinction. Nobody more important than you the most important. The most important person is Christ. So this is the other thing. You know, don't ever think of yourself as inferior to anyone. You know, one time I heard an individual say, if they ask him, if you could be anything else other than what you are, what would you be? And he said, I wish I was white. And I'm like, My brother, they have really brainwashed you and distorted your image of yourself because now it's just like some persons who bleach their skin. There's no difference. You know there are persons who actually bleach their skin to change the color of their skin. Why? Because they think if I change the color of my skin, others will see me as more important. It's not about how others see you. It's about how God sees you that really matters. God. How how does God look at me? Because you see, once God sees me favorably, you don't care what man thinks of me. Wherever I go, wherever I am, if God looks at me with favor, anything that God wants me to get, I will get. There is no systemic racism system or there is no systemic system on this And that is why I tell people, when the children of Israel were in Egypt in slavery, 400 and something years, 30 years or thereabout, you know who they called on? They called on God to come and deliver them. And in like manner, let us recognize that God answers the cry of his children who call to him day and night. Hallelujah. So verse 29, and if you are Christ, then you are who? Abraham's seed and ears according to the promise. Have you ever heard about the blessing of Abraham? The blessing of Abraham, maybe I've never heard about it, but what Paul is saying, everything that the Lord has said that he would do for Abraham, every blessing that the Lord has talked about, he'll pour it upon Abraham. He is now pouring it out upon you through the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's what gets a lot of persons into problem. It's like the youngest son in the story of the prodigal son. We call it the prodigal son. It's that younger son who says, give me my inheritance now. You remember that? I read a book recently. Well, yesterday actually I was reading it. The true inheritance, the son never lost, the younger son. You remember that he took his earthly possessions and he went and he wasted it. And then he came back home. And guess who was there waiting for him? His father. And let me tell you, the real inheritance that he had was his father. Because this inheritance, no matter what he did, that inheritance would never leave. There is nothing that he could quote-unquote earthly do to lose that inheritance. Because once the father accepts him, notice he's as wealthy as before. So, it doesn't matter the folly that he commits so to speak. The true inheritance was the father. Very interesting concept but I think it's absolutely true but for many of us, we don't recognize that right now, right now, we have Christ who is the inheritance that we we so to speak, you know, that we should, how should I put this? The words in my mind, but I don't want to repeat myself. We have Christ who is the inheritance. Ah, okay, okay. We have Christ who is the most valued inheritance that we could ever get, let me put it that way. Because we might think it's some material thing, you know. But guess what? You can lose some material thing. But you can't lose Christ, you can't lose the Father. And it doesn't matter, sometimes, you know, you might, As they say, as Peter says, sometimes like a pig wallowing in the mud or a dog returning to its own vomit, sometimes the Bible use some very strong language to communicate our attitude towards God sometimes. We return to bad ways and we return to things that we should have left, you know, behind us. When we do that, we still have our inheritance. because inheritance is not a material thing that you can spin out on earth. The inheritance was the father, the real inheritance that you cannot lose. So when he came back home, the father, guess what? Put a robe on him. The father loved him, kissed him, kept a party for him, all of that, because that's the real inheritance. You see, and once you have Christ, you could go anywhere. Don't worry about a piece of house and a piece of land. You know, look in California with the wildfires for those who have been seeing the news. You know, you work all your life, 30, 40, 50 years, right? To try to pay your mortgage to have a little house. And then a fire pass through and within five minutes, your car, your pet, your house, everything just within five minutes. No, that's not an inheritance that it's worth, you know, it's not worth mourning. It's not worth setting the totality of your heart on that, on something that could just go like that. In fact, Yesterday, I was watching a news item where, morning, morning, I was watching a news item where thieves went into a house and stole $500,000 worth of goods. and stuff. Now, I don't know why some persons have that much, but it was an upscale community. I guess they got jewelry and all these things. But they went into a house and they stole $500,000 worth of valuables. The Bible say, do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth. We're what? destroy. Moth and rust destroy and thieves breaking and steal. Thieves breaking and steal the Bible. The Bible is so right. So right. Because the true inheritance is not which a man can come and steal. The true inheritance is not which fire can just destroy. The true inheritance was the Ah, was it Luke 12? It is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Do not fear, little flock. I think Luke 12, 32 are there about, maybe. But anyhow, this is very important, my dear friends. David is not more than you. Abraham is not more than you. Isaac is not more than you. Solomon, with all his earthly possession, that Solomon had, one of the wealthiest men that have ever walked this earth. Solomon is not more than you and I before God right now. Because we have the father. We are sons of God through faith. We have the full right, sorry Barry, to every possession of the father. No, you can't, you can't be a, you can't play favoritism. You can't, because any father who say, well, this is my favorite son. I go give him more. Come like, come like Joseph with his favorite brother. Benjamin, his favorite brother. So, anything he give the other brothers, he give Benjamin five times more or something like