19 June 2022 – How To Grow In Sonship – Pastor Joseph Prince Sermon Notes – New Creation Church Sermon Notes

Praise and Worship Song Performed:
1. Raise A Hallelujah – Bethel Music
2. As He Is So Are We – New Creation Worship
3. Shout To The Lord – Darlene Zschech
4. How Great Thou Art
5. I Wish You Jesus – Scott Wesley Brown
6. No Longer Slaves – Bethel Music

The Bible is the Manufacturer’s Handbook for our benefit. Whenever something goes wrong, we can find the answers we need in the Bible.

John 8:31-32 – Only the truth that you know will set you free.

“Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”” (John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Jesus preached general sermons to the multitudes, but in private, He explained the meanings to His disciples.

1 Corinthians 4:15 – Some people understand the idea of student and teacher, but they do not understand the relationship between father and son. People have the orphan spirit, not knowing a father’s love.
We must not miss out on the sonship spirit.

“For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:15‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

John 16:12 – You can be a disciple and yet not intimate with the Lord. The twelve disciples were familiar with Jesus, but not all were intimate (understanding Him well).
The Roman centurion was intimate with Jesus even when he was not familiar with Jesus.

““I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.” (John 16:12 WEBUS)

Matthew 15:26-27 – The Syrophoenician woman was intimate (understanding His heart of grace) with Jesus, persevering in asking for deliverance for her demonized daughter.
The Lord referred to the woman and her daughter as “little puppies” (the diminutive term). Puppies belong to the house as well.
The woman called Jesus “Son of David”, like she was pretending to be a Jew.
The woman asked for a crumb, not even the full bread, and the crumb was enough to drive the demon out of her daughter.
We are sons and daughters of God. We sit at the Master’s table and can freely enjoy the children’s bread.

“But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”” (Matthew‬ ‭15:26-27‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Acts 11:26 – The word “called” is “chrematizo” in Greek, meaning “divinely called”. Believers were divinely called Christians. After the Book of Acts, they were no longer called disciples.
Christian means “anointed one”. This title is not man’s idea—it was the Holy Spirit’s idea.

“When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they were gathered together with the assembly, and taught many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts‬ ‭11:26‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

The word “disciple” comes from the Greek word “mathetes” which means “student”. Some people exalt the idea of being a disciple, and lower the idea of Christian. That is regression.

John 6:65-69 – The disciples who walked away believed that they were so smart to find Jesus and choose to become His disciples. They were proud and could not accept grace.
You can be a disciple and not a Christian, but you cannot be a Christian and not be a disciple.

“He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.” At this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”” (John‬ ‭6:65-69‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

The way we learn is by encountering the Father’s love.

Paul never once called Timothy a disciple. He called him his son. Paul did not call Christians “disciples”.

“So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world.” (Galatians‬ ‭4:3‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Galatians 3:23-26 – Before Grace came through Jesus Christ, the Law was given by the servant Moses.
The word sons is “huios” in Greek which means “full-grown son”.
In Christ, we have all become full-grown sons with the full dignity of that relationship.

“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.​” (Galatians 3:23-26 WEBUS)

Galatians 4:5 – The word adoption has more of the meaning of “sonship”. It is not about adoption as if we are not God’s real children.
We grow as sons by first being aware that we are sons.

“that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.” (Galatians‬ ‭4:5‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Luke 15:29-31 – The Father called his son “teknon” which means “child” in general.

“But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” (Luke‬ ‭15:29-31‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Luke 15:25 – The elder son is called a “huios” here, meaning he was already a full-grown son, but he was acting in an immature, self-righteous way.”

““Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing.” (Luke‬ ‭15:25‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

The prodigal son was called a “huios”. Even though he left and squandered everything, he came back and was called a full-grown son.

If you believe right, you will live right.

Many times we are unlearning what we learn from religion and the world, and discovering what the Scriptures really say.

