Paul’s Letter to the Gauls (Galatians) – Chapter 4

It is an answered prayer. The kingdom came in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ for you and for me. The Father has broken through this realm and established His kingdom here, but here is prayer that is going on inside of you and me and all believers. It is the prayer of the Lord Himself deep within our own being. And what is He saying? What is He saying? I wish that we could be close here, and we had a lot of room around, and I could walk around all of it up and down the aisle, and I’d do a test here. Do you know what it means? Abba Father. Abba Father. I know some of you know. What does it mean? It means Daddy.

Afraid of God? Trying to fulfill the law? Some big, mean, unsmiling God up there behind you, looking over everything you do, saying to you, “You’re not trying hard enough.” But the first of His sons has come into you, and from within you He fellowships with His Father intimately and calls Him Daddy. Can you call God your Father, Daddy? I don’t mean can you….do you have permission? I mean, can you be capable of calling your Father God, Daddy? I am standing here in an audience of 130 140 people; 120, I don’t know, and I wonder how many people in this room have enough confidence to come before the living God and pray with an indwelling Son and call Him Daddy. I bet you can’t do it. I bet you can’t do it. This is not the only place in scripture where this will arise. Paul is bursting this whole concept of relationship to the Father wide open. Do you know why you can’t call the Father in heaven Daddy? Do you know why? Because you’re scared of Him. That’s why. Now admit that. You’re not on that intimate a term with Him. Now, why are you scared of Him? And why are you not on intimate terms with Him? I’ll tell you why: you have put yourself under the law, and you are afraid of that intimate relationship with Him. You are afraid that if you were to call Him Daddy, He wouldn’t like you anymore, so you must call Him “Our dear heavenly Father.” But to be so sure of who you are, to be so intimately related and to look up or look in and say, “Daddy, Daddy.”

Call no man your Father. Those are the words of a jealous God. He was trying to tell you something, and that is that you belong more to another realm than you do this one. That the earthly dad you’ve got on this earth is less your dad genetically than the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is yours genetically. Are you following me? From the viewpoint of the living God, the living God is much more your genetic Father than the one who has raised you on this earth. That is incredible. Well, have you ever called your daddy, daddy? Is anybody down here that never was able to call his daddy, daddy? Anybody over here? Is that right? We got two. I know Drew’s story. His father… Drew, tell them what you had to do. Audience: Well, my father was a military officer. He used to make us call him sir, lock our heels at attention, give us orders for the day, and tell us what jobs we had to do around the house before we could go play.

When he said he had to call him ‘sir,’ he didn’t mean ‘yes or no, sir.’ He had to walk up to him and say, “Sir, what would you like me to do now?” Drew, you must have an awful concept of God. Well, He’s working on it. I know he is, brother. You and I are all affected by what kind of dad we had, but the way whatever your dad was has absolutely nothing to do with what kind of Father you really have. Here is a Father who has a Son named Jesus Christ who came to dwell in you, and the first thing He did was turn around and say, “Daddy, daddy.” Wow. Praise the Lord.

You know, saint, your work on trying to learn how to call God your Father, daddy. He will not be offended. In fact, He’ll probably love it. You think He’s sitting up there wanting holiness, righteousness, and judgment. He wants a little fellowship and love, and He’s in you, not up there. God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father, and you have become a son of the living God genetically in that you have the seed, the nature, and the life of another being, a higher being in you. Therefore, in verse 7, it is absolutely impossible for you to be a slave, for you are a son, and if you are a son, you are an heir of God. And what are you an heir to? What are you going to get? Everything. Alright, sister. More than everything. That’s right. You’re going to get everything and all of Him. Don’t look at this as though you’re an heir and you’re going to inherit something when God dies. Whatever He owns, you’re going to get when He dies. No! You’re going to inherit Him. In fact, you have already inherited Him, for He dwells within you. However, at that time, when you did not know God and were slaves to idols, but now that you have come to know God, boy, the rest of this is so important.

Paul stops and realizes that he has made an error, and he changes what he says. Know that God has come to know you. Now, which would you rather: that you know God or that God knows you? Now, the problem is that if you know God, there’s a chance you made a mistake. Do you understand? You may think you know Him, but He has come to know you. A song that Helen and I grew up with as young Christians is called “Remember Me.” I won’t mind how dark and dry the way may be. I won’t mind my cross to bear. But this I pray. Oh Lord, remember me. Down there by the river Jordan, in calling the roll, remember me. That He knows me. Think about it. That He knows me. You are known by God now that you have come to know him. That He has come to know you, now that you’re genetically His Son and not just judicially His son. How in the name of sanity can you go back to the elemental things to be enslaved again?