that. No, that's, that's humans. You know, we, we are prone, you know, like, like with Jacob. You remember with Jacob? not Jacob, Isaac and Rebecca, you know, one had a favorite, the other one had a favorite. So we humans are prone to have favorites, but God cannot have a favorite son. So Noah cannot be more important to God than I am, than you are. Are you following what I'm trying to say? He has to love us equally because we're all sons through faith. even though they were before Christ, they served God through faith by believing in him. And so to we as well. Any questions, any comments on that? Any questions, any comments? If not, let's jump to chapter four. Now I said that an ear, this is very important. When you are an ear, H-E-I-R, what does that mean? When you are an heir, what does that mean? Go ahead, sister Craig. You are the family, but what does an heir, why are you an heir currently? Have you inherited yet or you will inherit? You will inherit. So when you are an heir, there is a future element. There's a future. When you are an heir, you have to wait. Like for instance, I heard one of the, I don't know, I don't follow the royal family in England too much. I was asking someone who came from England, why do you still have a queen and them stuff? They say, well, they bring in a lot of tourist dollars. So I said, yeah, but you pay these people just to live lavishly and pay on, what they do, they just give speeches here, charity, this and that. But anyhow, they say they bring in a lot of tourism money, but anyhow. Leave the people and the country, yeah? But one of the sons, I think, for Diana, Harry, Princess Diana. I don't know. I don't know. Is it Harry? No? Harry, right? And William, William. I don't know the story because honestly, I really don't follow it, but I know he had I think he came to America, was living in America with his bride and stuff like that. And I saw a snippet, I didn't read the whole thing, so I'm not speaking authoritatively, but I read something where he said to the effect that he was always the backup plan. Something to that effect. So his bigger brother was really the one who is quote-unquote in line to become king and all of that, and you know, but he was the backup plan should in case anything happen. And he's, I guess he was suggesting that he no longer wants to be the backup plan. Because it's very horrible, quote-unquote, not to feel, not to really be needed or wanted, but just to be an in case anything happen. No, no child wants to be a in case anything happen child. You know what I mean? But, as far as being a hearer is concerned, you have to wait for that inheritance. Last week, I used a word in my sermon called escrow. E-S-C-R-O-W. Escrow. I got that word from a rap artist. And he talk about our blessings being in escrow. For those who have bought houses, there is a place that the money goes and when the transaction and everything and once everything is cleared and all of that, then the money is released from that place onto whoever needs to get it. If you are selling your house, it will be released to you. If you are buying a house, it will be released to the person that's selling the house. But it's kept in an account called an escrow account or something of that sort. Anyone here have never, never heard the word escrow before? You have never heard it before, Stephen? First time? Okay. Okay. You have heard it. So, escrow. Very interesting. So, the artist was making the point that our blessing is in escrow. So, the Lord is holding it for us to be revealed on that day when Jesus returns. Paul says, now I say that an heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the of the world but when the fullness of the time had come god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to read to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the here is that word again adoption as sons right so just as how Christ was the full year, never was a slave, right? Philippians 2 tells us that he took on the form of a servant. He took on that form and submitted to the point of death, even death on the cross. Right? That's what Philippians 2 tells us. However, he was clear here. But Paul here, Paul tells us though, that as far as we are concerned, we were kept under bondage. But now through Christ, we now have been set free and have been adopted into the family of God. And because you are sons, verse six, God has sent forth what? The spirit of his son into your hearts. What is the spirit of his son? The spirit of his son is who? The spirit of the son of Christ is who? The Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, he said, Paul says he has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Crying out, Abba, Father. The word Abba there is a interesting Greek word. It's a very, it's almost like Papa. You could say Dad, but it's a Papa. It's almost like it's a little bit more endearing, you know? Father. Father, or papa, or dada, something like that. It's a intimate, it's an intimate word, so to speak, but it's a word that signals fatherhood. So, it's almost like having been adopted you come to the realization that you have a father. You have a father. So that's why. So he has sent his spirit and his spirit, the Holy Spirit that that is within us, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit keeps crying to God the father. because god the father really is the true inheritance because like that son, the younger one who walked away and was in all type of sin. So to us, we were dead in sins and trespasses, but then the Holy Spirit came and gave life to our dead bodies so that we cried out to god. Our eyes are open and we recognize that we are deeply loved by god. So even if our mother, earthly mother or earthly father don't want to have anything to do with us, we know when our mother and our fathers forsake us, then the lord will take us up. is an orphan really in that sense. Because we have a father and within us, Paul says, we have the Holy Spirit that cries out for our dad. We said, dad, I have sinned against you. Because remember the younger son, he was rehearsing in his head, you know, what he's going to say to his dad, make me as gave him a robe, gave him a ring. The father gave him a party. That's not how you treat slaves. That's how you treat your son. Because the true inheritance cannot be lost. The true inheritance was the father. And so here, therefore verse seven says what? You