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Hello, hello, you guys, and welcome back to Saved. Not so. The vibrato was very unnecessary. I think I felt a little rushed. And I was like, the saves came out too quick. I was like, we're just gonna run with it and make it a musical number. But anyways, it's episode two, season four. Let's get it. We're consistent and we back. Girly pause is so exciting, you guys. I love Jesus. I love what God is doing through this. I love how many women are being impacted. I thank God for the message two weeks ago that not only just encouraged me to see, that encouraged others, but it just has encouraged me, period. The word of the Lord is incredibly sustainable. And if you're looking at me right now and you're like, I have no idea who this chick is, she's just on my screen. She's yapping and she's screaming and singing like, who is she? My name is Emmy Moore Brookins. I'm the host of the Save Not Soft podcast and Save Not Soft and is cater to let you know that you are loved, seen and heard by Jesus. And when I first came to Jesus When I was 17 years old, about to turn 18, I was about to go into the Air Force, I had no idea what I was doing with my life. I grew up lost and forgotten and forsaken. And God met me on my neighbor's mother's bedroom floor, and he had found me and he looked at me and he said, I love you. I hear you and I see you. And I knew that God imprinted me with that same testimony to share with other people that so they know that they're loved, seen and heard by Jesus. And this podcast is catered to teach you and to be a tool. This is not a replacement of God's presence. You hear me, girls? As much as you're like, I just want to sit back and watch a podcast and not read my Word, I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever endorse replacing God's word with a Christian influencer, with a podcast you name a girly pop. And this podcast is literally just a tool. It's a teaching form. It's a tool however you want to use it to advance your Bible studying to advance your knowledge and honestly to cultivate fellowship and friendship and community through women who love Jesus. And so that's my hope for you today, that you're empowered by the Holy Spirit and that God touches you on the other side of the screen. My hope here today, that through this message is that God touches you. Mightily and that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is manifested to you in a very brand new way. And I pray that this message heals you. And today we're talking about a very heavy topic of which I'm very, very passionate about. This has been a topic I've been passionate about through the entirety of my podcast, and I'm so excited to talk about it today because I believe so many people are left incarcerated by fatherlessness. And in a generation, generation Z is the highest generation impacted by fatherlessness, with the highest race and high statistics we've ever seen, ever. And we have to talk about it. We have to touch on it, because. Because not only does this bleed into our characteristics, our behavior, but also in the way that we see the Lord, the way that we read the scriptures and the way that we do every single day life. And if we don't address fatherlessness and how we need it and calling spiritual fathers to rise up, we will always be an orphaned generation. We need fathers, and we need to see God as our father and not just a friend, and not just as a king, but see him as our dad. And that is my goal here today. That if you are left burdened, if you feel like you have been abandoned and betrayed, and that people have offended you and left you and you don't know how to see God as a good father, my hope for you today is that you leave this podcast feeling fulfilled with God's spirit, certain and in confidence that he loves you and that he has chosen you to be his son or daughter. Amen. Jesus, My God, I feel this. Malik. I have my beautiful, sexy husband six, four on the back of this screen. He's doing tech back there. Hey, baby. Anyways, my husband is here. He's always going to be here. Thank you, Jesus. You so fine. You are the greatest man of God in my life. You push me, you challenge me, and thank you for laying your life for me. You show me Jesus every day, babe. I love you. Okay, what are we talking about, y'? All? Fatherlessness. I believe a lot of this wound has healed in my life so much. And I really feel the Lord on this episode specifically. And I am so excited, so, so excited for what the Lord is going to do through this episode. And I just feel his glory hovering over the entirety of it. And so, yeah, I really just want to pray over this conversation that we're going to have the teaching itself. So let's prepare our hearts. Let's begin to get in a posture where we can allow the Lord to Come in and plant the seed of his good word and good soil, and let's just give him glory. Amen. So wherever you're at, no matter where you are, I want to challenge you to just close your eyes for a moment and allow me to pray for you. And let's just pray over this conversation. Thank you, Jesus. So, yeah, Father, we just love you so much. I love you. I love you, Father. Thank you, Jesus. We love you and we adore you. We exalt you, God Almighty. We exalt you high and above. We are made to be vessels of your glory. I thank you that our purpose is to breathe the breath that you once breathed into us back onto you. I commit my life to serve you with my voice, with my platform, with this teaching, Lord. And Lord, I ask that your Holy Spirit begins to hover over all of us, over the person on the other side of the screen, whether if they're at the gym, in their car, if they're cleaning around the house, whatever it may be, whatever location. Father, would you send your Holy Spirit to hover around them? Holy Spirit, would you prepare a place for them, the word of the Lord, to be planted on the inside of that person? Lord, I thank you that you are faithful. Thank you that your goodness and your mercy, it follows us. I thank you that you bless us in our coming and are going. I thank you, Lord, that you are faithful beyond measure, that you're faithful to your promises. I thank you that you do not leave us orphaned or abandoned. That you do not forsake us or leave us. That you call us out by name. That you have ownership for us, Lord. Lord, I speak over every