1. “GOD OUR FATHER” (Romans 8:12-17)
Speaker: Bruce F. Sloan
Evangelism & Church Health Consultant
Northwest Baptist Convention
Vancouver, Washington

2. ORIGIN OF FATHER’S DAY
The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington under the leadership of Sonora Smart Dodd.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day. Today, this day is celebrated all over the world, usually on the 3rd Sunday of June.

3. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY Ralph George Sloan, Sr.
Born: June 15, 1916, Monroe, OK
Promoted to Glory: April 13, 1978, Albany, OR
Married Elizabeth Marie Bandy on July 19, 1939, Mansfield, AR

4. Romans 8:12-14 (NIV)
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

5. Romans 8:15-17 (NIV)
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. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

6. THE BIG IDEA
We have been adopted by God into His family. Therefore, we are sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and we are indebted to live in the spirit (not in the flesh), and bring GLORY to God in all we do.

7. 1. OUR PLACE IN THIS WORLD
OBLIGATION – to LIVE in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the flesh (v )
AFFIRMATION – to LIVE in the power of the Holy Spirit CONFIRMS that we are CHILDREN OF GOD (v. 14)

8. EPHESIANS 4:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

9. EPHESIANS 4:4-7 (NIV)
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

10. 2. OUR PLACE IN THE KINGDOM
ADOPTED BY GOD (v. 15)
The word is huiothesia. It means, literally, “to be placed as a son.”
Adoption is a legal act of God on our behalf, in the same way as justification. Justification is legal language in Scripture. We stand before the judgment bar of God as hopeless sinners, condemned to death, but God offers us salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

11. JOHN 1:11-13 (NIV)
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

12. GALATIANS 4:4-7 (NIV)
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 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.

13. 3. OUR PRIVILEGES IN THE KINGDOM
“ABBA! FATHER” = our cry and/or prayer to our Heavenly Father
“Abba” is what a Jewish child calls his/her father—an intimate word like “Papa” or “Daddy” in our culture today.

14. RESPECT HIS NAME
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7 & Deuteronomy 5:11, NIV).

15. JEREMIAH 33:1a-3 (NASB)
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time... 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

16. MATTHEW 6:6-8 (NASB)
6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

17. APPLICATIONS
Living a Spirit-controlled life is a co-product of a surrendered, submitted life to Christ.
The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is only available to the devoted follower of Christ.
God commands us to call upon Him because He already knows our needs.
We are “joint-heirs” with Jesus of all the privileges and promises of God.

18. ASSIGNMENT
Do a “word study” from God’s Word on ADOPTION and catalog all the privileges and promises given to YOU through the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Take the INITIATIVE to share your FAITH STORY with at least ONE person this week.