A Son Is Forever: The Seven Marks of True Sonship

Sermon outline

The kingdom expands only through sons, and a true son is a servant who resembles his father, honours him and stays planted for life, because an employee can leave but a son is forever.

1. Have the same mindset as Christ, who took the nature of a servant

   In our relationships with one another we are to have the mindset of Christ, who did not hold on to equality with God but made Himself nothing and took the very nature of a servant. Nobody wants to be introduced as the helper, because everybody wants prestige, but servanthood is the most powerful principle Jesus gave the church. When you humble yourself, God exalts you, and Joshua was promoted as the servant of Moses, not from among the priests and Levites.

   Illustration: A family member once introduced his sister, who had come to help her, as "my helper", and she was furious. That is how the word servant lands with most people.

   “It seems like it's a low position, but it's the highest in God's kingdom.”

   • Philippians 2:5-9
   • Joshua 1:1-2

2. An employee can leave, but a son is forever

   You cannot build much in ministry with an employee mentality, because somebody can offer more money or you can be offended, and you leave your post. In 2013, as a new Christian, the Lord told him that coming to FCI was good but being connected to the man of God was more powerful, because before the building there was a man. This house is where his children were born and where he learned to preach, was ordained and learned business, so where else would he go? Church hopping leaves you like a pot plant that never grows.

   Illustration: Businesses often hire from their own family, because a family member is more loyal than someone who is paid. A father cannot wait for his child to be old enough to send to the kitchen, and you can only send your own children.

   “You might be offended, but a son is forever.”

3. Sonship is a mentality, not a gender

   In the Spirit there is neither male nor female, so daughters are sons in this sense too. True sonship is a heart willing to serve, humility and love for the people God has placed around you. God has set an order in the house, the fivefold ministry for the building up of the saints, and being fully submitted is not a cult; it is how a disciple becomes fruitful. The whole creation is waiting not for more church attendance but for the sons of God to be revealed.

   Illustration: Go and try correcting someone else's child and see how they bite your head off. Your own child you can correct and still carry and love.

   “Creation is not waiting for more church attendance.”

   • Galatians 3:28
   • Ephesians 4:11-12
   • 1 John 3:1
   • Romans 8:19

4. 1. A true son is a servant

   He answers the slogan "we left the church, not God" that spread from around 2020 and 2021. The church is the manifold wisdom of God, and nobody leaves the body and thrives; a finger cut off bleeds on the floor. Serve the Lord while you are young and have energy and resources. Jesus told the disciples that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over people, but not so with you: whoever wants to be great must be a servant.

   Illustration: Jesus lived so closely among the disciples, washing their feet and travelling with them, that Judas had to say the one he kissed was the one, because He looked like one of them.

   “You can't leave the body and think that you're going to thrive.”

   • Ephesians 3:10
   • Mark 10:41-43
   • Philippians 2:7
   • John 12:26

5. 2. A true son resembles his father

   There is a spiritual father in the house, and those who walk closely with him know his heart. Jesus told His disciples that whoever had seen Him had seen the Father. A son resembles his father in mentality, in giving, in loving and in expanding the kingdom: if the father is in the prayer meeting, the son is there too.

   “If my father is there praying, I must be there praying.”

   • John 14:9

6. 3. A true son thinks kingdom all the time

   Paul could have cried in prison but instead saw that everything that had happened to him had advanced the gospel. Whether a promotion comes or a setback, a son says it has happened to advance the gospel, because he is always about his Father's business. Without that mentality you go through life angry, never fulfilled and always looking for the next big thing.

   “Lord, whatever has happened to me must advance the gospel.”

   • Philippians 1:12
   • Luke 2:49
   • Ecclesiastes 1:9

7. 4. A true son understands financial prosperity means God's kingdom

   When a son closes a deal worth millions he is not thinking about his next car but about how to sow more and expand the kingdom. God asks for the heart before the money, which is why new members are asked to join the discipleship programme before anything else. Abraham's covenant of circumcision shows that walking in covenant means something is exposed and something dies. Following three of five instructions is still disobedience. Gehazi walked with Elisha, but proximity did not transform him because his heart was not right.

   Illustration: At the end the Father will not say, well done, my good and faithful pastor, prophet or millionaire. He will say, well done, my good and faithful servant.

   “Before you give him your money, give me your heart.”

   • Proverbs 23:26
   • Genesis 17:10-14
   • 2 Kings 5:20-27
   • Matthew 25:21

8. 5. A true son is a beloved son

   A beloved son is not easily offended. Twice the Father called Jesus His beloved Son, and that is what each person, son or daughter, is called to become in the house of the Lord.

   “Become a beloved daughter to the house of the Lord this morning.”

9. 6. A true son honours his father

   A son honours his father and a servant his master, and God asks where the honour due to Him is. Honour is reverence, respect and submission, and it means following through on the word you have been given rather than agreeing with your lips while your heart says no. Honour will take you where your skill cannot, and if you do not honour those God has placed over you, nobody will honour you.

   Illustration: Someone tells you to come to church tonight; you say you will, knowing in your heart you will not go.

   “Honour will put you in places where your skill cannot take you.”

   • Malachi 1:6

10. 7. A true son is forever planted and bears much fruit

    A slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs forever. He prays that each one becomes permanent and fruitful in ministry, submitted to the men of God placed over them. Servants often receive gifts from the people they work for because they have become like family, and blessings flow the same way to those who submit to the Lord.

    Illustration: A church member who had held back his money for years wanted to sow a large sum only once he learned he was dying. Why wait until it is too late to serve God?

    “A slave has no permanent place in a family. But a son belongs forever.”

    • John 8:35-36

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