Weekly Scriptures | Sermon Notes | Sermon Video
Making a public presentation of something new or renovated is a common practice. We pull the veil from a new statue; drop the sheet from the rendering of a new building project; lift the cover from the model of a new mall; remove the canvas from a prized piece or art; uncover the blindfolded eyes of an unsuspecting beneficiary of a surprise room makeover; and move that truck hiding a complete home renovation. We celebrate when a project is complete, a job well done. We christen a ship, a public dedication before its maiden voyage. We cut ribbons as we celebrate the inauguration of big new projects, as Shakespeare would say, with great pomp and circumstance. And yet, this is all about stuff, stuff which is here today and gone tomorrow.
What is of much greater value are the ceremonies that commemorate people and their milestones and accomplishments. Especially important are the rare occasions in life when we get to recognize a right of passage—the few in a lifetime moments when there is a change in status. One such milestone that ought to be immortalized is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It has great significance in the natural and far greater significance in personal matters concerning God. And beyond that, maybe that which is of greatest importance, are matters concerning all of Christendom—the Body of Christ as a whole.
Two significant events in the life of an individual believer best mirror these collective milestones in the Christian faith—one reflects what has already occurred, and the other the prophetic future of Christianity. The first is when one becomes a newborn child of God. That extreme moment is when one passes from death to life and is born-again as a child of God. All who believe and call on His name become adopted children into the family of God—instantly. They become newborn infants in the faith and their journey begins—the journey to adulthood. On a collective level, that was the birth of the Church. And the arrival at adulthood is the second milestone that requires attention. It’s that extreme moment in the faith when one passes from needing childlike accommodations to becoming personally responsible, accountable as a spiritually mature adult Christian. This is a shadow of God’s prophetic plan for mankind. All of Christendom will one day leave childhood behind, with its many accommodations, and arrive at adulthood, and that moment is worthy of the greatest of unveilings.
Individually, the right to become a son of God is instant, but the work of preparing to be presented as a spiritually mature adult takes time. Corporately, the unveiling of God’s sons is the next big thing on God’s calendar—the next hour on His prophetic clock. It will be a moment worth demarcating, a right of passage, a coming of age of God’s children, for which all of creation is eagerly waiting. Since the fall of man in the Garden, all of creation has been in steady decay—tainted as an innocent victim. But, when the sons of God are finally revealed, when God’s children have finally matured into spiritual adults, the glory of God that will emanate from them will restore everything about creation that was broken and lost in the Garden. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. It’s the next big thing on God’s prophetic calendar—the next hour on His prophetic clock. Tick—tick—tick—tick…
Leave A Comment