Sonship

Date: 13 September 2008
Speaker: Pastor Kong Hee
Venue: City Harvest Church

Psalm 127:1
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.

The Church is built on Jesus. It is more than just the brick and cement, it is about the people.

Psalm 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

The Church is like a spiritual family. God builds generationally, and He builds through mature relationships.

"Children" in heb = Sons, builders of the family name.

Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

"Sons" in heb = A matured person who can undertake responsiblities.

Maturity, in the spirit.

Having the capacity to carry God's will, visions and dreams without fainting.

Hebrews 3:1-6
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

God does not build on slaves, He builds on sons. A spiritual son or daughter carries the spiritual DNA of his/her church. The attitude, faith and values.

1 Corinthians 15:42-43
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

If you are a member of a church yet you do not share the culture of the family, it is a rather sad thing.

Philippians 2:19-22
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

"Like-minded" in greek = Carrying the same spirit, same annointing, same attitude in life.

A son shares the DNA of his father.

A servant has to be instructed, but a son does so without having to be told.

Luke 16:11-12
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches (blessings and annointing and power of God)? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

Promotions come.. 1) When you are faithful in the least of all. 2) When you are faithful in your finances. 3) When you are faithful in your Father's vision.

The only way to exaltation is through humility.

Joining a Church is like being in discipleship and like falling in love. It requires a 2-way relationship.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Genesis 12:7-8
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

"Bethel" = The House of God.

Genesis 13:1-4
Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 28:10-12
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Genesis 28:16-17
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Genesis 28:18-19
Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

The House of God is a place of visions and dreams. The House of God is the gate of heaven. The House of God is the altar of God on the earth. It is the place where God meets us, and we meet God.

Genesis 28:20-21
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.

Genesis 28:22
And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Jacab made a vow and he gave a tithe to the Lord.