Jesus came because the Trinity points to us that God is love. Our new birth puts us into the family. It also opens us to be seen from the inside. We no longer live in disguises. We have the anointing of the Spirit, His thoughts from the Word, and the Body of Christ in our church. (Mark 3:31-35; Isaiah 48:16-17; Luke 11:39-40; John 4:46-50; 1 Kings 14:1-4)

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon 11786
11:00 AM on 11/17/2019

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P. Schaller –

Praise God! Mark 3, Just an introductory thought as we think about our subject this morning about being in God’s
family. We are in God’s family. What does that mean? We are in God’s family. Are we in God’s
family? We are. We are in God’s family. Who is our father? God is our Father. How about sisters
and brothers? Want to look to the right and to the left and ask the question, are you my sister
and my brother? I really doubt it.

I really question it. Are you my sister, my brother? Mark 3:31- 32, In the Middle East and the world, many cultures are family centered. When you say your mother and brothers and sisters are outside the circle, you would expect the son to say oh, they are here. Bring them in. They need to sit next to me. They are my family. That would be easy to
do. But this is what he said, vs. 33-35. This morning we want to speak about both families, our
natural family we are born into – our mother, father, brother, sister – and then we want to talk
about God’s family. Are there really two different families? It’s amazing when my earthly family
is also in my spiritual family.

Has that happened to anyone here? You have some family members in Christ? Beautiful. Very important. It will be a good sermon today by God’s grace. Pray for me! It will be. We’ll have a good morning here. We came together today to assemble and meet God by the Spirit of God and ministering God to us in our hearts. That’s why we are
here. We are the family that God has made. This is his family, his spiritual family.

Once a year, we have a financial presentation for the church. P. Taggart is one of our trustees and he’s going
to give it to us now. We are open and transparent with our finances and responsibilities to you
and God and each other. [P. Taggart shared about the finances].

Have a word of encouragement to the person next to you. Say God loves you. He cares about you. He is good to
you. Before you are seated, let’s read the word standing up. Is. 48, our first subject is the
Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How many gods do we have? One God. How many persons?
Three. Are we in a family? We are in a family. Read Isaiah. 48:16-17. Who are you?

There am I from the beginning. I haven’t spoken to you in secret, right? From the beginning. I wonder who it is.
It’s God but is it Christ, the Father? Vs. 16. Who is it? There am I. Jesus Christ. My Father and his
Spirit has sent me. Isn’t that beautiful. Vs. 17. Who is the Redeemer? Jesus. What? Jesus the
Redeemer is the Lord thy God which teaches you to profit. What does profit mean? You have
abundance. You have blessing. You benefit. You are not destroyed. You are lifted up. You are
not hurt. You are healed. You are not ashamed. You are vindicated, forgiven. I am your
Redeemer who teaches you to profit. Which leads you by the way you should go. Do you know
how you should go? He leads us in the way we should go.

One sub point is in Luke 11. These sub points help us during the message. This is an honor to be here. Every time. I wonder how many messages God has for me or how many left in my life. I wonder how many. Someone said
a lot. Thank you. That mean’s a lot. Thank you so much. I need that. They are limited, right? All
of us. I wonder how many days we have to live and how many more summers and Christmases
and Thanksgivings.

Everyone is a gift that we are alive today and here. Thank you God. It’s a gift.
I enjoy when you guys are talking to each other. Maybe you don’t like it all the time and maybe
it’s artificial or something like that but get used to it. We’re going to keep doing it. It’s fun. We
are born again of the Spirit of God. Not everybody is. Jesus is speaking to a group of people
here in Luke 11:39-40. We have the outside and the inside. Like a pot all clean on the outside but inside it’s filled with bacteria.

Not cleaned in a week. It has a foul odor but on the outside is sparkling and shining. Vs. 40. They were not paying attention to what was on the inside. What is on the inside of a person? The heart. The heart. The thoughts in the inside. On the outside your behavior is perfect. How you wash your hands, your clothes, where you go. Everyone looks at you on the outside and it looks perfect but on the inside it’s a different story. Have you ever
sinned and felt very guilty? I have sinned and felt very guilty. I realized that guilt God made it.
We live in a culture where they say guilt is bad.

