A. Adoption: Last week we began a two week series on discussing the doctrine of Adoption. In light of my adoption of TJ, Stephen Cross and David Mark into the Magee family, I thought it might be wise to share some adoption principles that very much apply to our spiritual adoption into the Family of God!
B. Major Theme: When God wanted to describe the type of relationship he wanted to share with us, he used the illustration of adoption. We don’t talk much about our spiritual adoption, but it is a pretty big doctrine of the Bible.
((Adoption is explained in 2 Co 6:18; Is the result of God’s promise Romans 9:8; it is by faith (Gal 3:26-27; Is of God’s grace–Eze 16:3-6; Is through Christ— 1ohn 1:12; Gal 4:4; It confers a new name–Acts 15:17; It entitles to an inheritance–Galatians 3:29; It was predicted in Ho 2:2-3; It was God’s plan all along– Eph 1:5, 11; ))
C. Legal Action: Adoption is the legal action by which a person takes into his family a child not his own with the purpose of treating him as and giving him all the privileges of his own natural child. An adopted child is legally entitled to all rights and privileges of a natural-born child.
D. In Mommy’s Heart: Dr. Jean Garton writes of how a first-grade teacher was discussing a picture of a family with her class. One of the children in the picture had a different hair color than did the other family members. A little girl in the class said maybe that was because the boy had been adopted. “I know all about adoptions,” she said, “because I was adopted.” Another little boy asked her, “What does it mean that you’re adopted?” “It means,” said the little girl, “that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.” Spiritually speaking our adoption began in the heart of God. It is the result of Grace! We do not deserve a thing and it’s not a bad thing to be reminded of that fact! Adopted by the Grace of God!
E. I think it is interesting that some of the Bible’s greatest leaders were adopted..... Moses, Ester, Jesus– were all adopted.
F. Today, I want to talk again about our spiritual adoption into the Family of God. And I want to confess that it is not with out struggles. In fact, whenever there is an adoption, it’s pretty safe to assume that things aren’t the way they were designed to be. Adoption often happens because of death, abuse, or neglect. And those traumatic events often leave adopted children with emotional “issues” that must be overcome.
I. Issues often concerning Adopted Children:
A. Problems: Statistics show that adopted children face special challenges. Many deal with concern over abandonment, and they face crises over identity and intimacy. Adopted children have an above-average rate of seeking therapy. Four to 5 percent of adopted children are referred to outpatient mental health facilities. (I know that is true about adoptive parents).... Ten to 15 percent are referred to residential care facilities. Adopted children have higher rates of delinquent behavior, learning disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder than their non-adopted peers. For some reason drug abuse is prevalent. (See The Psychology of Adoption, Oxford University Press.). Adopted children often have major “issues” to overcome.
B. In a class that Angel and I took in order to prepare for the coming of our new children, we spent considerable time preparing for the “issues of adopted children.” There are four disorders often experienced by adopted children that I thought had an interesting spiritual parallel.
1. One issue is Attachment Disorder– the inability to bond or make strong relationships. Due to the neglect and abuse in the past, which resulted in insecurity and a lack of trust, new relationships are hard to form. In fact, it is very common for adopted children to struggle with love, trust, relationships, security, permanence, interdependence and consistency. Well, We were created for community. We were created to live life in relationship with God and others. But sin, not only makes us guilty, it also ruins those relationships and often makes it hard for us to relate to others. Spiritually speaking, a healthy relationship with our Lord and with His people is sometimes a difficult thing. But it is essential in Christianity.
2. A second issue to overcome is Adjustment Disorder– the inability to change. A person with adjustment disorder often experiences feelings of depression or anxiety that results in acting out behaviorally against the “rules of the family.” Well, repentance is always expected of God’s children. Change is always expected of healthy living organisms.
3. A third issue is often A. D. D.– “Attention Deficit Disorder”– the inability to focus. Often the insecurities of the past make it very difficult to focus in the present. How many of you think you have this spiritually? Too many of us do have spiritual A.D.D. and that shows up in our personal Bible study and prayer time (or should I say, “The lack of it!)
4. A fourth issue is Hyper-Activity– which is the inability to rest or relax. Always busy. Can’t sit still. Always fidgeting. I personally struggle with this one all the time. Always something to do. Never get caught up. Feel guilty if I just rest for five minutes. But hyper-activity is actually a disorder that needs to be overcome.
II. Insights of my spiritual Adoption:
A. And the good news Today is this, all of these can be overcome. Physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually all these disorders can be corrected. And I believe an better understanding of the following four truths will aid us in our therapy. These principles come from Galatians 3:26-27.....
