R1086 Spiritual Adoption

God has an encouraging word for you and me today, through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton, all about spiritual adoption. As we open God's Word together today, know that we're open to connect with you on our website as well, TEWONLINE.ORG. While you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don.

That's TEWONLINE.ORG. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. I want you to open your Bibles. Get your Bibles open today. We want to have a look at what God teaches us this morning. And we're going to be in a wonderful passage in Romans Chapter 8. Romans Chapter 8. So you need your Bibles today because I want to show you some absolute truth. You know, all around the world, people today want to know the truth. And I'm about to tell you something from the heart of God today, from God's Word.

That's why we've got good news. And here in Romans Chapter 8, the Apostle Paul was writing to a group of people not unlike ourselves. They understood all the things that we go through even though they lived many, many years ago. And no doubt they were parents and they were looking at children and into the faces of children and they saw the orphans of the world.

And they understood what it meant to be outside, to be alienated, to be separated. And here the Apostle Paul tells us something absolutely remarkable. And I want to show this to you for just a moment this morning. We're going to look in our Bibles at Romans Chapter 8 and I want to read from verse 15. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but rather you received the spirit of adoption, which allows you through God to cry out, Abba, Father. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are in fact God's children. Now if we are God's children, watch this, then we are heirs. In fact we are not only heirs of God, but we are joint heirs or co-heirs with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If indeed we share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, so it is that we also share in the glory that God has given to Jesus Christ.

Now folks, watch this, watch this, this is incredible. When Jesus came to this earth as God's Son, remember Jesus was always God. When Jesus came to this earth, he just laid aside his privilege to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And he took upon himself the sin of man, even though he himself knew no sin. And then he went to the cross and he gave his life for you and for me.

And what God teaches us in his word is that when we come to know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, what actually happens is that we lay aside all that is us and we accept all that is God in Jesus Christ. Now this is incredible, I just want you to pick up on this. Kirby, this precious little girl, was born in China.

I want you to just think about this. She was born in China. She was an orphan.

She lived in an orphanage. When I see this video film of what took place, I'll be quite honest with you folks, I turned to David sitting next to me while that was going on and I said, David, I don't know if I'm going to be able to even get up there after all of this. And I've seen this a number of times. Every time I see it, it just chokes me up. It is so precious. It's so incredible. There's just so much love.

It's so hard to even contemplate. Here's a little girl born in another land, alienated in a sense. Not because of the place that she was born, but because of the circumstances into which she was born. The Bible says that because Adam sinned, you and I are born alienated from God our Father, who made us to begin with. Did you know that God made you and that His intended purpose for you is that you should belong to Him? But sin separates us from God. We are aliens.

We stand outside of the purpose of God for our life because our sin has separated us from God's intended purpose for us. So here's little Kirby. And all that went on related to that, the receiving of papers.

I love the FedEx delivery. And I love the little caption there, not all stalks have feathers. You just think about what this whole adoption process means to Kirby. It means she's received a new name, literally. It means she's received new parents, literally. It means she's received a new family, literally. It means she's received a new country. It means she's received a brand new little American lady that she was born.

I think that's just unbelievable. It means that she's received a new home. It means she's received a new future. What about the future that this little girl has that she didn't have? Have you ever asked the question, what if?

So let's ask that, if I may. I say this with a little, what if Kirby had aged out? Did you see that young man about 14 years of age? His picture was up there, the Chinese young man. He was about 14 years of age. Do you know, folks, in the adoption process, there is an age limit.

They call it aging out. You know that that young Chinese man was adopted right on the line. Had there been another few weeks or months that had gone by, he would never have been adopted by law. I've got such good news for you today. When Jesus came to this earth, he made it possible for all people to be adopted into God's family.

Isn't that great? Some of you today, you're looking at me and you're saying to me, I'm so alienated, I'm so alone. I have no purpose in my life. I'm trying to find meaning.

I wish that I could get all the components connected. I don't know what the future holds. I don't know what's going to happen to me when I die.

I cannot understand all of these things. I'm bound by fear. I'm a slave to fear. And God says, I love you. And I've made it possible through Jesus Christ for you to be adopted into my family. God looks down upon all people, folks, everybody, red, yellow, black and white. Some of you are saying, but it's, I don't know that God could ever love me. Maybe I was born in the wrong place. Maybe I was born on the wrong continent.

Maybe I've done too many things. There are people all the time who come up to me and say to me, Don, if only you would understand, I know that God loves people, but you've got no idea what I've got myself into. Do you know that there is not one sin that God will not forgive? Accepting one. And that's the sin of refusing to be adopted by him.

Bible calls it blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because it's the Holy Spirit that draws you into the heart of God. And I'm going to invite you today to give your heart to Jesus, to become adopted into the family of God. Folks, this is good news. Everywhere all across America today, people are asking the same question, what hope is there for me?

