Revealing an Orphan Heart, Part 1
Three keys to unlocking unity...
1. Pursue His presence
2. Genuine love and affection
3. Honest conversations
"The gospel is the good news of a Father and a Son who created an extended family, lost that family due to sin, bought back that family through the sacrificial death of the Son, adopted sons back into that family through blood, and restored the family back to its original mandate to glorify Godand advance His Kingdom." -Dr. Timothy Johns
Galatians 4:4-7 [MSG],But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the condition of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, "Papa! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
God is a perfect Father
His kingdom is a family
His Son made a way for us to become sons
We were redeemed as sons and daughters
We now belong in a family
God builds His kingdom relationally through family
John 1:12 [NLT],But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become childrenof God.
1 John 3:1 [NIV],See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called childrenof God! And that is what we are!
Romans 8:14-15 [NLT],For all who are led by the Spirit of God are childrenof God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."
Ephesians 3:14-15,"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom thewhole familyin heaven and earth is named.
"Many of us strive and perform to earn God's and other's love and acceptance, we have a fear of trusting, fear of rejection, fear of correction, fear of opening our hearts to love, we struggle at expressing our love in an unconditional way, we are constantly agitated with people who don't think like us, we see others as potential threats to our success, our thinking is negative, we are frustrated, angry, argumentative, restless, depressed, emotionally out of balanced, defensive, insecure, independent, competitive, we don't feel safe or secure, we have little sense of being loved, valued or affirmed. Because we believe our identity is found in what we do, we believe we will have to argue, wrangle, and fight for anything and everything we want to accomplish in life."
"The only humans who were not born with an orphan heart were Adam and Eve. Instead, they possessed a spirit of sonship from the very beginning but eventually exchanged it for an orphan heart when they chose to go their own way apart from God. As a result of their fall, their orphan heart passed down to every succeeding generation, thus becoming the common heritage of all humanity."
1. We begin to focus on the faults of our parents
2. We perceive those faults as rejection
"A perceived rejection can still be just as damaging to a child as an intended rejection."
3. We lose basic trust in our parents
4. We move into a fear of receiving love
5. We close ourselves off to intimacy
6. We take on an independent, self-reliant attitude
7. We start controlling the depths of our relationships
8. Our relationships become superficial
9. We develop an ungodly belief that says no one will be there to meet our needs
10. We begin to live like an orphan
11. We chase after counterfeit affections
Counterfeit Affections...
passion
possession
position
performance
people
place
power
12. We begin a daily battle against oppression