Galatians 3:27--4:7– “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of this world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, the spirit who calls out, “Abba Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made your also an heir.”
So you had a rough past! Nothing much you can do about it now. But there is something you can do today.... If you are a Christian, if you have been spiritually adopted in the Family of God I want you to know, what I know.
1. I have Finalization to Assure me! (3:26-27).
A. Last week we talked about Christian Baptism as the Finalization appointment that is necessary for every adoption to be legal. Our text today says, “You are all sons of God... for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.”
B. On April 13, 2004, on the day we adopted our children, Judge Gooding said, “Adoption is the most important court decision that could made. We cannot afford to make a mistake.” Well, the most important decision one could make is to be adopted into the family of God.
C. This past week, we had five adoption finalizations. Linda Rabinstein, Colleen Gathers, Alex and Claudia Pittman; Suzanne Powell expressed their faith, came in repentance and were baptized into Jesus Christ. And I know some of you are very close to being adopted too!
D. And if you have been baptized into Christ as a result of your faith and for the forgiveness of your sins, you’ve finalized! And that day of finalization provides the needed assurance we need to overcome the disorders of life.
2. I have a Father to love me! “We are all sons of God!” The text also says, we were given the “Full rights of sons”. What are the rights of a son? Well, this text mentions six rights of them. Being adopted allows you the.....
1. The right to enjoy a new Father– “You are all sons of God.” A father who will love you.
2. The right to enjoy a new spirit/attitude– “Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts.” You no longer have to be grumpy, depressed, miserable, bossy– you’ve got a new dad, a new family, a new hope and a whole new life.
3. The right to enjoy a relationship of Intimacy– With our new spirit we have the right, “to call out– “Abba, Father.” “Abba” is Hebrew slang word that was only used by a little Jewish boy as he talked with his dad. A slave was never allowed to refer to His master as “Abba”. Only a son had that right. When we surrendered to Christ, we were given the right to call God– “Abba, Father– daddy!”
4. The right to approach the Father at any time– “our new spirit cries out, “Abba, Father”. Pray
5. The right to enjoy new position– “So you are no longer a slave, but a son.”
6. The right to enjoy our inheritance– “and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
3. I have a Family to Help me! (3:26) “You are all sons of God!”
A. If we have been adopted by the same father, that means we are now related! We are spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. We need each other. That’s why one of our core values at this church is fellowship.
B. In fact, fellowship is essential. Everyone needs a family.
C. One day last June, Angel and Micah went to Ohio for the weekend and when they were gone, I had a lot of time to think. And I was struggling with this adoption. To be honest, my flesh and my spirit were at war. Selfishness and righteousness were at odds. I wanted to quit. On one of my prayer walks, I stumbled over Psalm 68:4. Listen to this.... “Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds– his name is the Lord– and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. He sets the lonely in families.” It was a Word from the Lord! And in tears I repented before God and I embraced this adoption with all my heart– because “everyone needs a family.”
4. I have a Future to inspire me. I love 4:7– “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Here’s a thought I’d like you to chew on for the week: “What does God own?” “When you become a child of God, the world is yours!”
There was a elderly man who had a disabled son. One day the elderly Father died and the disabled son was left being cared for by the servants. While his father was still living he had a artist paint a picture of his son and being proud he had hung it on the wall all the years of his life. Now the disabled son was dying and family members could not wait for they were eager to gain the wealth of the Father from the son’s death. The son finally died and the attorney was setting everything in order selling possessions and because of the faithfulness of the servants he gave them the opportunity to choose one thing from the house as a gift for taking care of the elderly man’s disabled son. Some quickly chose furniture and jewelry and yet the son’s nurse only asked for the painting of the son that had hung proudly on the wall. As the men where taking it from the wall they found an envelope was taped to it’s back, with the words “Last will and testament and it gave the Father’s name.” The attorney stopped all that was going on in the house and began to read the the words written by a loving father. Tears began to stream down his face as he began to read the will...” Family members and servants were growing impatient and asked well what does it say? The attorney replied to them simply it says: “He who loves my son, is heir to ALL that I have.” Is that just like Abba Father … He who loves my son is heir to all that I have…
When you have finalization under your belt, when you continue growing in your understanding of the Father who loves you, when you keep realizing the necessity of a family to help you and when you keep focused on the future reward– you’re ready to overcome.
Adoption Story: (Leslie B. Flynn). On one occasion, an orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drain pipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.
Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hand from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them.
As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue. And so it is with Jesus. His nail-pierced hands remind us that he has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences.
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Christian, we’ve been saved, we’ve been freed, we’ve been adopted into the Family of God. Let’s appreciate Him now!