single wound of fatherlessness that is taken care of surgically here today with intention and care and softness and gentleness and lowliness, Father, that you would manifest yourself as a great, great, great father in our lives. To those who are orphaned in spirit, I ask that you remind them that they belong and they belong to you and to you first and to you alone. And, Lord, to all of those who feel broken in heart, broken in spirit, I think that your word says that you are close to the brokenhearted and close to those who are crushed. In spirit, I thank you that you promise your closeness and your nearness to those who are broken. Lord, as we speak upon the Word today, Lord, I ask in mighty power that you manifest yourself as a great Father. That, Lord, in areas where fathers have not shown up to our generation, to women and men all across America and outside the nation. That, Lord, you begin to minister to us so tenderly and Lord, I ask that you silence the voice of the Father of lies, that the there's a war between fathers. And I ask for your voice to be exalted, the Father of fathers. And that you silence the voice of the enemy, you silence the father of lies. And that, Lord, you bring us into correct ownership. I thank you that you have called us and set us apart by name, that we belong to you, that you have not predestined us for wrath, but you have destined us for salvation through Jesus Christ. And I thank you for your son. I thank you that Jesus Christ, through that death, that he was crucified on a cross and because he died and was buried and was resurrected, that we have true freedom and redemption in you, Lord. So I thank you that through the blood of Jesus Christ, what was once stolen is redeemed through the blood of the Lamb. So let the person on the other side of the screen be redeemed. And not just be it, but feel it. I even just feel a sense of the Holy Spirit that after this message and after this podcast episode, that there will be a shift in emotion, there will be a shift in spirit stature. And that, Lord, those who have been walking with their heads low and who have felt in low esteem and low confidence that this word alone, that they will approach the throne of God with a new confidence, knowing that they belong to you. Let a sense of belonging break out in this podcast, wherever this person is, Lord, I say you break through in their lives mightily, Jesus. For them, for them, for them. The sword is not for anybody else. It's for them personally. Make it personal. Personal. Lord, I ask for you to cater this message personally to the person specifically listening. Specifically for the person listening, Lord, I ask for you to break out mightily in their lives to show them that they belong to you, that they are not abandoned or forsaken or betrayed. You have been there at every single moment and you are a good father. You are better than earthly fathers. We thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. Lord, Holy Spirit, would you possess my mouth to speak your will? Let me be a filled vessel with the presence of God, not by my own works, but because it's what you just choose to do, Lord, do your will your way, let your will be done. And forgive us, Lord, for remaining in hurt places that do not progress us to go anywhere. Let us overcome the spirit of offense, Lord, and let us step into glory by your spirit. I thank you, Jesus. In Jesus name, amen. Jesus, for those who are unfamiliar with my testimony which people have asked why I've taken my testimony down. I plan on refilming my testimony actually in this season. But I have to be honest about something about why I took it down and why you guys haven't seen that episode in a really long time. It's because I dishonored a lot of people a part of my story. And while there can be a lot of wounds that are incredibly real and no matter what a person does, it's not my job to protect a reputation, there is a real wound that was still open when I shared my testimony. And I have struggled with emotional, physical fatherlessness and it has impacted my life greatly. And it hurts me to say that I have been a part of a statistic that has also hurt so many other people my age. And even beyond that, so many people in in the Body of Christ have lacked the knowledge of what it's like to be loved by a father. And I wanted to curate a message specifically catering to that where we talk about what it means to be a daughter or son in the eyes of God, to be owned and belonged by him and have a sense of belonging for those who do not know and even to people who grew up with two parent households. And you know, your parents were not necessarily divorced or you didn't go through a crazy tragedy, but maybe you were emotionally or mentally neglected. I want to let you know that God has not forsaken you or abandoned you, that he is the greatest of fathers. And even if you have a great father and a great mother, and if you don't sense an orphanage in spirit, I want to encourage you that even through the bestest fathers and mothers here on earth, because there are so, so, so, so, so so many, God is still a better father. And today we're going to talk about fatherlessness. We're going to talk about how fatherlessness has impacted our generation tremendously. Fatherlessness is the highest it's ever been. Ever. I want to start off the podcast by naming a few very scary and terrifying statistics and Gen Z Fatherlessness is the highest it's ever been around 80% of single parent households are headed by single mothers. So even in single parent households, usually the dominating parental figure is always a single mother. Household fathers have left the picture. They have left children behind. They have pursued a life outside of their children and they have left the responsibility all upon mothers. And According to recent U.S. census Bureau data, about 24 to 25% of U.S. children live without a biological step or adoptive father in the household. This is one in every four child in Gen Z. It's 25%. Approximately 17.6 through 19 million Gen Z all over the United States have grown up with the idea and in a real reality of fatherlessness. This is, this is concerning for a generation that is progressing in a way that is no longer adapting to the principles of marriage, which is so scary and sad because, because kids need mothers and fathers, we need men more than