Defended, Not Abandoned: Sonship, Not Slavery

Defended, Not Abandoned: Sonship, Not Slavery

The Foundation of Our Identity

Today's message centers on a powerful truth: we are defended, not abandoned, and called to sonship, not slavery. This builds on last week's teaching about the orphaned spirit—those patterns of thinking that keep us trapped in bondage rather than walking in the freedom Christ has secured for us.

The foundation begins with understanding what Jesus's coming to earth actually means for us. When Christ was sent, it meant we could be sent. In his coming, the light of the world entered so that all who believe in him enter that light. Anything that pulls us away from that light is darkness.

Recognizing the Orphaned Spirit

An orphaned spirit manifests in several ways:

• Feeling unloved or unworthy
• Low self-esteem
• Struggling with trust and dependence
• Fear of abandonment or rejection
• Performance-driven mentality
• Comparing and competing with others
• Difficulty receiving correction and love
• Struggling with feeling like you are part of God's family

That last one is critical. If you struggle to feel like you belong to God's family, understand this: that is a lie from the pit of hell. Your identity is first formed and found in Christ Jesus, and anything that makes you feel less than in forming that identity is a deception.

The Power of Our True Identity

Many of us come from different backgrounds, different places. We've been shaped by rejection, by voices telling us we're not enough. But when opposition comes against the word spoken over you, you must take control of the identity the Lord has placed in you—not the identity you think you ought to have.

The Lord is truly the Father to the fatherless. This isn't just about those without earthly fathers. It applies to each of us. There's only so much that men can do. A present earthly father is a blessing, but it means nothing spiritually if you don't receive Christ for yourself. Your parent's faith, your pastor's title, your spouse's spirituality—none of it saves you or secures your sonship. You must enter into that covenant with God yourself.

Christlike Responses in the Face of Opposition

When things happen to you—rejection, pain, warfare—you cannot always control what occurs. But you can control your response. Scripture shows us a consistent pattern of Christlike responses:

1. Forgiveness instead of revenge (Luke 23:34 – the crucifixion)
2. Trust instead of control (1 Peter 2:23 – when reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but entrusted himself to him who judges justly)
3. Prayer instead of panic (Luke 22:44 – Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives, in agony, praying more earnestly until his sweat became like great drops of blood)
4. Worship instead of despair (Acts 16:25 – Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns in prison, just before the foundations erupted)
5. Love instead of fear (Romans 12:21 – overcome evil with good, not by evil)

Each of these responses declares: Do you not know who my Father is? This is the mark of consecration—understanding that the kingdom of heaven is an undefeated, continually victorious kingdom.

The Danger of Fearing Men

We have loved God, but we have feared men. This is backwards. Our fear and reverence belong only to the Lord. How can we claim to love God wholeheartedly while walking around enslaved to the opinions of others? How can we give so much authority to men who cannot even create life—men who are temporary—when we serve an eternal God?

A dear friend didn't make it through the week. It reminded me: we walk around thinking tomorrow is promised, that we can wait until next week or next month to step into our purpose. The time is now. The time is now to walk in his purposes for you, to walk in the identity he has clothed you with.

We don't have time to be enslaved to our emotions. Yes, the flesh is weak. Yes, you'll have different thoughts and questions. But in your reflection, seek him. In identifying what you're feeling, let it be that you walk still in that which he has said over your life—not in the things that have tried to rob you.

The Contract and the Identity

"The choices you make matter to God. So you must remember the contract the Lord has placed you in, and also the identity given to you, despite what your earthly reality may look like."

In Romans 8:14-15:

"For those who are led by the spirit of God are the children of God. The spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather the spirit you received brought about the adoption to your sonship and by him we cry 'Abba, Father.'"

The gift of the Holy Spirit is promised to all of us, and it is worth waiting for.

Ephesians 1:4-10 reminds us:

"He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace."

Sonship is not earned. It is chosen and given in love.

Identity Must Not Be Found in Titles or Achievement

Before time began, the Lord knew he would need to create an understanding of identity. He was intentional about all he created, including allowing us to experience the triune God. The biggest mistake you can make is finding your identity in self-proclamation, in your own ideologies, or in the applause of men. Men will fail you.

I speak to those transitioning into marriage, into leadership, into parenthood: once you arrive at a new station, don't let your prayer life drop. Once you sign that agreement, you've entered an even greater dimension of warfare. Your identity cannot be found in being married, in being a mother, in being a leader with followers. If you lose your soul along the way, what have you gained?

The real mark of a believer is how you embody Christ in your day-to-day walk. When non-believers encounter you, can they say, "This one is different. This one is sent. This one is in sonship"? Or does your character make them question whether Christianity is real?

The Cost of Questioning Your Identity

Questioning your identity is a sin. When you question whether God is who he says he is, when you begin to do things in your own strength and capacity, you're making yourself appear to be lord. That's pride.

We arrive at positions and assume titles—apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist—but we haven't met with the Lord in months. We haven't dwelt in his presence asking him for deeper understanding. We only ask for ascension. But the little things—being a giver, loving people unconditionally—we don't know how to do them.

"Everything is based on transaction for you. You are not dwelling with him."

If you can only show love because you've received it from someone else, you don't truly know what it is to love. You don't know what it is to love your neighbor as yourself. You can only do this by truly loving the Father first.

Humility is essential. Despite the titles you've been given, despite the accolades you might be worthy of, there is a place called humility where you must dwell. If you cannot remember the simple principles the Lord has entrusted you with, how can you say you've understood what it is to come into his sonship?

This is why you constantly find yourself enslaved by the old, even after you've moved past certain places, even after you believe you've been delivered. You begin to question your deliverance because you've enslaved yourself with a victim mindset. It's time to rise and understand: you have entered into his sonship, not slavery.

The Declaration Over Your Life

In Psalm 68:5:

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."

In Galatians 4:4-6:

"When the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts. The spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'"

In John 1:12-13:

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God."

Your title does not matter. Married or not married. Mother or not yet a mother. Pastor, evangelist, minister, apostle—none of it defines you. Who does the Lord say that you are?

He says you are chosen. He says you are loved. He calls you son and daughter because you have entered into his sonship.

"So my daughter, my son, do not fear, for I am with you, says the Lord."

Your identity can only be marked by him. Where the Lord entrusts men to journey with you, to guide and lead you in their leadership capacity, remember: He is the overarching leader.

As We Close the Year

As you reflect on everything that has happened until this 21st day of December 2025, remember: it is only by his strength that you've seen this day. It is only by his grace that you've encountered this moment.

I charge you: let there be a shift in mindset from the enslaved to his sonship. You are defended by his word and his word alone, and you are not abandoned.

The enemy knows Jesus has authority. How much more do you? As God's sons and daughters, understand this truth: it is by his will and his grace alone.