Spiritual Adoption

Our theme for 2024 is “Possessing the Land”.

This series is called “Hot Topics”- time when I take requests for what you want to do or hear about.

Last week we took the whole service to just praise the Lord!

This week we have special celebration which we are calling a “spiritual adoption”.

Vanessa has been living with Marissa and Sean Busby and they would like to commemorate her becoming part of their family.

Marissa has been Vanessa’s caretaker since before she and Sean were married.

More recently Vanessa has said that she would like to be a Busby too!

She’s not eligible for legal adoption anymore.

But she will go before a judge next month to ask to be able to change her name.

So that’s why we are calling it a “spiritual adoption” - we want to commemorate the spirit of adoption - becoming part of a family.

Vanessa wants to know that she is part of the family and that is why we have set aside this special occasion.

We are going to have a dedication service, much the same way we do when welcoming a baby into the family.

Did you know that you were also adopted?

“I wondered why I looked different than everyone else!”

You were adopted into Gods family!

First of all, God’s family started out Jewish - and most of us aren’t Jewish.

But we were also apart from God’s family when we didn’t know God.

And God wanted us back- so He made way that we all could be part of His family.

We are all adopted.

John 1:12–13 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Most people don’t get to choose who is in their family.

You didn’t choose to be born to you parents.

They might say that they didn’t expect to have you as a child - but you were a choice - somewhere along the way they made a choice that resulted in you being born.

They may not have wanted you when you were born - but God also had an hand in it and decided that you should be here.

Regardless of what anyone planned or didn’t plan - you belong here!

Family relationships are notoriously messy.

Children don’t come with and instruction manual.

Though one might add that the Bible had lots of good instruction for raising children.

Parent’s don’t alway know what they are doing - especially at first.

That’s why God made grandparents.

Being a grandparent is like getting a “do over” at raising your kids.

I think most of us grandparents have decided that we want to be the “good guys” this time- you know - be a little nicer than we were the first time around.

Also, sibling rivalry has been around as long as the Bible.

The perfect family doesn’t exist!

You want proof? - the first family mentioned in the Bible was already messed up!

They had two boys - Cain and Able - and they were already at each other right out of the starting gate.

God’s family on earth did not get off to a good start.

Probably because His heavenly family ( the Bible calls spiritual beings “sons of God) was already in rebellion.

So the rebellion of the heavenly family spread to the earthly family.

But God had a plan to redeem his earthy family from destruction.

God decided he would start a new family which would consist of both His heavenly family who still obey Him and His new earthly family which would believe Him and follow Him.

That is why John say right at the beginning of his gospel that God gave us the right to become His children.

Jesus is coming to earth to be the head - the prototype of a new kind of family.

This is not a family based on whose blood you have or who gave birth to you.

Its not about who you belong to, humanly speaking.

It’s about belonging to God and to His family.

We all recognize God as our Father.

Romans 8:14–17 ESV

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

So Jesus came and died for our sin so that we could be reconciled to God.

He atoned for the human part of the rebellion.

And he defeated the dark forces that make up the spiritual part of the rebellion.

That is how God brings us into His family - through Jesus.

But then Jesus also gave his followers the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is how we have a relationship with God through Jesus.

John 14:15–17 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

So the Holy Spirit is just like Jesus, except in you!

So what does the Holy Spirit do?

He does what Jesus did, except in you and through you!

One of the first things that the Holy Spirit does in us is teach us to cry out to God as our father.

When you were born; how did you know who your parents were?

Did someone say, “hello little one, I will be serving as your constant companion and caregiver for the next several decades or until you choose to move out. Please read and sign the terms and conditions upon which you will become my child.”

No it’s a little more instinctive than that.

When my children were born, they already knew my voice. I would speak to them when they were still in the womb. I would pray over them and bless them. I would tell them I couldn’t wait to meet them.

Then when they came out, they would instinctively turn to my voice to see who was talking.

The Holy Spirit does that for us.

The Spirit attunes us to the Father’s voice.

The Spirit makes us aware of another reality beyond this earthy reality - we belong in God’s reality - spiritual reality.

The Spirit makes us aware of belonging to a family that is beyond our natural human family.

Hopefully our human family resembles a spiritual family - but it’s not a guarantee.

Our human institutions of marriage and family are meant to teach us the ways of God.

What it means to love and to be loved unconditionally.

About appropriate discipline and the molding of our character.