I want to share with you the greatest hope and it all looks right there into the face of Jesus Christ. So what does this mean? When Paul tells us about being adopted in this passage, he's basically pointing to three things. Number one, when God adopts you, he gives you a new standing before him.

That's what he's telling us here. He gives you a new standing before him. You see, before you give your heart to Jesus Christ, you stand before God as judge. But when you give your heart and life to Jesus Christ, you have a new standing. Rather than now standing before him as judge, you now stand before him as father.

Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message in just a moment. But Dr. Wilton wants me to remind you, we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you anytime at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. While you're on our website www.tewonline.org, be sure and sign up for the daily devotional from Dr. Wilton. It's a powerful email that will launch your day in the most wonderful way.

That's on our website at www.tewonline.org. We'll be back to today's great teaching with Dr. Wilton. I remember even when I was growing up now, that's been a few years back.

But I remember some of those days. Go and ask my dad, it's his birthday today. And I haven't seen dad yet today. He's teaching Sunday school somewhere here in the building. And I'll see him a bit later, give him a big hug and that. But you go to my dad. I'm telling you folks, when I was a young man growing up under my dad's house, when I had messed up and when I had sinned against my home and my God and my family, when I had done wrong and I came into the presence of my father, I stood before him in a completely different light than when I stood before him as a son ought to stand before a father. You see, when you are adopted into the family of God, God himself gives you a new standing before him. But number two, he grants you a new status in him. Your status changes. Not only your standing, but your status according to this passage. Your status changes because God gives you a legal right and privilege as a son and daughter of God. And in fact, here this passage, you've been reading it yourself. You can see it for yourself.

It's right there in verse 17. God actually announces and tells me that my status changes to the point at which I become a joint heir with Jesus. Wow! Do you know what struck me a moment ago, David, when you were talking about Kirby? You've got one of the most precious families I've ever been around. I'm telling you, that big brother and those two twin brothers and that most beautiful daughter of yours and the family that you've had and all the things that you've done and all the nonsense that you've got up to and all the places that you've been and all the experiences that you've had and all of a sudden you've gone as a family and you've adopted Kirby and you stood here and made a declaration in front of everybody. You said, this is my daughter and she has become a joint heir, a co-equal heir with all of my children.

Wow! You mean to tell me that God gives to me all that He gives to His own Son? Yep. He gives you a new standing before Him and a new status in Him. But here's the bottom line folks, He guarantees a new life with Him. So watch this, guys.

This is a three-fold puncture. Some of you today, you're saying, I need an encouraging word. Folks, everywhere I go in our community today, I find people just like you and me saying, we've lost something good. We've got elections going on in America today and you'd think hardly anything was good.

Judging by the way people talk about one another, it certainly isn't good. And we look at the economy and we look at marriage and we look at the struggles that we have and we look at the desires and people, you're no different, aren't you? You're saying, right, that's me right now. Just tell me something good.

I've got something good to tell you. When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, watch this, according to Romans chapter 8, you get a new standing in Him. You stand before Him in a totally different life, no longer as judge, but as Father.

He grants you a new status. You all of a sudden get the full rights and privileges that God gives to His own Son Jesus Christ and He guarantees you new life in Him. That's what this passage says in verse 17. It says that we share in His glory.

I love going to John chapter 17. We don't have time right now, but in John chapter 17 in the garden of Jesus' betrayal, Jesus comes before the Father and He kneels down and He says, Father, I have fulfilled all that you have asked me to do as I'm about to go and give my life for the sin of many. I want to ask you to restore to me the glory that I had with you in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. And God the Father looked down from heaven and said, done.

And so watch Jesus, folks. Jesus goes to the cross. By the power of God, He's raised from the grave. He comes forth in triumphant power.

He reveals Himself to over 500 people to give a public demonstration of what you and I are going to look like after we die. And then He goes back onto the mount of ascension and He ascends to be seated at the right hand of the Father, exalted in the heavens, now making intercession for you and for me. And what Jesus Christ tells us is just as I have been taken up into the presence of the Father, so shall you also, because you are my child.

I've adopted you into my family. And just as I went straight up into the heavens to be with God the Father, so shall you also have new life in me. Do you know that you can know that you know that you know that you know that one day when you die or if Jesus were to come back again before you died, did you know that you can actually know exactly where you're going when you die?

You ever wondered about that? Bible says you can know. You have nothing to fear from death because just as Jesus Christ was taken into the presence of God the Father, you are a co-heir with Him. You receive everything that God gives to His Son. That's what it means to be part of the family of God.