You shouldn’t feel guilty. That’s not right. You are great person. I know what guilt is. I know what that is. That’s good for me. God made it. He made our ears, hair, nose, – the outside parts of our lives. But he also made fear. Fear is in us. Shame, embarrassment. Also intellect and emotions. Isn’t it funny to see happy kids. You have a
group of happy kids having a party and having a good time. They are laughing and talking and
blowing balloons up and having a birthday cake.

You say, wow, God made the world beautiful on the outside and on the inside. We are beautiful. Wonderfully and fearfully made, Psalm. 139. Let’s go to the first family and this is in Genesis 4:1. She thought maybe he was the Messiah. The seed of the woman would crush the seed of the serpent, but her disappointment became
obvious when he murdered his brother Abel. Instead of being a savior, he became a murderer.
Exactly the opposite of what she was hoping for. Let’s say our first family, our natural family is
simply a family of sinful people. Because it is.

Adam and Eve hid from God. Adam and Eve had children, Abel and Cain. It would have been a beautiful family except for the sin nature in our hearts. Inside Cain what was it when he was jealous of his brother or hated his brother. Isn’t it terrible in our family we could have so much disruption and so much disappointment. We all
know it. We read it in the paper and live it in our own lives depending on your family. Even the
best family has some worm eating inside the heart of somebody. I’m joking now. We all have a
weird uncle. I’m joking.

We all have something we are ashamed of or afraid of in our personal life or in family life. I don’t like to speak down about family because all of our ministry is for building up and encouraging us in our families, our earthly one also that need love and forgiveness and ministry. If it wasn’t true, Jesus would not have come and said I am the
Redeemer. I am your Redeemer. I have spoken from the beginning and God sent me and the
Holy Spirit sent me so you could benefit and know the way to go in Jeremiah. 6:16.

The first family, Adam and Eve and what happened there is also for our encouragement and our understanding. When Jesus was standing in the midst of the people, they were seated around him. There may have
been a big group, maybe 100 or 70. I don’t know the number. His family is on the outside
standing there. They said your family is here. Your family is here. And we could say he said like
this, I am here because there is another family. The Trinity, my Father sent me. The Holy Spirit
sent me because we are love.

God from eternity past has always existed and he is love and
truth. Wow. When we are born again and this is very important, our first birth is natural. When
we are born again, the Spirit of God comes in us. Being born not of the flesh but born of the
Spirit in John. 1:12. Called by God’s name. God the Father is our Father and the Son of God came
so we would be born of God with a new nature. Not a sin nature but the nature of Christ. The
nature of Christ means we cry Abba, father. We are worshipers of God and we say to God in
our hearts you do not condemn me, but you are for me and not against me. John 4:46-50.

There was a man with a sick son that came to Jesus. His son was home dying. When I have a son
dying and I believe in Jesus, I can go find Jesus. When I meet Jesus, my heart is open to him.
Whatever he says I want to believe what he says. Go. Your son liveth. That was enough. It was
only his word. That was enough for me. I could hear him and believe him. Though I cannot see
him heal my son, I believe him. In this family, God looks at the heart. God knows what is on the
inside. In this family, it’s like coming to the dinner table in our earthly family when mom and
dad knows what is going on in our children’s heart.

When we are walking with God, he searches our hearts and he knows the way I take in Job 23. What are the things that characterize our new family but our new birth and our cry, Abba, father. It’s our openness and transparency
where he could offend me, but the offense is not too great because I am drawn to him. Even if
the truth offends me, my relationship is more important to me than my feelings. Even my
tribulations and my trouble that I have in life. For some, their world is on the outside, eternal.
The world they live in is external.

God is saying I made the inside, too. Where you are living on the inside is where I live. I live on the inside and this is where you profit, you benefit from me. When I give you liberty, it’s internal. I remember being in the Communist countries through the years and when people found internal freedom, you couldn’t stop it. They would gather, speak
often and have prayer meetings. We traveled at night in Estonia to an underground prayer
meeting, and when you entered into that house where the government was not officially
sanctioning the meeting, they ran the risk because the relationship in this family is an internal
one, inside in the Spirit and in faith.

