SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD

Talk No. 1
 Thru baptism, we become sons and daughters of God.
 Identity is critical to person wellbeing

INTRODUCTION
 As we grow old…
Worries a lot

We become son or daughter of God Insecure Concerns for status

We miss what God wants to do for us

Without proper “sense of identity”, we are…
1) Word Meaning – “identity” and “sense of identity.”
2) Do you really consider yourselves as son or daughter of God?
3) Bible speaks about our identity, 1 John 3:1a
4) Father-son relationship in Jesus’ time
5) Depth and substance of relationship to God as his/her children.
6) Reflect: Where you live or what you have “DOES NOT DEFINE US” but how are
we identified with our relationship with God the Father.

OUR IDENTITY
Identity (noun) = the fact of being who or what a
person or thing is.

Sense of identity = depends of our perception of

who we are.
The following are various situations that occur if we do not have right sense of who we are:
 Worries
 Difficulty in developing relationship
 Reluctant to serve
Our Identity:
1 John 3:1a See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called “children of God!”
a) We are children of God!
 John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
 Galatians 3:26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith
 Romans 8:14-16 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not
make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And
by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
b) b) We radically changed through baptism.
Father-son relationship:
a) A son’s identity came from his father.
 Luke 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they
asked.
b) Relationship was strong between the father and son.
 Upbringing of a boy aged 6 or 7 will be shifted from mother to father.
• He is to be trained by his father
• God’s law and his trade the father teached
• Son become his father direct representative
• Father social position the son inherits
Realization: Depth and substance of relationship become tremendous
a) We are closely identified with God, and He will:
 Train
 Govern
 Care for
 Pass on His life to us
Reflect: So what then defines you???
a) Jesus identified himself in terms of his relationship with God the Father… so must we!
 John 16:28 "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father."
 John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
 John 14:31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me Get up, let us go from
here.
 John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless
it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
 John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
 John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
 John 14:28 "You heard that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you ' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I
go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
 John 8:49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
 John 10:15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
 John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide
in His love.
 Matthew 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."
1. In Jesus’ time, a son bore his father’s authority
2. Follow Jesus examples
3. As sons, we have the Father’s authority as well
4. Authority given to us must be in accordance to Father’s interests and NOT
merely for our own, since we are His personal representatives

A SON’S AUTHORITY
A son bore his father’s authority.
a) The Parable of the Tenants
 Matthew 21:33-46 33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a
winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the
harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one,
killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the
same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they
said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’
• Analogy:
 If the father’s authority was limited, so was the son’s (even if he was a better person).
 If the father’s authority was substantial, so was the sons’s (even if he was not worthy or less capable)
Think about this...
 When questioned in Jesus authority, he pointed not to himself but to His Father
 John 5:23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father
who sent him.
 Exercised authority.
 He taught with authority, gave orders to nature, ordered demons to leave.
 Mark 2:10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man,
We have the Father’s authority.
a) Jesus gave authority to his disciples.
 Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the
power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names
are written in heaven.”
 Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

b) Exercise authority over our difficulties.

 Overcome problems, obstacles and challenges
 Cast away our own wrongdoings, unruly emotions and work of evil spirits
We are now His personal representative.
a) His authority for His interest and not merely for our own
b) It can make our lives easier to live as Christians, represent and server our Father.
1. Our inheritance is staggering
2. Our inheritance is not restricted to the future
3. What then???

A SON’S INHERITANCE
Staggering Inheritance.
a) Son = heir
 Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
 Father passed all he had to his son.
Inheritance is not restricted to the future.
 Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
We must act...
a) Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
b) Freedom from anxiety
 God will take care of us
 We can transcend from our fears and live only for Him
 Matthew 8:23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that
the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going
to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it
was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
1. Privileged relationship
2. God always listen to us

A SON’S ACCESS
Privileged relationship…
a) Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.Freedom from anxiety
b) Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For
everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of
you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then,
though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him!
1. We are sons and daughters of God and He went a lot of trouble to make us
such. He even sent His own Son, to die for us
2. 1 John 3:1a, 2a

CONCLUSION
Statesman published from Calcutta saying that the two girls were given to him by a man who lived in the
jungle near the village of Godamuri, in the district of Midnapore, west of Calcutta, and that the girls, when
he first saw them, lived in a sort of cage near the house.[2] Later, he claimed that he himself rescued the
girls from the wolves' den on 9 October 1920. He named the children and wrote his observations of them in
a "diary" (consisting of loose sheets, some dated and some undated) for almost ten years — which, if
accurate, would represent one of the best documented efforts to observe and rehabilitate feral children. The
diary entry of 17 October 1920 states, "...the mother wolf, whose nature was so ferocious and affection so
sublime. It struck me with wonder. I was simply amazed to think that an animal had such a noble feeling
surpassing even that of mankind ... to bestow all the love and affection of a fond and ideal mother on these
peculiar beings." Kamala was at the time about eight years old, Amala about 18 months.
Singh claims in his diary that, at the orphanage, the two girls showed wolf-like behaviour typical for feral
children. They would not allow themselves to be dressed, scratched and bit people who tried to feed them,
rejected cooked food and walked on all fours. Both girls had developed thick calluses on their palms and
knees from having walked on all fours. The girls were mostly nocturnal, had an aversion to sunshine, and
could see very well in the dark. They also exhibited an acute sense of smell and an enhanced ability to hear.
The girls enjoyed the taste of raw meat and would eat out of a bowl on the ground. They seemed to be
insensitive to cold and heat and appeared to show no human emotions of any kind, apart from fear. At night
they would howl like wolves, calling out to their "family". They did not speak.
Singh claims that he took on the difficult task of trying to teach them ordinary human behaviour. Amala
died in 1921 of a kidney infection. Kamala showed signs of mourning at her death. After this, Kamala
became more approachable. She was eventually partially house-trained and became used to the company of
other human beings. After years of hard work, she was able to walk upright a little, although never