ever. And I'm talking about like real men who know how to step up and be emotionally intelligent and mature and provided and intentional with their children. And it has impacted my generation. And I don't want to speak necessarily from just a physical place where I understand the weight of, of growing up, dealing with the tension and trying to fill the gap of fatherlessness in my life. We see it all over. Statistics tells us little wider. Statistics tells us that 90% of homeless youth come from fatherless house households and high percentages of incarcerated youth. So 90% of Gen Z that are homeless come from fatherless households. Children, children and father absent families are roughly two to four times more likely to live in poverty compared to those in two parent households. Parents from father absent homes are twice likely to experience mental health and behavioral problems. And as those in two parent homes and sources often cite that 63% of youth suicide come from fatherless households, a rate several times higher than average. And if you don't want to say it, I will. We are living in a very orphan generation. I want to tell you guys about something I witnessed that I haven't been able to testify about. And it was a conference I spoke in May of 2025. I had the great honor and privilege to lead a conversation at Redemption Church. This is Pastor Ron and Hope Carpenter's church in San Jose. They have another location in Greenville, South Carolina. Amazing pastors. Oh my gosh, I love Redemption Church. I love Ron Carpenter, I love his wife. I love how they're ministering the gospel. If you're familiar with red worship, this is their home church. And red worship has been such a great family to me. And I went to go speak in May of 2025 for a podcast. We hosted a huge podcast gathering and I had a conversation with Ron, Hope and Red Worship and there was a very powerful breakthrough moment. First and foremost, it was crazy. I knew something was going to happen because the session before there was another panel that was happening and the lights went out in the middle of it. And when those lights went out, we worshiped until the lights went on like the whole block went out because basically a truck like, hit a transformer. It blew up into fire. The police department came, and all of the buildings on that entire block went out in electricity. And we stayed in that sanctuary and we worshiped. And when we worshiped, the lights turned back on in about, like, 20, 25 minutes. And it was, kid you, not moments before my segment. And I was like, why'd you do that, God, Right before I gotta go out there, like, what's happening? It just kind of felt like something was about to shift and something was about to happen. And when my session came, there was so many people in the room, I couldn't believe it. And the reason as to why there were so many people in the room was because the kids center was right next door to the main church, and the building was still out of electricity there. So they moved all the children to the inside of the main sanctuary. So every single generation was in the room for the podcast hearing. And we were talking basically about generational stewardship, which was so nuts about basically handing the baton from one generation to another. And we had all the way from Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z to Gen Alpha in the room. We had five different generations in the room preaching the gospel and preaching about passing the the baton from one generation to another. And one of the things that we had talked about during the podcast is how many of us are orphaned in spirit. And that there has been a missed gap between the Gen X millennial generation and Gen Z. Gen Z has been a very strong and passionate generation, but Gen Z is a very hurt generation. Gen Z is very strong, yet sensitive. We're zealous at times, yet illiterate. And that illiteracy comes from a place that is passionate and yet wants to be right so bad, because it's almost like we have to prove something. And I believe that one of the greatest things that God has entrusted me with as a leader for this generation is how to love his sheep. And I thank God for the amount of women that has came through this podcast. And it has broken my heart to see so many women not know how to steward their relationship with the Lord as a daughter. And it's something that's so shaky, it breaks my heart how common it is. And when I had that gathering in May at Redemption Church, there was a moment where we prayed over fatherlessness in our generation, and we actively mended the gap between the Gen X and millennial generation to Gen Z. And it was so powerful. Pastor Ron Hope, Pastor Ron and Pastor Hope laid hands on everybody. I'm talking about, like, 2000 people. Everybody got their got hands laid on before they left. And it was so powerful to see spiritual fathers, men in the church rise up and lay hands on people in the church and let them know that they're heard, loved and seen by Jesus and that they are not orphans. And we are in a generation to where not only do we have so many fathers that have even just relationally left the household, but there's not many spiritual men who are rising up and being fathers to an orphaned people. And speaking from somebody who deals with the tension of I guess that lack of the. The fatherlessness and the lack of awareness of daughtership. It is one of the most pivotal, pivotal, pivotal pit pivotal concepts to our identity in Christ. And when we don't understand that God is our first father and if we stay incarcerated by an orphan spirit, we don't understand who. Because we don't understand who we belong to. We won't know who we are. And there's a big, big shaking and an identity crisis and people who just don't know that Jesus that. That God is their father and Jesus has been sent to be the atonement for their sins. And when after I had gone to Redemption Church I had a moment with the Lord where I was kind of sharing with him my frustrations of like, well, if I just had a. If I had a healthy father figure in my life that you know, whatever it may be, if I had, you know, mentorship, if I had that relationship, if I had this then maybe I would have these problems that I'm having right now. And I was almost like, and this is a real moment. I was almost blaming God for this circumstance, the