Not ashamed to call us brethren:

           

Hebrews 2:11

11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

            We have the same Father as Jesus. God is our Father and Jesus is our Brother. How awesome is that? This verse says that because we have the same Father, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. Some of us have brothers or sisters that are ashamed to say that we’re their siblings. We haven’t lived up to their expectations. Sometimes it is true that in the past we haven’t lived an acceptable life. Other times it’s just that they have an unrealistic expectation that we should be like they are. We don’t have to become good enough for Him to feel that way. In fact on our own we can’t. Through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we were made good enough to be His brethren. By His sanctification, we received sanctification. We are holy because of what He did.

             

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My brothers and sisters; for you have chosen to walk in the path that I have trod. You will not fail; for I do not choose failures but those who will succeed. You are champions and shall reign as such. You are My brothers and sisters and shall be as I am.”

            14. God is my Father and Jesus is not ashamed to be called my Brother.

Bring many sons to glory:

Hebrews 2:10

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.

            We’ve not been saved to remain the same. We are to grow in His Spirit. He is going to bring many sons and daughters to glory. We should be behaving like that is happening to us. We should not continue to act like the people of the world. We should act like His brothers and sisters. He brought about our salvation through many sufferings. We shouldn’t be surprised nor complain when we suffer for His sake. Sometimes we suffer because of our own choices not because we’re doing His will. But if we do suffer because of our name as Christians, we should rejoice for the author of our salvation suffered much more than we ever will.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I am bringing you unto Me. I will show you all My glory and you will experience it in your life. You will know My glory in your every day life. I will show you how to walk in it and to experience it in every situation. You will come unto Me in glory not in your own but Mine. You will see Me as I am; for you will see My glory with your own eyes. You are not the first and you will not be the last. My Son paved the way for you to experience My glory.”

            13. I am His child, and He is bringing me to glory. I will glorify His name through my life.

We are Sons and Daughters:

            Adoption as sons:

Romans 8:23

23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

            We have to remember that there is a three-fold aspect to salvation … spirit, soul, and body. When we are born again, there is an adoption as sons and daughters of God. But there is also a future adoption in the physical as sons and daughters of God that doesn’t occur until our bodies are redeemed … at the second coming of Jesus. Not only are we waiting eagerly but also all of creation is eagerly awaiting that time. Notice in this verse that we have the first fruits of the Spirit already. We should strive to make the best use of what we have already and not lament what we won’t have until He returns.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are not robots, My children. You are My special ones. You are My sons and daughters. You are My children. Would you turn your backs on your own children? Then why would you think that I would do that to you. I will never leave you alone in this world; for you are My own special treasure and I dearly love to be with you.”

            12. I have the first fruits of the Spirit dwelling within me, and I am eagerly awaiting His return so that my body may be redeemed also.

Personal relationship with the Father:

            Father knows those who are His:

           

2 Timothy 2:19

19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

            He knows we are His. We have been sealed in His Spirit and He knows we are His. He has many children, but He knows all of us intimately. He knows us and yet He still chose us. Since we are His, we should act like Him. If we name His name, we should abstain from wickedness.  It should come naturally “supernaturally”. We can’t do it own on our own, but through His Spirit who indwells us.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are Mine, little children. You know Me and I know you. You are not some number among many. You are My special one and I love you dearly. Do not despair or think that you are alone. You will never be by yourself as long as I am with you; and I am with you eternally. Do not despair of what may come upon you. I am aware of all that affects you and am concerned deeply that you have what is best. I will never forsake you nor leave you to fend for yourself. Trust Me to always be there for you and to provide the way of escape.”

            11. He knows I am His and because I am His, I will abstain from wickedness.       

Gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

           

Romans 5:10

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

            We were alienated from God. There was no way that we could come into His presence on our own. We were just too sinful. There was nothing that we could do that would make it all right. So God did it. He sent His Son to die for us so that we might come into the presence of God. He reconciled us. He brought us back into right relationship with Him. What does that mean? It tells you in verse 19 of II Corinthian chapter 5: He does not count our trespasses against us. That’s what Jesus accomplished on the cross. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t do them. It means that as far as God is concerned, we didn’t do them. Now if that were all that Jesus accomplished on the cross that would be super. But He did far more. If that’s all He did, we would have no power to live the Christian life. We would be forgiven, but we would also be doomed to fail again and again with the same sins. Romans says that because He lives, we can be continually “saved” by Him. This is not the born again experience, but the daily “saving” of our souls. Back to Corinthians … He not only reconciled us, but He also wants to use us in the ministry of reconciliation. He wants to use us to bring others to Him that they might be saved too.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You were lost and going your own way, My children. I stepped into your lives and brought about a miraculous change. I brought you into My presence. I re-established the covenant that I made with Adam in the beginning … one that allowed us to have face-to-face communication. I have now restored that to man, and I want you to bring others into that same relationship that you have with Me … that they can know Me personally and can talk with Me in the cool of the day. Let Me use you to bring others into My Kingdom. That is why you are here on earth; to bring others into the Kingdom … to show them the way into My presence.”

            10. I have been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. I have also been given the privilege and responsibility to bring others to the point of reconciliation to God.