Family Now John 1:9-13
40 Days of Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction:
Definition of a family according to NY State.
A family is a group of two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together; all such related persons are considered as members of one family.
Definition of a family according to the bible.
The family is the foundational institution of society ordained by God. It is constituted by marriage and is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. The family is a fundamental institution of human society.
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Transitional Sentence: Everyone who receives Jesus, even those who believe in Him have the right to be children of God.
What is the Family of God?
What are we as children of God?
How do you become a part of the family?
What is the Family of God? John 1:12
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
a. What is the family of God?
The family of God is a wonderful thing. There is only one family of God, and that family is made up of all those who are born into God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ. Verse 12 of our passage says “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
That’s the family of God - all those who have accepted Christ Jesus through faith.
b. Children of God -
God’s ideal for the family is that a marriage between a man and woman would produce children. Most of the time it does, sometimes it doesn’t and sometimes there are children who need parents. That is where adoption comes in. Adoption allows parents to bring a child without parents into their family. Adoption allows orphans to be loved, to belong, to be cared for and to have an inheritance.
This is what God’s family does. Whether we have families in this life or not we are all orphans. We all need to be loved, we need to belong, to be cared for and to have an inheritance. Gal 4:4-6
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
When we proclaim faith in Christ Jesus and receive the right to become children of God we are adopted into the family of God. God is accepting the responsibility to love us, to help us belong, to care for us and to give us an inheritance.
c. We are all sisters and brothers.
This is the wonderful thing about the family of God. If we have the Spirit of God we are sisters and brothers. Because we have been adopted into the family of God, God is our Father, He is our Abba, our Daddy.
How many of you have seen the Kendrick brothers movie, Fireproof? In that movie there is a scene where one of the men tells another that he accepted Christ Jesus into His heart. The other man expresses great joy and says “Now we are brothers with a different mother.” And so we are all sisters and brothers with different mothers but one Father, our Abba, Father.
So...
2. What are we as children of God?
a. As children of God we are one of many in the family -
The estimated population of the world is about 8 billion. That’s a lot of people. The estimated population of the world that calls themselves a Christian is about 3 billion. Somewhere around a third of the population. We are scattered all over the world. Since there are so many members in this family there needs to be many roles for the children to fill. Eph 4:11
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
This list is not exhaustive. These are just some of the roles that God’s children can fill to serve Him. What we need to look at when we think about this is what the roles should be doing. Eph 4:12-13
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
These roles and all the rest are for equipping the saints, our brothers and sisters, building up the family, and helping everyone to attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of brother number one - Christ Jesus. Now don’t look at this little list of roles and think that these are the only ones that will help build up the body because they aren’t. There are lots of ways to build up the family. Doing stuff in the background can build up the family just as much or more than the people with the high visibility roles. So do something the help build up the body of Christ.
b. As children of God we are all equal - Gal 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
According to this we are all equal. At that time there were great divisions between people. Jews considered themselves the top of the heap and Greeks were just common gentiles. Free men had a much higher standing than slaves; and men and women, well a woman was almost considered on the same level as a slave. There were a lot of divisions. But Christ Jesus tore down all of the barriers. As Sisters and Brothers we are free to come before God as His child. Equal in God’s eyes, whether we see each other that way or not doesn’t change how God sees us. No divisions, no hierarchy, just children.
c. As children of God we share one Spirit - but many gifts
That one spirit is the Holy Spirit of God. God uses that one spirit to give gifts to each of His children. Those gifts are to be used by His children for the common good of the family. 1 Cor 12:4-7
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
The manifestation of that spirit in us provides a variety of gifts, that spirit provides a variety of ministries because that spirit is what binds us together as sisters and brothers. Verses 8 through 10 tell us some of those gifts that we can receive from the Holy Spirit. They are:
Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Effecting miracles, Distinguishing spirits, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues
Other gifts of the Holy Spirit as mentioned or discerned from scripture are:
Administration, Apostleship, Discernment, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Leadership, Mercy, Pastor/Shepherd, Service, Teaching
So that’s a lot of possible gifts. What’s the point? Well there are a lot of us and the purpose of the church contained in Ephesians 4:12–13 tells us to equip the saints, build up the body of Christ, attain a unity of faith, and knowledge, and become a mature man. That’s a big calling, it takes the participation of each member of the family using the gifts God gives to complete this work.