Hebrews. 11 Moses when he came of age, he did not fear the king, nor did he esteem the riches of Egypt greater than what he was sensing internally in his internal man. I have found treasure in this family. The Trinity is a family. The Father would never hurt the Son ultimately because truth doesn’t hurt. I mean, the Son would always love
the Father even if he was here crucified on a cross. His family would be together, and nothing
would separate that love because the love cannot fail. When we are born of the Spirit, we have
this loyalty, faith, courage, internal nature called Christ.

We are born of the Spirit. When the man said my son is dying, I must go. It says he traveled part of the night and the next day he met him at 1 in the afternoon. Jesus said he lives. That’s it. The man believed and he didn’t see
it, but he believed. He traveled again the same distance and went back home. When he got
there, the servants ran out to meet him. When did it happen? The same time yesterday. It was
1:00 yesterday. That man was in the family. The eyes of God go everywhere, and he beholds
the good and evil in Proverbs. 15:3. We are not hiding.

The word of God is quick and powerful, sharp, discerning, penetrating the soul and spirit and discerner of thoughts and intention of our heart. You know how it is when your earthly family catches you in lying or catches you in something and you are able to say yes, Dad. I lied. Yes. Forgive me. Sorry. Yes. That’s openness and
transparency. We should do that with each other but definitely with God. God sees and knows.
In his family is the blood of Jesus that takes our sin away. In his family is the Spirit of God who
searches inside.

In the family is a word of truth able to build us up in the inner man. Jesus told
the disciples at the Last Supper, I am going away. They got troubled by it. No, we will go with
you. I love that thought. We will go with you. Why do you want to go with me? You speak to us.
You are amazing. You are my best friend. You tell me the truth. You are the Christ. You are God.You’re the one sent so I can benefit. You are the family I am looking for. Jesus would say I would
send another. He is just like me. He’s like me. Did you hear that?

The Holy Spirit has been sent into the world and we are the people of the Holy Spirit. When we have the Spirit, he reveals to us who he is. We can feel him. That’s called the anointing. We can discern him. That’s the Spirit.
We have his thoughts. That’s the Bible. We have each other. That’s the Body. When you live in
your mission, in your family sent in this world on our mission, we find his grace and the family
and the comfort. We find the freedom and the openness in our own person. I read a few
chapters recently about Abraham Lincoln.

I’m reading a big, thick book about Lincoln by Carl Sandburg. I love reading about him and the history in those years. I love this thing about Lincoln. He is so humble but also so wise. Some people in his cabinet think he is a goofball. One of them is running for president in the second term and there is a lot of pride and ego in these
men. They are gifted and capable men in his cabinet but at the same time, they underestimate
him. There is something about him. He is not that important in his own eyes. He wants to win
the war and lead the country in the right direction.

These little colloquialisms and country-isms and stories he tells and all that It’s kind of fascinating. I say that to say you could be in a great position of power, but your greatest asset is to be in God’s family. You can be gifted and
capable but that will never make it. You might end up killing your brother. What you need is
something great that only the family of God gives you. It’s his wisdom, his love, his kindness, his
tenderness. We said recently, the hardest thing to do is raise a family. One of the hardest things
I’ve ever done, and I give my wife a lot of credit for having done this.

We had four children. Raised our family and I could say I don’t think we could ever have done it without God’s family.
Who is my mother and my brothers and sisters? Who are they? They that hear the word of God
and do it. They hear it and it goes in and they want to do it. They have the desire for it. I want to
forgive. I want to meet Jesus. Where is Jesus? My son is dying. Where is Jesus? My son is dying.
My son will be dead in 24 hours. I got to go find him. I go find him. This man is an open thing
before Jesus. Come and heal my son. Jesus said you won’t believe until you see a sign. That evil
generation seeks a sign.

The man is thinking I don’t know what you are talking about. I just need
my son healed. Jesus said go. He lives. This kind of spirit of saying I am afraid but I’m in your
family. Maybe you would be ashamed of me. I’m a shameful person but I’m in your family. Hebrews.
2 he is not ashamed to call them brethren. You’re not ashamed of me, God? No, you are my
glory. I am honored. I love you. I died for you because you are so valuable. I’m on your side.
Your name is in my book. I sent the Spirit into the world for you. I want you to profit. Wow. Last
part, 1 Kings. 14:1-4.

