Born Again Christian Part 3
Scriptures: Exodus 2:3-10; Hebrews 11:23-27; 1 John 3:1
Yesterday I received a text message from one of my peers informing us that one of his representatives was killed on Friday in a car accident. This representative was someone who was very well respected in our Region and our company. What made this news so difficult to hear was that I had just spent time with him on Tuesday at a company meeting. When I heard this news my heart became very heavy. As I reflected on his death, I thought about the fact that all of us at some point will make that transition. No one wakes up in the morning thinking this will be my last day on earth. We all make plans for tomorrow thinking that we have more time but we must always be ready just in case we do not. What I am talking about in this brief series on being born again is all about being ready. We must make the best use of our time while we are here on earth, not only securing our own soul salvation, but helping others secure theirs.
The last time I stood before you I shared with you in part two of this series that this morning we would examine what it means to be adopted. Figuratively speaking, I told you that when it comes to our children that we are foster parents for them spiritually. Our jobs are to train and teach them about Jesus so that when the time comes they will accept Him as their personal Savior. When this happens they are immediately “adopted” by God and become His sons and daughters. This morning we are going to take a few minutes and talk about what happens when someone is adopted in the natural and then we will speak specifically to what happens with us when we are adopted by God. Next week I will conclude this series by reviewing the gifts of the Spirit that will be evident in all born-again Christians. So let’s begin this morning with the biblical story of Moses.
As a reminder, even though Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh, he was not born an Egyptian, but a Hebrew. In chapter one of the book of Exodus you find that the current Pharaoh did not remember Joseph who God had used to save Egypt from a devastating famine. When he looked upon the Children of Israel (Israelites), he only saw a group of people whose population had grown so large that they could join his enemies and fight against him. In order to curtail their continued growth he ordered that all male babies be killed upon birth. Now when Moses was born, his mother hid him for three months. When she could no longer hide him, she took action. Let’s pick the story up in chapter two starting at verse three. “But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews' children.’ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, ‘Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh's daughter said to her, ‘Go ahead.’ So the girl went and called the child's mother. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, ‘Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, ‘Because I drew him out of the water.’ (Exodus 2:3-10)
Moses was the son of Amram and Yochebed of the tribe of Levi. Miriam and Aaron were his brother and sister. As I said, he was born in Egypt during a time when Israelites had become a threat to the Egyptians simply because of their large population. Moses parents took their newborn son and placed him in a waterproof basket and hid him in the tall grasses of the Nile. Meanwhile, his sister Miriam hid and watched over the baby from a distance. Pharaoh's daughter, hearing the baby cry, found and rescued him. She named him “Moses,” meaning “drawn from the water.” Now I want you to understand what his life was like after he was adopted by her.
The Israelites were slaves and their lives were hard. They worked from sun up to sun down doing the work of the Pharaoh. There were no exceptions, even amongst the children. Moses, having been adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh did not live that life. His adopted mother made certain that he had the best of everything, including education. Moses lived in the palace with his mother (Pharaoh's daughter), Pharaoh, and the rest of his family, for about 35 years. From this we know that Moses had access to the cream of everything in Egypt. Being part of the Royal family, if he rode out on a chariot, the people on the street bowed. He would have had the best. When it came to education, he had the best tutors available in the land. We know for sure, from written records, that they had a great university, in its time comparable to an Oxford or a Harvard today. He would have been instructed in astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, music, and art. The overall effect of what he learned filled him with knowledge and understanding that would serve him well later. Stephen testified in Acts 7:22 that “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.”
Moses became a statesman, representing Egypt to foreign leaders. Ancient historians say that he was also a decorated soldier. One final point about Moses that confirms all he had access to as an adopted child of Pharaoh’s daughter is found in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11:23-27 says, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”
We all know how great Moses was and everything that God did through him. What I want you to think about this morning is the fact that what he accomplished was made possible because he was adopted. We know God orchestrated all of this, but I just want to point out that Moses had access to things that none of the other Israelites had access to. He had access to wealth, education, a nice home, and the best clothes. All of his needs were met simply because Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him. When Moses became an adult, he chose to walk away from everything he had access to follow God. When he made that decision, he became one of God’s chosen servants and God used everything that he had been exposed to in Egypt to deliver His people. My sole point with this story is this: a Hebrew child who had been ordered killed was saved by being adopted by the daughter of the man who had ordered his death. A Hebrew child who was supposed to die grew up in the very man’s house who ordered his death and that man saw to his every need. Why? Because when his daughter adopted Moses, Moses became his grandson.