So,
3. How do you become a part of the family?
a. First of all you have to be adopted by God into the family.
An orphan in this world who wants to be adopted has to wait. Sometimes for a long time and they may never be adopted, they may never be a part of a family. They remain orphans.
However with God’s family you get to chose whether or not you are adopted. John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
You see, God does the adopting, God does all the paperwork, Jesus paid the price for the gift, but you have to accept the gift. You have to receive Jesus by faith, or at least believe in Him. The craziest thing about this gift is it’s expiration date. The expiration date for this gift is the expiration date of your life. God will give you an entire lifetime to open the gift and accept it. The problem is that the longer you wait - the less likely it will be for you to open the gift. So open the gift, receive Christ Jesus now.
b. Next, you have to Join a faith family - Heb 10:23-25
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
God wants His children to dwell together in harmony learning and growing together and stimulating each other to love and good deeds. One way to say it is the way Dietrich Bonhoffer said it for the title of one of his books “Life together.”
We weren’t meant to be alone. How many of you remember watching the TV show Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom? Well they regularly showed what happens to the young, the old and the weak animals that got separated from the herd. They got eaten. Satan is a roaring lion looking for someone to devour - the first to go are the ones who isolate themselves and think they can go it alone. We aren’t a herd of animals, but, just like a herd of animals when we stay together we are stronger, we can support each other, encourage each other and spur each other on. Don’t get eaten. Be a part of the family.
c. Use the gifts God gives you -
A few minutes ago I listed a bunch of spiritual gifts that are given out to the children of God by the Holy Spirit. How many of you have opened a gift from someone and wonder why on earth did someone give me that? Then you just stick it on the top shelf of your closet way back in the back and forget about it.
We can do that with God’s gifts. It’s easy enough to ignore what God has obviously given to us. Maybe you think its the wrong gift for you. Maybe what it will require of you is scary. Maybe you just don’t want it. Well, God doesn’t give anyone the wrong gift and He seldom gives gifts that will give you a warm fuzzy feeling. So get ready to be uncomfortable.
When you join the family of God you will get one or more gifts to help build up the family. Make sure you find out what they are and use them. If you have been in the family for a while then you should know what your gifts are and you should be using them. If you don’t know what they are or aren’t using them then it is time to get uncomfortable and get your hands dirty.
Exit: The worlds definition of a family is a mess. God’s definition of a family is foundational to the institution of society ordained by God. And God’s family drawn together and held together by the power of the Holy Spirit is the kingdom of God.
God is busy drawing all me to Himself through the power of His Spirit. All those who believe in His only begotten Son receive the right to become children of God. All those who receive Jesus by faith or even believe in Him will be saved. That’s a big gift, it’s a free gift, but it has to be accepted and opened. Don’t just stick it away in your closet.
Just remember, if you open that first gift of adoption you need to join the family by joining a local faith family. Then you can seek out the gifts that are giving to you as welcome home gifts so that you can help build up the family. The gift will probably be hat with a label on it. Something like, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Shepherd, Preacher, Leader, Giver or something else - God knows what it will be. The thing about the hat is that it will tell you just what you don’t want to hear. You don’t want to hear it because you won’t be comfortable anymore wearing that hat. Put it on anyway and see what God will do.
That goes for all of you that opened the gift of adoption a long time ago. Get your hat out of the closet and put it on. Get busy using it. If you already use it great, that’s what we need. But for those of you who aren’t, I know it can be uncomfortable. I unwrapped a hat that says “Great Preacher”. That hat didn’t fit. I had to struggle to even put it on. Now I get to struggle and be uncomfortable as the Holy Spirit makes it fit.
If any of you feel that way with the gift you were given - Good. Put the hat on and see where God takes you with it.
Pray