Families are where we learn to give and receive and serve each other in a way that is mutually beneficial.

But not all human families do that well.

The Holy Spirit joins us to a spiritual family

where we can learn the lessons that our human family neglected to teach us.

And where God can heal the wounds that we received from our earthly families.

Psalm 68:5–6 TPT

5 To the fatherless he is a father. To the widow he is a champion friend. To the lonely he gives a family. To the prisoners he leads into prosperity until they sing for joy. This is our Holy God in his Holy Place! But for the rebels there is heartache and despair.

It’s nice to know that you are not limited to the resources of your earthly family.

You have Jesus to thank for that!

Jesus made us to be Sons (and Daughters) of God.

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

You have heard me say it before; Jesus became like us so that we could become like Him.

He became human - literally born as a baby.

He was God in the flesh - but He still had to learn to obey His parents!

He probably made mistakes - it’s not a sin to make mistakes and we all do - it’s part of how we learn.

He had siblings - and we know that they didn’t always get along.

Or at least they didn’t understand who he was and why he was out on the hillsides ministering to people.

Later, some of them would be among his disciples as the founders of the church.

In ancient times being a son (or daughter) was not just biological - it was also a status.

We know about bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah - that is the ceremony where a child comes of age and becomes a sort-of adult - a son or daughter of the law - responsible for their own actions/

Their is another stage of becoming a son, usually by the age of thirty where a son takes the full responsibility of managing his father’s household and business affairs.

That would seem to be the kind of “becoming a son” that Paul is referring to here, because at that point the son is also the heir.

As the “heir apparent” he hangs out with the household servants while they teach him about the business.

He’s among the slaves, except he is not one of them - because he’s a son.

They all know he’s going to be their boss one day and because of that; it’s also important that he learn to respect what they do and to understand what it all about.

Jesus came to earth and hung out with the slaves - but He was the Son!

But because He did that, He understands how it is.

But here is the crazy part - when He was shown to be the Son and the heir of both God’s heavenly and earthly families.

He adopted us!

He raised us up to be a Son and an heir - right along with him.

There are no more slaves in God’s family - only sons and daughter of God.

Galatians 4:8–9 ESV

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

So here’s the point - you’re only a slave if you don’t know that you have been set free.

If you know that you are a son or daughter of God, you will not put up with the oppression of the enemy.

You walk with your head up, in confidence, saying I don’t deserve to be treated that way.

And here’s the other thing - when you know that Jesus has made us sons and daughters, you don’t treat other people like slaves either.

Even if they don’t know Jesus yet, they still have dignity because of what Jesus did.

That person is still a son or daughter of God, even if they don’t know it or act like it yet.

Because God wants us All to be part of His Family!

Ephesians 1:5–6 ESV

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

He predestined us to be adopted - do you know what that means?

It was His plan all along!

Before you were born, God knew you and he already had a plan and a purpose for your life.

Psalm 139:15–16 ESV

15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

That’s what predestined means - He knew it even before it happened.

I don’t have the benefit of foreknowledge. I don’t know my grandchild yet. I don’t even know if its a “he or a she.” But I can tell you that I love that child even now! And I have great hopes and dreams for their life.

Do you think God cares any less about us? - No He cares even more!

God couldn’t wait to welcome you into His family!

OK maybe the family you came into wasn’t exactly “God’s family.”

I hope they were at least a good family.

Even if they were not really a good family - God had a plan to redeem you.

He sent Jesus to become like you, so that you could become like him.

He will lead you out of slavery to sin and to satan and show you what it means to be a Son or Daughter of the Most High God.

You are adopted - carefully chosen by God to represent Him as a member of His family.

You are an heir - meaning everything of His is yours, certainly everything that you need to carry out your assignments for Him.

I hope you know how much you are loved and cherished by God!

And then look around you!

You have a spiritual family.

Yes, I know some of us are a bit odd, but we are one big happy family.

OK, so we are not always happy - we have our struggles like any family does -but we are still a family!

There is a place of belonging that is more than just flesh and blood - it’s spiritual - we are a spiritual family.

We don’t all look the same but we have the same have the same DNA.

we have the same Spirit

we are bound by blood - the blood of Jesus!

We are part of His spiritual Body, which is also his physical body in the earth - at least at this moment.

One day we are going to be united with Him and with each other in a much more permanent way.

Aren’t you glad you’re a part of the family of God!