circumstances I was going through because he wouldn't give me a healthy father. And I was just grieving with him about that and, and that process the Lord shared with me. He was like, emmy, I want to let you know that before you belong to your earthly father, you first belong to me. And that sounds really simple and it might just kind of pass through your head. But that meant everything to me to understand that, oh wait, no, I'm actually never abandoned and never forsaken because I always belong to somebody. And sometimes when we think, sometimes when we believe that fatherlessness and the culprit of fatherlessness is because of our earthly fathers, which it could be. It could be whatever circumstance, trial and tribulation we've gone through, but sometimes we believe that because of fatherlessness we are fully abandoned and fully betrayed. No, no, no, no, no. You've always had a father and that father has niche you in your mother's room from the beginning of time. And he is your first father. You belong to him. He is your dad before your earthly father is your dad. So you've never been neglected. You have never been abandoned, even when you were abandoned and neglected here on earth. And that changed everything for me. The moment that I understood that God was my father, not just my father, but my father, first father. It changed everything because it showed me that even when I thought I was abandoned, I wasn't. That even when I thought I was betrayed, I wasn't. And that I always belonged to somebody. And just because I didn't have that closeness of a fatherly relationship here on earth doesn't mean that I am. That I am designed to live a orphaned life. But the truth of the matter is, is that we have many people broken by the spirit or by. By an orphan spirit, and we feel orphaned. We feel orphaned in spirit. There are plenty of people across the United States where fatherlessness has crept into their lives, and it has completely eradicated our hearts. My goal for you here today, and I believe the Lord's goal, is for that heart to be restored with him and that knowledge of him being your father before you belong to your mom and your dad, you first belong to him, right? And Psalms I. I just said this, but Psalms 39:13 says, for you created me in my own most being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. We belong to the Lord before we belong to our natural parents. I want to talk about kind of this identity crisis of am I really a child? Because I think, let me just be very for real. And I think this could possibly be niche, but I think I'm low key, kind of hitting it right on the head. I think we cognitively know that we're children of God, but if you dealt with fatherlessness and if you feel orphaned and if you're in the orphan generation, there is a temptation that I know that God is my father, but, like, I don't know that God is my father. So there's a logical sense that we know that that's our dad, but we don't feel it because fatherlessness has crept in. We feel orphaned in spirit and because we have been betrayed, begotten, and forsaken by our natural fathers. And I wanted to read In John, chapter 8, verse 35 through 47, if you have a Bible and you want to go there, and I want to talk specifically around what it means to be a child of God versus this waging war, we have between those, this kind of battle of, like, do I really belong to God, or do I just, like, belong to the world? And I just know of God, because if you grew up in a fatherless household, you're always questioning your identity. I believe fathers are so needed in our generation because fathers are needed to affirm identity. And especially into little girls like me, like, especially into women, especially into men. Fathers are needed in society just like how women are needed, just like how mothers are needed. Fathers are just as needed. And I am not for a generation that neglects men and that neglects fathers, that neglects building healthy men to provide for a family, to provide for their kids, and not just provide materialistically, but to be emotionally able, capable, aware, vigilant, and being intentional with their children. And when you don't grow up in that environment, you sometimes question who you are and who you belong to. And I want to first start in 35 and this setting the scene, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees because the Pharisees were incredibly legalistic. And they basically were trying to tell Jesus like, hey, we don't believe you, bucko. And we belong to God. We are sons of him. And Jesus is like, well, if you were sons to him, you would know me, right? So starting in verse 35, it says, the slave, or I'll go. 34. Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practiced sin is a slave to the sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever. So if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham. Yet you seek to kill me because of my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father, and you do what you have heard from your father. Get this. They answered him, abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, and you would be doing the works Abraham did. But now you speak to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I have heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are. You are doing the works of your father. The. Excuse me? You are doing the works your father did. They said to him, we are not born of sexual immorality. We have one father, even God. Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me, for I have came from God and I am here. I. I come not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father. The devil. And your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning. And he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth and you do not believe me, which one of you convicts me of sin? And the point of the Scripture, what we see is that there's a tension and there is some truth in the scripture, that there is a battle of fathers. There is either the Father of lies, which is the devil, and the most almighty, beautiful and great Father, which is the Lord. And sometimes when we don't know who we are, we don't know who the heck we belong to. And the father of lies, by the way, he's a master manipulator in lies. Lies. Satan is the best liar. That's the only thing he's great at. He's great at lying. He's advanced. You think you a good liar? You think your cousin's a good liar? Satan's great at lying. Like, he's actually. Like, his point of deception is to trick you and is to lie to you. And he's going to be very good at it. It's going to seem really convincing. But you have to know that he is the father of lies and he speaks from his own character and there is a father of truth. And if we do not see Jesus and we. If we don't know what he's actually saying, we will never know who to discern who our actual Father is. The scripture says in this text that if you are truly children of God, then you would love me. Jesus is telling these Pharisees that if you were really children of God, then you would see Me, which indicates for those who are children of God, that if you see Jesus, if you hear his words, knowing that he is the gate to being the exact essence of God, the Father, we belong to Him. We are children not only who belong to him, but we're children who could see and who can hear. And we. When it comes to even just through the entirety of the rest of this message, we're gonna talk about indicators of how do I know I'm a child of God? Because I think that's something and a doubt we could really dabble with. And we're gonna talk about that later on. So let's keep pushing. And again, one of the greatest battles with our walk with the Lord is understanding who we belong to, right? And I actually went to therapy right before the new year, it was like the end of November. And my therapist said something that was like, you a theologian, like you just know your Bible, this is nuts. And I was sharing with him a lot of wounds that I had and things that I'm walking through and things that I'm trying to discern and etc. My therapist said to me, you see the enemy, let me say this again, you see the enemy only perverts you in two places. And you see him face to face with two people in Scripture and it's with Adam, it's with Jesus. People are like, oh well how about Job? Job never witnessed Satan face to face. Satan went to the Lord when he was in his throne room. And Satan approached the throne room of God and advocated that he wanted to tempt Job. But Job and Satan were never face to face. The first time we see Satan face to face with someone in scripture is with Adam, right? And then the second time we see Satan face to face with somebody is Jesus. The second Adam. And my therapist shared with me, he said, Emmy, the adversary will try to deceive you in the same two areas. It's the authority of God's word and who you belong to. Because in the first Adam we see that Satan was right in front of Adam's face. Like did God really say not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did he really say insisting Adam to question the authority of God's Word, the authority of what God has said? And then we look at Jesus, are you really the son of God? If you really are the son of God, then you would cast yourself off of this mountain and surely the angels would catch you. Satan traffics in his voice and in his deception mostly in two ways. The authority of God's Word and who you belong to. And if we just think of that and if we keep that at the pinnacle of our minds, we, we will know that when the Father of lies tries to speak, we will know that it's from Satan himself, that it's not from God the Father. That when God speaks, it is loving, is compassionate, is convicting and corrective at times, but more importantly it has a sense of belonging. And when the enemy tries to come in and cause division in our mindsets, it's usually to question the authority of God's word. If a scripture, what he said is really true and if we really belong to him and, and if it were up to me to make an assumption, I would say that's the majority of Gen Z's doubt here today is that we're questioning the authority of God's word. And if we really belong to him, it's insane. It's nuts. And I love that my therapist shared that with me because it gave me so much context moving forward of like, oh my gosh. The moment I think this, I know that it's the Father lies speaking to me. And that is not my daddy. That is not my dad. You're not my dad. That's a vine. Noodle head. Yeah, yeah, the noodle head vine. You're not my dad. Little ugly noodle head. If you don't know the vine, it's okay. You can stay hip. But while I was in, I'm bringing up a whole bunch of ministry moments. I have no idea, like just doing public ministry. The best, like year when I was in Passion City City in Atlanta, I had shared about the prodigal Son In Luke, Chapter 15 of Returning Home to the Father. And I think a lot of people feel fatherlessness arise most and I guess the burdens of that when they feel like God hasn't forgiven them and they don't understand that God is a forgiving God and that he sits on the porch and he waits for our arrival. Which is literally the quote from A Forgiving God by Su Worship that that song speaks to a part of me that not many worship songs can. If you need to feel the Father, like the fatherly goodness of God, please listen. I am fully endorsing a forgiving God. But Su Worship Malik and I always sing it in country because it just sound like a country song. The lyrics still. He's been sitting on a porch waiting arrival. He never left his heart. He always thinking of you. He'll come running out of me, you throw his arms around you. He's a forgiving God. They not country. That's just our remix. But he's been sitting on the porch waiting for your arrival, right? The prodigal son is a son. There are two brothers, right? So one of the brothers took his inheritance early from his father. This was basically saying, I wish that you were dead. I want all your money, but I don't want anything from you. He took all the inheritance and he spent it. And then while he was in the pigsman at the lowest of lows, he had reached and a rock bottom, literally. And in the rock bottom, he thought to to himself that even slaves in his father's house would be treated better for where he was right there in that moment. So in the pig's pen, in the biggest deficit of his life when he hit rock Bottom the sun thought to himself, if my father would just let me back in as a slave. Or so he goes, and he returns back to his father, and he's going back to his hometown. His father is waiting on the porch, waiting for his arrival. And the moment he sees his son, he's running