John 13:3-5 – What Jesus did came out of knowing what He has and who He is.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God and was going to God, arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John‬ ‭13:3-5‬ ‭WEBUS‬)

You can be doing a lot of good things but not the God-thing. If God told you to clean the table, clean the table. Do not clean the floor, toilet, kitchen, and miss out on cleaning the table.

1 Corinthians 2:12 – The Holy Spirit shows you what is freely given of God. On the other hand, the spirit of the world shows you what you have to earn and merit, producing pride in people.
A sign of humility is when you realize that there is so much more to learn from God.

“But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:12‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

John 3:2 – Nicodemus said “we know” but the woman at the well in John 4 did not know anything and Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah.
When we come to Jesus humbly, He will pour out His wisdom and knowledge to us.

“He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”” (John‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

John 17:26 – Yahweh is “the covenant-keeping God”, El Shaddai is “the all-sufficient one”, and El Elyon is “God Most High”. These are aspects of God as revealed in the different titles.
But the name that Jesus came to reveal is “Father”.
The only time Jesus did not call Him Father was at the cross, when Jesus called out, “My God, My God” to indicate that the divine exchange was happening.

“I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”” (John‬ ‭17:26‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

I John 4:19 – We love because God first loved us.

“We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

John 17:11-12 – Jesus is a Man of faith. The language of God is “it as good as already done”. Even though Jesus was still there, He spoke as though He was already back in Heaven.
There is protection in the Father’s name.
The greater name always encapsulates the lesser. Your father may be the district judge or the world’s best chef to the world, but he is father to you. Yet, he is still the all those things.

“I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:11-12 WEBUS)

Revelation 7:3 – Believers have a seal of God on their foreheads.

“saying, “Don’t harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!”” (Revelation‬ ‭7:3‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Revelation 14:1 – The Mark of the Beast during the Tribulation is on the forehead and the right hand, boasting in man’s intelligence and their works.
Conversely, the seal of the Father’s name is only on the forehead of believers—not on the hand, and therefore no works-based justification involved.

“I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.” (Revelation‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Jeremiah 3:19 – The more we establish the spirit of sonship, the more we are able to receive from our inheritance in Christ.
The more we call God “Father”, the more we feel like His son, and we inherit effortlessly.

““But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’” (Jeremiah‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

The Father’s name is also healing. If you have been mistreated by your father when you were a little child, Jesus is going to redefine the meaning of the word “Father” for you.

Malachi 4:5-6 – God wants to reveal Himself to us as “Father”.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”” (Malachi‬ ‭4:5-6‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Psalm 130:4 – The true fear of the Lord is born of understanding God’s forgiveness and realizing that we are loved by Him.

“But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared.” (Psalms‬ ‭130:4‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Jeremiah 1:5 – In a family relationship, you do not need to talk so much, and yet you can have mutual understanding.
The Father knows everything about us even before we were born.

““Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”” (Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

John 14:9 – If you want to know what the Father is like, look at Jesus.
Every sick person who came to Jesus was healed. Therefore, it is the Father’s will for you to be healed.

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John‬ ‭14:9‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Prayer is not about just giving your requests to God. It is about being before God and spending time in His presence. It is more important for you to hear from Him. Enjoy God’s presence—prayer will become exciting for you.

Isaiah 48:17 – God teaches you to profit. He will reveal things to you during prayer that are for your profit in all things.

“Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.” (Isaiah‬ ‭48:17‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

The Holy Spirit does not bear witness with a lie. He bears witness with the truth. If you pray desperate prayers where you are begging God and justifying yourself by your works, they are often not answered. If not, you will keep on praying those type of prayers and teach it to others.

Romans 8:32 – We can come before God and thank Him for the gift of His Son, and receive all the good things that are freely given to us.

“He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?” (Romans‬ ‭8:32‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬)

Meditate on these simple words from the Holy Spirit and declare them: “I am my Father’s child. I am loved. I am watched over, protected, and embraced by Him.