DON’T WAIT, WALK – DUBS HEYDENRYCH
Scriptures:
Matthew 22:23-33
Luke 15
Romans 13:1
Luke 9:1; 10:1; 10:17-21
Points:
1. The Robe (Righteousness)
2. The Ring (Authority)
3. Sandals (the Right)
Matthew 22 – “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…”
What do we know about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Most of us think of “Father Abraham”, but the primary thing we see about them in scripture is that they were the first sons of Israel. Abraham was a son before he was a father.
– God made a covenant with Abraham
– Isaac carries the covenant or promise through his generation,
– Jacob sees the promise come to fruition as the 12 tribes of Israel come from his offspring.
The only thing that qualified them to hear, carry, and release the covenant was the position they held – they were sons.We need to remind each other regularly that we are sons and daughters. Before we are moms and dads, businessmen, teachers, preachers, CEOs, we’re sons and daughters of the living God!
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15):
– the gifts that the father gives the son – and a picture of what we carry.
The prodigal returns to be a servant, but he’s received as a son – and every gift the father gives is a gift you give a son (not a servant).
We are sons by birthright, not behaviour.
1. The robe (righteousness)
Isaiah 61:10 – “The robe of righteousness”
Righteousness = our right standing with God.
We receive it as a gift. When we act like it’s earned, we start behaving like servants – we try and serve (work) our way to sonship (living with a performance mentality). But the Kingdom does not work on performance, it works on position. We are sons and daughters.
If we see the gift of righteousness as servants we work for it; when we see it as sons, we walk in it.
2. The ring (authority)
Authority given by grace through faith.
Two examples of a ring representing authority in scripture – Genesis 41:41-42 (Pharaoh & Joseph); Esther 8:8
Romans 13:1; Luke 9:1; Luke 10:1; Luke 10:17;-21 – if you’re a son of God, you carry the authority of God (we carry this with humility under the authority of God).
3. The sandals (rights)
Luke 15 – the Prodigal Son
Two very practical parts to sandals: taking them off and putting them on. Biblically, when you see someone taking their sandals off it means they’re giving up their rights.
E.g. Deuteronomy 25:7; Exodus 3 (Moses & the burning bush); Joshua 5
Just as taking your sandals off is giving up your rights, putting them on is receiving your rights.
Moses puts his sandals back on and leads the people of Israel, Joshua goes on to conquer Jericho and several other cities as the commander of the Israelite army – battles they shouldn’t have won.
The son receives his sandals back from his father – his right to be a son in the house again. The right to the presence and the provision of his father. Doing nothing to earn or deserve it (that’s grace).
This story was never about the two sons, it was always about the father.
The Great theologian Charles Surgeon said, “He did not make us children because He needed sons (He already had one), but because we needed a father.”
So many of us are waiting, waiting for permission, waiting for a title, waiting for a promotion, waiting for the perfect conditions, for finance, but we have been given righteousness, authority, and the right to be sons and daughters.
Walk into every room (the store room, the classroom, the boardroom) with full confidence that you have the presence and provision of God – what you carry is greater than your career. “Don’t wait for it, walk in it.”
Question: What does it practically look like to walk in the righteousness, authority and, right-to-sonship that has been given to us by God?
THE LINC COLLECTIVE 
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