This is the hiding part that happens. Jeroboam is the king in the north. I know
there is a man of God down there in Judah. His name is Adonijah. He prophesied I’d be the king
in the north. Disguise yourself because I’d be embarrassed for him to know that I’m sending my
wife down to ask if my son will live. She disguised herself and went to meet the prophet. Even
though I might look like a goofball, I might know more than you do. That’s the idea here. I might
be blind, but I can see.

Abraham Lincoln looks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing but he
knows exactly what he is doing. It might be I’m ashamed but I’m in the family. It might be you
don’t know what my family will do. You don’t know what my father will do. You don’t know
what my Savior will do. You don’t know what the H.S. will do. We should be very strong in our

family in Christ. I’m not here to judge you. We are here to love each other. Jesus said I didn’t
come to judge. I came to save. I didn’t come to accuse you to my Father. I came to take your sin
and take it away and that you would be free. How much more should we, sisters ad brothers,
be in the family not accusing but edifying. How much more we as sisters and brothers have the
Spirit of Christ in us, loving each other, encouraging each other, edifying each other and praying
for each other. Yes.

Grace is able to build us up. Grace is able to change our lives. In this story,
this woman is not right. She’s hiding. Something like this. This woman is coming with a disguise.
She’s not the king’s wife. That would be embarrassing. The king’s wife would ask the prophet
down in Judah. But the prophet sees through her disguise and says basically in a word, I have a
bad message for you. When we hide, there is a bad message. When we are not honest with
God, God will not be honest with us.

Could we say that when we are playing a game like
Halloween costume, God is able to see through the costume and say not good. Not Good. It’s
not good. You’re in my family. You sit at my table and it’s a different kind of family. We don’t
play games in this family. We are honest about our sin and confess it. I have sinned and he
takes it away. I am for you and we receive it. I am not against you. I have promises for you.
That’s the theme. Vs. 6. I know who you are. I’m a blind man but I can see. You will not prosper.
Your son will die.

I wish you had come to me like that nobleman came to Jesus. I wish you
would be open about it and humble yourself before me. Be open about who you are and don’t
hide anything. I’m your father. I made you. I made the outside and the inside. Be open with me
and become a worshiper. My Spirit will fill you. Lose your life and you will find it. Take up your
cross and deny yourself, deny your self-life and you’ll find yourself Spirit-filled in a new family.
This family is an eternal family. Ephesians 3 it says we will live by faith and find Christ inside. Christ in
us, the hope of glory.

That’s what we have to look forward to. As we finished here, we are
coming into the holidays. It’s the time our families come together if we have one. If you don’t
have one, you have one. The most important one. John Piper wrote a book called, This
Momentary Marriage. He said that marriage is only for this life. We should realize we can keep
it together and work on it. It’s an important part of life but it’s also momentary. There is
something even greater that we should be seeing and understanding about our life.

That is our Father is for us and not against us. The Spirit has made us a part of his family. In that family, we
have each other. We are brothers and sisters. We learn to love and forgive and edify and
encourage and live in our mission as people in his family. You know in Gal 5, it says he sent the
Spirit into us to cry, Abba, father, daddy. Abba, Father. The Trinity is a family and that family has
put us in that family. He is the firstborn from the dead and made us brethren, sisters and
brothers in that family.

Let’s live in it, walk in it, reveal it, manifest it, be filled with the Spirit by
it. When that is happening, my earthly family is what it is. It’s not perfect. We read in the Bible
a little bit of heaven; I may be able to bring a little bit of heaven into my earthly family. I’m able
to say prayers for them and love them and reach out to them. Some of them may not be in the
same place. It is what it is. We all understand this. This family of God is of incredible value and
importance to us. We pay attention to it.

It will empower us, and we benefit from it. We will not be ashamed one day when we leave our body and go to be with God. We leave our body and we say I know this family. I walked with this family on the earth. I know who Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob are. I know who Joseph is and Solomon and David. I know who Isaiah and
Jeremiah and Malachi are. I know who John the Baptist is and Timothy and Paul and the saints
of God down through the ages. We are in a huge family, the family of God. In that family, it’s
different. It’s not murder and hatred and hiding and shame and disguises and covering up.

No, it’s freedom, openness, purity, holiness, truth, edification and encouragement. It’s God. It’s God
in our presence. That’s what it is. It is.

Amen.

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.