En – �@– A – 003 – 1/2 　Group (A)  Relationship with God (3) Our position as God’s Children

Point of the teaching : to know the strategies of satan who hinders the understanding of God
                    To remove the obstacles to hinder establishingthe relationship with God the Father
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Those who believe in Jesus are made Children of God and as children of God we have the right of abundant inheritance and spiritual blessings. Therefore Satan hates us and does everything he can to keep us from believing God.
�A
The ultimate goal of Satan is to keep us from believing God and having right relationship with God the Father. For those who do not believe in the spiritual, Satan brings materialism and humanism. For those who believe in the spiritual, Satan brings occultism or magic. For those who believe God, Satan brings religions such as polytheism. For those who believe in the only one God, Satan brings Christian heresies such as Jehovah’s witnesses. And even for those who believe in the truth of the Bible, Satan tells lies such as miracles are only in the times of the Bible and not for now.
�B
There are many wrong teachings in the world. Some teachings seem good. The ultimate goal of Satan is to separate man from God. Therefore, we can use the criteria to discern what is happening in the world, which is to see whether that tries to draw us away from God or not, and also whether that is against the Bible or not. Through this criteria, we can tell what is right or wrong.
�C
 The devil’s main strategy is to distort the image of our earthly father, because through that image we start to have an image of God. So if the devil can distort that image, the people will not be interested to know God or their relationship with him.
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(Matthew 23:9) “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” God is our truly father and our earthly father represents God the Father on the earth. So if we have a bad image of our own parents, we will not be able to get to know God.  and other things are just reflection of what is in heaven.
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THE NATURE OF FATHER
1) to give protection  2) to love the family  3) to provide the needs for the family by working 4)to teach the children, 5)to be the leader of the family who gives advice and exhortation, etc.
However, if the father does not fulfill these roles, the children under these fathers will be hindered from getting to know God as such.
�F
What kind of the image people have about their fathers?  Nowadays the parents (speaking about the male figure) are too busy, they are too severe, or indifferent. They compare their children with other children, they don’t provide or protect the family, all this facts damage God’s image so people don’t want to know anything from God by thinking that he is just like their earthly father.
For example: I was in Odori Park and I said to a young men “God is like your father” and he said: “My father is never at home and he drinks a lot of alcohol, so if God is like my father I don’t want to know that God”
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The devil doesn’t need to influence people one by one, the only thing he needs to do is to bring oppression and destruction to the fathers who are the head of the family. Even if the father is not violent or immoral, but only with the absence or if he doesn’t take care of the family, that is enough to bring oppression and sadness to their children.
�H
 Nowadays not few young girl fall in fornication even prostitution trying to find male affection or love that they didn’t received from their father. Some young men are violent, homosexual or delinquent because of the lack of a healthy male role model at home. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　�I
When people don’t have a good relationship with their terrestrial father, generally they tend to have attitude of rebellion, escape, hatred,  hardness of hearts, fear  or inferiority complex towards the people of  authority like teachers, their bosses or government  etc. that’s why it becomes so difficult for that person to have a full knowledge of God and that’s the reason why we need to demolish the spiritual wall that stop us from have a healthy relationship with God.
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How can we remove the obstacles?

1. we have to know that the Heavenly Father is the perfect Father,
2. We need to make a decision to forgive our parents if you were wounded by them.
3.  We receive God’s healing  and comfort from any wound

What is common in all these points is that we need to invite God into the situations or areas which hindered our lives.
�K
When our spiritual eyes are blind, we are caught up with the visible situations or problems. And we will not be able to receive the wonderful inheritance of God as children of the mighty God. 　　　　　　�L
(Galatians 4:1-3) Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,  but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
�M
We can illustrate salvation in this way: A homeless little boy see a kind and rich man coming to the neighborhood and this rich man decide to adopt him as if he were his legitimate child, giving him food, clothes, house and also as his son make him part of the family heritance, but this boy has the complete freedom to decide to become the rich man’s son or go back and continue living in the street.
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It’s surprising to know, though, that not a few Christians are content to live in the old life style in spite of receiving new life in the Lord. And they do not know the authority and power given to them, because they are spiritually immature, or still carry with them the past childhood traumas or wounds.
�O
God has given us the authority and He prepared many blessings for us.
(Mark 16:17-18) “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they  will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
1) authority to overcome curse, the supernatural power, 2)supernatural protection  3)the power of healing 4) power to overcome death. It does now matter how long we have been Christians in order to exercise the power and authority we receive from Him.
�P
Caution: God’s love is unconditional but God’s blessings have a condition. God loves us unconditionally regardless of our conditions. But that does not mean that we can receive all the blessings automatically.
God does not love us because we do things which please God. But for example, if you are into pornography and desires God’s deliverance in that area, but still keeps his life full of the worldly values such as TV or magazines, it may be difficult for that person to be free.

When people can’t receive God’s blessings there are two reactions:
1. They don’t want to change their lifestyle and don’t expect anything from God.
2. Decide to put his problem aside and choose to hate God arguing that “God doesn’t bless me”
�Q
If we are not receiving abundance and blessings from God, we should not blame or have doubts about God or His word, but we need to stop and meditate about what is in my life that is stopping me from having God’s blessings and abundance, we can also ask the pastor, leadership or mature Christians for help and advice.