It's an incredible thing, folks. And some of you might look at me today and say to me, Pastor, well, how do I make that happen? How do I make that happen? Number one, you must admit your need. You've got to do it. Romans 3, the Bible says all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You've got to confess to Jesus. Number two, you must relinquish your past. Acts chapter 3, the Bible says repent and be converted that your sin may be blotted out. You've got to let go, folks. You've got to repent. You've got to be willing to turn and go in the opposite direction. Number three, you must trust your Heavenly Father.

That's why Paul said in Ephesians 2, we are saved by grace through faith. You've got to trust. I tell you, I love that picture of Kirby, the first time she saw her mama right there in China.

That is the most endearing picture. If I may say this, folks, there was not even the semblance of Kirby looking into the face of her father and her mother and saying, I don't know if I'm going to trust you. You know by the way that Jesus said, unless you become as a little child, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. When they boarded that plane in Beijing, China, that little girl didn't say, whoa, I'm not getting on that plane with you. And you might say, well, goodness me, she's a little child. She had no option. That's what Jesus is saying, folks. Let me tell you something.

Jesus presents to us a no option because you're either for God or you're against God. And then you must receive your deposit. You were to say to me today, how can I be adopted into the family of God? You must admit your need. You've got to confess. You must relinquish your past. You must repent. You must trust your father. You must exercise faith. And you must receive your deposit.

You must accept what he has done. Do you know that the apostle Paul put it like this in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13? He said, having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promise of the Holy Spirit, who is our deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.

I love that. Do you know that when you give your heart to Jesus, boom, boom, just like a boom, stamp, boom, boom, boom, boom, Holy Spirit just guarantees it. Said, you belong to God.

This is great. I present to you Jesus. I want to invite you to give your heart to Jesus. I want you to know he's the best friend I've ever had. I want you to know God is my Heavenly Father.

A very close friend asked me yesterday in my motor car. He turned to me yesterday and he said to me, Don, how do you view God? And I said to him, I view God as my Heavenly Father. And it's time for you, isn't it?

It's time. And as you've listened and as we worship together, God has spoken to your heart. And folks, this is truth.

This is not speculation. This is the greatest story ever told. This is wonderful.

This is absolute. That's why I hold in my hand God's word today. See, that's what this is all about. It's sharing God's truth with the searching world. I want you to hear what God says. This is what God says to you.

He says, I love you. In fact, I love you so much that I sent my only begotten son to dine across just for you. And when you give your heart and life to me and you're willing to confess to Jesus and repent of your sin and receive me by faith, you receive that absolute guarantee, that stamp, that deposit. The Holy Spirit marks you out, writes God's identification number across your heart.

And you receive all that God has for his own son. You mean I can belong to God? You mean I can be a friend of God, Steve? You mean just tell me I can belong to God, that I can call God my Heavenly Father?

Wow! Some of you might say, well, pastor, goodness me, why are you getting so excited? But I want you to know something, folks.

When I think about being part of God's family, man, you talk about a national championship or what? Do you know Jesus? Please give your heart to Jesus. You're on your own if you don't.

You're going nowhere. You're going to be an alien in a foreign land. And folks, watch this. Don't age out. Between now and next Sunday, some of you might age out.

Don't let it happen. That's why I love what the writer said when he penned those words just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou wouldst me, me, to come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. I love you today. I really do.

I really love you. In the name of Jesus, I invite you to give your heart to Him. It's a straightforward question, and we'd love to pray with you about it right now if you want to call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. But perhaps what you need to do first is open your heart to what Dr. Wilton wants to share next. You know, perhaps just a moment ago you prayed with me to receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life. I rejoice with you. But there again, maybe you hesitated just for a second, and that second divides you from all time and eternity.

Do it now. Pray with me right now. Dear God, I know that Jesus loves me and that He died on a cross for me. I give my heart and life to you by faith. I repent of my sin, and I receive you into my heart, and I pray this in Jesus' name. My friend, if you've prayed that prayer, I just welcome you with the love of Jesus.

You'll see a number on the screen. You can call. You can connect in with us through our web. I want to be able to extend that right hand. You are my brother, my sister in Christ. God bless you today. If you just gave your life to Christ, let us walk alongside you. Put some resources in your hands.

Dr. Wilton wants you to have. Again, if you gave your life to Christ or rededicated your life, call us at 866-899. Word for your free resources.

That's 866-899-9673. Dr. Wilton wants you to have these resources to help you grow. You can also connect with us on our website, tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. Remember, everything mentioned on today's broadcast is included on our website. If you haven't been by lately, join us at tewonline.org.

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Thank you for listening today. Our time's gone for today, but let's stay connected on our website at tewonline.org. I hope you join us tomorrow. We head to the book of Philippians with a powerful message called How to Face an Uncertain Future. That's on the next edition of The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton. Between now and then, we'll meet you on our website, tewonline.org. A great place to gain insight, especially about how to grow in your faith. That's our website, tewonline.org.