after him. And even the scripture shows us that as he's running up to him, in Jewish tradition, that in order for you to run, you would have to pull up your garments, because men would var wear very long garments. And so showing your legs was almost like a sign of shame or extreme vulnerability. And so in the shame of the son, the father takes it in his shame and runs after his son and brings him back home and shows him a great. And gives him a great celebration. And the gag is, is that the son was going back home to be a slave, not to be a son. And I think that is what we need to hone in for, for a moment, is that the prodigal son, when he spent all of his money, when he slapped his father in the face, when he was thought he was left abandoned and betrayed, and he neglected his father and that nothing good is going for him. And the moment he hit the pig's pen and he said, surely my father would treat me as a slave. And he went back to his father's home, his father reminded him, you were never a slave. You are my son. And even though you left and even though you spent it all and he went in the pig's pen, I don't care how deep you went, I don't care what mistake you went, you. You still belong to me. In the moment I saw you, I ran after you, and I bore shame with you. I held up my garments and I ran after you. And I'm throwing you a great celebration. I'm clothing you with new clothes. You want to know how good God is? Even in Adam and Eve, when they sin against God and they were hiding from him, right? Adam and Eve are hiding from God and says that God was walking in the cool of the day, and he goes, adam, like where you at? Basically, right? And added to us, for I was hiding. Why were they hiding? Because they had sinned and they were ashamed. And they. The text says that they made. Made fig leaves of clothing for themselves. You making a whole Nike sports bra out of like some branches and leaves. It's like a crazy image that they make clothes out of leaves. And it says what? That even when they clothe themselves with leaves, this is when they're dead in their sin. By the way, this is the moment that God encounters them and sees them. How? Hiding in their shame. And they are clothed with their own garments. What does God do? The Bible says. The text says that he clothed them with new garments. What is it? A skinned animal. A skinned animal? You want to know what else is a skinned animal? The crucified Christ. The crucified Christ and the sacrificial lamb. Even in that moment when Adam and Eve were filled with shame, they were clothed with a sacrifice, and God was the one who had clothed them. So the moment that you think, oh, like God just wants me as a slave, he's looking to put you in better clothes. He is. And the prodigal son story isn't just for him. It's for all of us. If we feel like we've been left behind, and if we feel like we have done God wrong, God is giving us the opportunity to see that he is a father who waits on the porch for us. So I don't care what you've done, what has been held against you, why your earthly fathers won't talk to you. I. I don't care what it is. The reason as to why you don't have a great relationship with men in your life, authoritative men in your life, whatever that excuse is, I promise you there is an authoritative man, the most authoritative man, and he is waiting on a porch, waiting for your arrival. Just run to him. Right. While Malik and I were in Rome, I was talking earlier about the great revelation we had about sonship. And this great revelation comes from Romans 8. And I actually want to give my leader, Malik Brookings, my favorite Bible teacher, for sharing with me this revelation. We were reading Romans 8, and I'm going to read in 14, 17, 14, which writes, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons whom we cry Abba. Father, the Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then we are heirs, then heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we must be glorified with him. And there's so many things in this text that shows us what it means to be a son or a daughter of God. First, Malik says this to me probably every single day. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. If you are led by the Holy Spirit, that is a testament that you are a son or a Daughter in Christ, meaning how do I know if I'm led by the Spirit? I think a few things is like, if the Word is stored up in your heart, if you love the Lord, well, how do I know I love the Lord? Your actions would prove it. Your lifestyle, you live a life that imitates Christ. It's not perfect, but it's progressive even in the way that you love others. The fruit of Spirit in your life. And may you may need people to affirm that. I think Malika has been a great affirmation of my life to where I don't see the fruits for myself. He's able to affirm me because I think for me I can become very hypercritical of my actions because I've always had to be. And I have a hard time with grace at times. And it's very refreshing to have emotionally stable people around you who are able to affirm the fruits that God has produced in your life. And that is evidential proof that you are led by the Spirit of God. And when we talk about verse 15, where it says you do not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, that's the prodigal son that is not a slave, he's a son. But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons who we cry Abba. Father, I have a question. Why does the text say that we receive the spirit of adoption and not the spirit of sonship? When we were studying this in Italy, I was like, wait, wait, wait. Why don't we receive the spirit of sonship? We receive the spirit of adoption. That's like so nuts to think about. And Ephesians 1 talks to us about that adoption, even in Context to Romans 8. What Paul is writing about is Roman adoption, which consists of a few things. Adoption is full legal sonship, meaning that if you are an adopted son, you, you get everything that a legal son would have. Meaning they received a full inheritance, their status was equal to biological sons, and adoption cannot be reversed. It's irrevocable. Point blank, period. So Roman adoption. Adoption is full legal sonship. 2. And your old identity, your old depths are completely erased. 