are what? You are no longer a Oh my dear church, hear this. You are no longer a doulos, the word there doulos. You are no longer a slave, a bondman. Why do you believe? You know, I've read a couple books now on slavery in America. I've read a couple books on slavery in the Caribbean. And for those who know the history, especially of Jamaica, We, the Jamaican people, they were fed up with the British and they say under no circumstances we're going to live under this rule. They want us to pick mangoes and cut cane and and farm their fields and and and and whatever but no. And the preachers got into the You know that a lot of the rebellions and and and and uprisings, believe it or not, that that were led against the British were from from churches. Some sharp was hanged but he was a Baptist preacher. Paul Bogle, the Moran Bay Rebellion, Well, Nanny of the Maroons, she kind of sketchy, you know. She mix up. Mix up. Look like she mix up with voodoo and all type of thing. She was a little religious, but she's sketchy. I went there. I went to St. Thomas, I think. No. Was it? But I went over there to where she's from. Was it Portland or St. Thomas? I don't know. But I went, when I was in seminary in Jamaica, I went to where she's from. You know, they live on this place where they don't pay taxes. They don't pay for water. You know, I think they pay for light, but they have whatever thing from the government. you know, maroons. Yeah, they have things from the government, right? And for you to get land, you have to marry a maroon. They can't sell the land to any any and anybody and stuff like that. But when I was there, listen, I pray. I pray. I said, holy ghost. Holy god. You know, the the heaviness of the place, the heaviness of the I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I was there and I'm saying, god have mercy. God have mercy. God. I just keep saying that. I walk up to where the school is. I walk up to where they say she used to live and all. They walk up. They show us the ills where she used to, you know, when she was against the British and all. Of course, she is a champion woman in Jamaica because she led an army pretty much against the British. And Jamaica That little country, little spot of land there in the water, took on the mighty British and won. To some, yeah, you could say that. Because it's either they were gonna wipe out the island or give us our independence. But those people decided they're not gonna sit under British slavery continually. And I was reading some books on slavery in America here, down south in these places. And many Christians were there. In fact, there were Christians who said, you know, by God's grace, we are not going to try and get any freedom. So they take the beatings, they take the abuse, they take seeing the rapings and all the other things that they used to do with them. Because they say, they are trusted in God and they're not going to do anything. But of course, there were those who try to escape and sometimes the very slaves themselves inform and unfold many of the plots and a lot of them were hanged and all these other things. But I say that to say, some of the persons who were there, I read of their stories, how they worshipped, abused all day, But Saturday night and all of these other times, they would gather under a tree and worship. Why? Because the slave master, he is in slavery. And the slave that you think is in slavery, he is free before God. Before God. Both are going to die. But like the story in Luke 16, the rich man and Lazarus. Oh, Lazarus longed for the crumbs of the rich man's table. But one day, they all died. And oh, the rich man longed for just a tip of water from Lazarus. This is what Jesus does. He flips the script. So who is truly enslaved? The one who does not have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Who is truly free? The one who is covered under the righteousness of Jesus and has been adopted into the family of God and is now an heir. of the promises, full total promises of Abraham. Therefore, verse seven, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And by the way, the word son here is more a compounding unity. You could say son and daughter. It just mean you're in the family. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. And since we are heirs, guess what? We are waiting on our full inheritance. Every ear has to wait until the inheritance is given. And that is why we come to worship and praise the Lord. And we get up every day and worship and praise the Lord. Because we know that there is gonna come a day when we shall receive what the Lord has in store for us. The Bible says, set not your mind and your heart on the earthly things. You know, as I tell you, in California, it pains my heart, but some persons work a lifetime just to store up to try and buy a house. That's their inheritance, that's all they have. But then within five minutes, a wildfire just come through, and all of it, wipe out. Or some persons save up all their inheritance and put it in the bank. and then within seconds, a stock market crash. And then you hear people jumping off buildings and all these other things. Why? Because if you put your treasure on earth, my dear friends, thieves breaking and steal, moth and rust destroyed. But if you truly know who the treasure is and who is the inheritance, which is the father, you can know that no matter what happened on this earth, you can't lose your inheritance. So though I may be wayward at times, I can go back to the Father. And He has everything, just like I never left. in store for me. Father, we thank you. Pray for your blessings and your grace upon us. We just ask that you will continue to help us to understand this place that we have in you and in Christ. What you have accomplished through us, for us, and for the honor and glory of your name. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this marvelous blessing that you have given unto us. We know that the text tells us, eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither have it entered into the heart of men, the things that God has in store for those who love him. So we look to the Father, we look to Christ, because truly you are our true inheritance. May we know that we are sons, not slaves. And we belong to the family of God. We have been declared righteous through Christ. And we thank you for this in Jesus's name. Amen. Blessings, everyone.