By definition, adoption is a “legal process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents”. Now you need to get this: legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation (condition of being the child of particular parents), from the biological parent or parents to the adoptive parents. In other words, the adoptive child becomes the child of the adoptive parents and is henceforth now and forever more the adoptive parent’s child with all of the benefits of a child that was born of them. And that my friend is what happens with us when we become children of God. Our lives are changed and we have access to everything that God has promised.
Now as you think about that, I want you to see something. When a child is adopted and the birth parents do not know the people adopting their child, then that adoption is referred to as a closed adoption. When the birth parents and the adoptive parents know of one another, then that adoption is sometimes referred to as an open adoption. In the cases of open adoption, there can be some “issues” when the birth mother or father still wants contact with the child. It can get difficult when the birth parent(s) still want the child to believe that they are still “one of” their “real” parents. Legally this is not the case, but that means little to the birth parents who gave up their rights. There have been cases where the birth parent continued to tell the child they put up for adoption that they were still their “real” parent. As you can imagine, this caused much hardship for the child as well as for the adoptive parents. Well, when God adopted us it was an open adoption. Satan knows who adopted us and he is mad about it. So he is constantly whispering in our ears “I am your real daddy” as he tries to undermine God in our eyes. We must be careful not to give him any more space in our lives. He no longer had any responsibility or authority over us and I will show you this clearly in a minute. First though, I want you to think about these Scriptures as it relates to our being God’s children.
“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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18)
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh - for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:12-14)
With these Scriptures in mind, let’s look at what’s available to us as children of God. The importance of God, who is now our Father, adopting us into His family cannot be overstated. Just like in the natural adoption process, when our Father adopted us, He took us from one spiritual life (eternal death) to a different spiritual life (eternal life). We see what we received and how the process unfolded in Colossians 1:12-13. “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” In verse 12 we see what our Father did when He adopted us and in verse 13 we see what happened when He adopted us. I want to draw your attention to a couple of things. We see that God “qualified us.” We’re all familiar with what it means to qualify for something. We have to meet a certain standard. For example, there is a minimum SAT score you need to “qualify” you – that will enable you – to enter college. Many jobs have “minimum qualifications” that an applicant must meet before he or she can even be considered for the position. New Light, our Heavenly Father, the One who adopted us – the One who made us His child – He is the One who has qualified us to live with Him forever! And He was able to do it because we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Without Jesus, “being a good person” or “doing good works” will not qualify us for our Father’s inheritance. Do you see this? The second thing I want to draw your attention to is this: When the Bible says our Father “rescued us from the domain of darkness,” it’s saying our Father reached down into Satan’s domain and He wrapped His loving arms around us and pulled us out of it and Satan couldn’t stop Him! New Light, at one time Satan owned us. Satan had authority in our life. We were powerless against him. No more! Say it with me New Light: “No more!”
As in every family, our Father has rules – expectations for His children. For clarity purposes I want you to remember the definition for “rule.” It means “an authoritative principle set forth to guide behavior or action.” When we joined God’s family, there are authoritative principles that are in place that are to guide our actions and behaviors. I want to share a few of them with you. First John 3:1 says “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” Why does the world not know us? Because we now think and behave like our Father would if He were here on earth. You may be thinking “What does that even mean Pastor?” Remember when Jesus and the disciples were in a boat when the storm occurred? The disciples were frantic and Jesus said to storm in Mark 4:39 “Hush, be still.” The disciples’ response in the last part of verse 41 should be the response of people who “don’t know us” – “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” You see, that’s the kind of authority that we have as children of God. But we have to believe that we have it in order to exercise it.