3. Adoption is intentional and it's chosen. People chose who they adopted, just like how God has chosen us to be his sons and daughters. And the four, the Spirit is the legal witness. The Holy Spirit has stamped a stamp and a seal of identification that you belong to God and it's irrevocable. And in Ephesians 1, as we're talking about adoption, why is it that we receive the Spirit of adoption and not sonship. Ephesians 1 freed me freedom me from thinking that God can never save me from an orphan mentality. We're going to start in verse three through 14. It's a lot. We're going to buckle in. Head is doing a bit of water. Okay, 3, 14. Where we at? There we are. Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed in us, Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, even as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, we, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he had set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him whose works all things according to the counsel of his will. So that we who were the first hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory and in him, you also, when you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel, your salvation, and believed in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. And to praise of his glory that better minister to you. Hey, oh, my gosh, the Bible's my favorite preacher. Like, there's sometimes where I just read the Bible and I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'd even need to, like, read, like, go and listen to a sermon on that. Like, this is the sermon. Like, this is so good. I want to have you peep one thing. The text says, in love, he predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will. What question does this raise? Why would God give us the spirit of adoption and not the spirit of sonship? Adoption requires one thing in order for you to be adopted. That means I have to adopt you from something. This is gonna free somebody if you're adopted. That means I'm taking you out of one thing and I'm establishing you in another. So while you may think that your past disqualifies you and what you have done and where you've gone through and what you've gone through, whatever environment you've grown up in, your economical status, your social status, your race, your gender, your age, whatever it may be, that has provoked deep fatherlessness on the inside of you. Adoption. The spirit of adoption is not meant to shame you. It's meant to acknowledge you that God has given you the spirit of adoption to take you from one place to the next. And the next is sonship through the blood of Jesus Christ. That when we are sons of God, it means that he has taken us from the ways of the world and has implanted us into the way of His Spirit. And he slept, seals us with the guarantee of our faith, which is the Holy Spirit. A permanent seal. A permanent seal that is evidence. It is the certificate to who we belong to. So the next moment you're like, I'm not a son of God, or I'm not a daughter of God because of all these things I've done, be reminded that in order for you to be a son or a daughter of God, God has to take you out of something. No one has a perfect testimony. No one has a perfect testimony. The moment you're like, I'm not a son or a daughter of God because I messed up, I want to tell you that is a lie from the depths of hell, and that is a lie from the wrong father, the Father of lies, your real Father, the Lord Almighty, who rests in heaven, has adopted you from one place to the other. And he has given you the spirit of adoption because he wants to take you and deliver you from one place to another. And if he has nothing to deliver you from, if you do not live a life of repentance, and living a life of repentance, where I'm looking at Jesus Christ, I'm considering him as worthy. And because he died for my sins, I boast in him. And because of his blood that was shed, I have further redemption in him. And I know Him. And it's personal to me. The moment I look at Jesus Christ and I understand that my salvation has been found in his pierced palms and feet, and blood has been atoned for. There is no longer a greater ask that could come out of me, except for to receive a gift which is salvation. Sonship is free. Sonship is free. And Jesus prayed the price. That is the gospel. And so if you're like, I don't feel like a son or a daughter. There's a biological son who paid your price so you could have the same inheritance as him. And he did not need to. We were slaves of the world. And because of what Jesus did, we became adopted. Real now legitimate sons of God. Full inheritance, full rights. Old debt passed away and a sealing of the Holy Spirit. That's good news to me, and I hope it's good news to you too. In love, in love, God gave us the spirit of adoption. So good, so good. Love is what predestined us. Like predestined for adoption. Like it was always in God's mind that he was going to deliver you from something. And so when you look at the things that you've gone through and you're like, man, I really and heartbroken that I had to endure a season like this, or that my childhood lacked a figure to pour into me. The Lord always destined to take you out of that place. And it may have not been his will that you were there, but it was always his will to deliver you from it. Because why you belong to Him. He belongs. He is your first Father. You belong to him first, right? Adoption comes from Jesus, and Jesus's blood brings us into adoption of us being the Lord's children. And to close out the entirety of this message, I think it's really important to ask the question, how do I know I'm a son and daughter in Christ, right? And I think there's three points. The first one my amazing husband has really taught me, which is what Romans 8 said. We just read it. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, right? So if I'm led by the Spirit, that is evidential proof that that I am a active child of God. And what does it mean to walk in the way of the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit of God? It's to know his voice, to be convicted and corrected by Him. It's to have a life that magnifies the fruits of the Spirit. And it simultaneously also doesn't mean to over spiritualize things. I saw this verse in Galatians 5, 16 that says, so I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. That last part of the text, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, has a temptation for us to over spiritualize places we don't need to over spiritualize. Does this make sense? This doesn't mean to deny your flesh every time you're hungry, or to not drink water if you're thirsty, or to not go to sleep because you're tired, Right? Walking in the Spirit doesn't mean fully rejecting like your human nature. Does that make sense? Because for an example, we gotta eat each and every single day. I can't fast my whole life. I would be dead. That's not gonna work. So walking the way of spirit is walking in his conviction. It's not walking in a place of hyper dependence of works. And I'm just emphasizing this because usually people who lack a lot of father fatherliness in their lives lack a lot of grace. And I relate to that a lot. And sometimes it's compensates into a very workspace faith and that could bleed into over spiritualization to where we reject things that are, you know, a part of the world, but simultaneously they're not inherently bad for us. Like for an example, like I don't, I don't know if there's going to be a roller coaster in heaven, but there's a roller coaster here on earth. I don't think it's a sin to go on one. You know, just like not giving yourself the space to over spiritualize places that don't, that don't need to be over spiritualized because you're trying to perform so hard to be a good daughter or son. Does that make sense? What's that verse? John 16:13. It says, but when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak of only what he hears. And he will tell you what is yet to come. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the word that he inspired. Test everything. Test everything. Test every Spirit. I don't care if you listen to your favorite pastor, if it's your favorite podcast, or even someone like me. Every type of doctrine that hits your eyes and ears, tested by the Word of God. Because the Holy Spirit operates not in contradiction of His Word, but in alignment to it. And a lot of the times people will prophesy and preach and say things outside of what God is actually saying and say that it's Holy Spirit driven, but it's actually not. It's just passion. It's just passion. So you know that you're led by the Spirit. When the Spirit is always constantly walking with God's Word. And you know that you're not led by the Spirit when you're just speaking from a place of passion that's not backed up by theology or scripture. It's just meaningless. It's just a lot of passion and married with illiteracy. So you know that you're walking by the Spirit. When you're biblically literate and you're able to see that Scripture aligns with the Spirit of God. Right? Number two, visual imitation of Christ. Matthew 5:44 through 45 says, But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Sons and daughters imitate their Father, right? It says, pray for your enemies that you may be children of your Father in heaven, because what the sun rises and sets on the evil and the good. Sons and daughters imitate their Father. And we know that we're son, legitimate sons and daughters of Christ when we imitate him. And that looks like praying for your enemies. That looks like living a life like how Jesus lived. Whether if it's in the good and in the suffering, all of it. That's how we know that we're true sons and daughters of Christ. And the last, which is one of my favorites, is actually discipline. And this is found in Hebrews 12:7 through 10. And it says, endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as his children. For what Children are not disciplined by their father. If you are not disciplined and everybody undergoes discipline, then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we have respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined us for a while. They as they thought best. But God disciplines us for our good in order that we share in his holiness. Discipline is proof of sonship. Right and trials and tribulations is a testament to belonging. We often takes sufferings as a sign of, like, I don't belong to God. And because I'm going through this, like, does God not love me? Is he not here? Hebrews 12 says that discipline happens to those who are children of God. So if you're being disciplined, if you're going through trials and tribulations and suffering, that's probably a great indicator that you are a child of God. I'm gonna be honest, I forget that all the time. And when you go through the storm, when the rain is really heavy and the Th. The. The thog. The. The fog is really thick, it's hard to see the end of it. But I promise you that discipline in the strongholds that you're going through and the sufferings of Christ in imitation is proof that you belong to Him. And I really pray that this just really impacted you. And I pray that you test everything that you just heard and that you bring these scriptures to the feet of Jesus and that you pursue a life with the Lord. Not just you as his daughter, as a son, but looking to him as your father because he loves you so much. And again, I think this is an area I'm also constantly growing in. But these are just practicalities I've carried every single day in my faith that reminds me I belong to somebody. Amen, you guys. So I love you guys so much and I pray that this message has blessed you. For those who are interested in joining Save Society, which is our online discipleship through Patreon, early access to podcasts, behind the scenes content, merchandise, you name it. The link is going to be down below. If you're looking for other resources or looking to tithe and donate toward this ministry, which there is absolutely never, ever, ever, ever, ever any, any any pressure to, there is also going to be a link down below as well. So we could basically pour that into and I'm guessing I'm probably going to announce this by then, our saved IRL gatherings, which is safe, not softs, first ever in person gatherings and discipleship and fellowship once a month where girls in the central Florida area, because that's where we're at, gather together and we fellowship with one another. So that's all down below. But I love you guys. Jesus loves you. I love you. Read your Bible, read your scriptures, because you're held responsible to get into his word and to have intimacy with Him. Amen. I love you guys. Have a great rest of the day and I'll see you in two weeks. Bye you guys.