While we are here in First John, let’s look at something in Chapter 4, verse 4. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Another one of our Father’s rules and/or expectations for us is that we understand that because we are His child, when we face situations in life, we are already victorious over them! First John talks about this as past tense! It does not say we “will” overcome which is future tense; it says we have already done so! New Light, this goes back to what we read earlier in Colossians about how God qualified us for this when we became His child. The Bible never says we won’t face difficult times. The Bible never says we won’t face great struggles. But the Bible does say that, in the eyes of our Father, we already have the victory! God expects us to know and believe that we have the victory in every struggle and in every difficult situation we face. In this chapter we’re also reminded again and again that God is love and that because we belong to Him and are now part of Him, we can love like He loves. And because our Father’s love dwells in us, look at what we read in verse 18. This is a verse that Christians need to grab a hold of and never allow themselves to believe anything else. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” The Bible says that when we are walking and living in love, we will not have fear in our lives. None. So, why do we sometime become fearful? Remember what we read in Colossians 1? Our Father wrapped His arms around us and pulled us out of Satan’s domain. When we really, really believe this – when we really trust our Father like we say we do – then there will be nothing in this life that can cause us to be fearful. Fear is a natural emotion that we all have, but it is our response to that natural emotion that changes when we accept Christ as our personal Savior and begin to understand what it means to be a child of God. (I will go into more detail on this subject in a few weeks.) We come to the understanding of what it means to be a child of God through reading, “eating and digesting” His word. We must spend time in the book! I’m reminded of Isaiah 12:2, where God tells Israel what they will say about Him after He gives them victory. “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.”
Let’s look at another rule or expectation for those in our Father’s family. In Mark 11:23-25 we read “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted.” Let’s stop for a moment. Do you see our Father’s rule, His expectation? When we speak from our hearts, that’s the first step; and believe what we say is going to happen, that’s the second step; then we will receive it. With our Father, everything, and I mean everything, starts with the heart. Verse 24 says “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” What is our Father’s expectation? When we pray or ask for something, now listen to me New Light, we must act like we already have it! And it goes back to our hearts – it goes back to understanding what Jesus says in verse 22 – “Have faith in God.” If rules or expectation could be prioritized, I’d say that this is the biggest one of all. Our Father is asking us to trust Him, and only Him, when we speak about things and when we pray. Think about this. When it comes to responding to and taking care of His children, is our Heavenly Father any different than we are? That’s what we do with our children, but somehow we have come to believe that “father” to God doesn’t mean the same thing it means to us.
While we’re here in Mark 11, let’s look at another one of our Father’s rules or expectations. Verse 25 says “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” I want to show you something we often miss when reading this verse and we talked about this briefly Thursday night in Bible study. The word “transgressions” means “to be at fault.” It’s also translated “offense” and “sin.” This verse tells us that when we refuse to forgive someone then we are in sin. Pastor, how does not forgiving someone who did us wrong make us in sin? Let’s go back to where we started in Colossians 1. Look at verse 13 again. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Now verse 14: “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” When our Father wrapped His arms around us and pulled us out of Satan’s grasp, He did two things: He redeemed us and He forgave us. There is no other way into God’s family. We must be redeemed by the blood of the lamb and that blood washes away our sins! Redemption and Forgiveness.
Before closing, I want to make one more point. When our Father took us out of Satan’s power and authority – out of the kingdom of darkness – and put us in His beloved Son’s kingdom, He put us in a kingdom where the ways of thinking are really, and I mean really, different than that of our “old” kingdom. That’s why when Jesus says things like “love your enemies,” “bless those who curse you,” if someone hits you on the cheek “offer him the other also,” if someone borrows money from you “do not demand it back” – it’s sometime very difficult for us to make that leap in our thinking. And the reason is simple: that is “His beloved Son kingdom thinking” and it’s new to us. But we are God’s children and we now have a life living in us that will help us adjust to this new way of thinking. And do you know what will happen as we continue to change our thoughts? Luke 6:35 tells us: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” When you do think this way, and it’s not like the world thinks, you are simply imitating your Father! Amen?
Next week I will conclude this series with the fruit of the Spirit. As children of God, that is our life!
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
