06.23.2013 Grace p4 - Knowing for Sure You're Going to Heaven - Adoption into God's Family

06.23.2013 Grace p4 - Knowing for Sure You're Going to Heaven - Adoption into God's Family from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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Good morning – welcome. We are continuing our series on GRACE this morning. Max Lucado describes GRACE as God’s extravagant love for the undeserving. He says it is “More than we deserve” – “Greater than we imagine”. Today we are looking at God’s extravagant love for us, which he displays by adopting us into His family, and guaranteeing that we can continue in relationship with Him for all eternity – let’s pray:
Pastor Mike and I spent a few days at the Great Commission Pastors’ Conference this week – we were disappointed that our third pastor, Dick Cooper, who led our worship this morning, was unable to join us. The topic of the conference was Just Sow It! As you know, we’ve been trying to share Just Sow It stories here on Sunday mornings – so if you have had an opportunity to proclaim God’s goodness to someone, and would be willing to share it with the church, let me or my wife, Melissa, know.
The most important thing anyone can know – is that they are loved by God and will get to spend eternity with Him.
I’ve had many opportunities to “Just Sow it!” this week. The first was when I was at the Akron Canton Airport, waiting for my first flight. I parked myself near the ‘charging station’ and an older woman with a beautiful scarf came and sat by me so she could recharge her iPhone. Now, being a guy, I didn’t know how to compliment her on her scarf exactly, so I said to her, “My wife would really like the scarf you are wearing!” She said, oh, what would she like about it – the colors? Are those her colors? And I replied that she just likes scarves. She says, oh, would she like to have it? I have so many of them! No, I replied, I was just saying that it is a pretty scarf .
She told me how she and her husband were heading back to Florida after attending her niece’s wedding in Wooster – I told her that I had performed a wedding ceremony over the weekend as well and that I was on my way to a Pastor’s conference in Kansas City. I mentioned I was from Millersburg and it turns out we know some of the same people. She told me how they had missed their flight earlier in the day because she had insisted that they stop for breakfast. I told her I hoped it was a REALLY GOOD breakfast – and I hoped that they would be able to get the flights that they needed to get home.
She asked what I was speaking on this weekend and I said, “being adopted into God’s family and knowing for sure that you’re going to heaven.” I told her that the message would be posted online – so she asked the name of our website so she could watch the sermon next week – so I told her – GraceSummit.org. I asked if she had a church in Florida and she said that she belonged to a Methodist church there. I told her how God wants us to be confident in our salvation – 1 John 5:13 says “I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God that you may KNOW that you have eternal life!”
Today I am going to show that
1) We can be adopted by God
2) The results of being adopted by God
3) Knowing for sure that we are adopted by God, and as a result
4) That we can spend eternity with Him
In his book, Grace, Max Lucado tells the story of Lee Nailling, who, at the age of 8, was put on “the Orphan Train” from New York to Texas. The day before, his biological father had handed him a pink envelope that bore the father’s name and address. With tears streaming down his father’s face, the father told the boy to write him as soon as he reached his destination. Lee placed the envelope within his coat pocket so no one would take it. The train embarked for Texas, and Lee fell asleep. When he awoke, the pink envelope was gone. He never saw it again.
I’d love to tell you that Lee’s father found him. That the man, unwilling to pass another second without his sons, sold every possession so he could reunite his family. I’d love to describe the moment when Lee heard his father say, “Son, it’s me! I came for you.” Lee Nailling’s biography, however, contains no such event – but yours does:
Eph 1: 3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— I like how it is phrased in the NLT: This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT)
Mark and Christine Wavle will be joining us in the second service. They have adopted two sons – This is what they wanted to do, and it gave them great pleasure.
Here is Mark and his two sons, Jose and CJ
God CHOSE us. That is one of the beautiful things about being adopted – being chosen. He has made us his sons and daughters. We were adopted into His family and now we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have been redeemed from death – and given full rights as the heir – look at Galatians 4:
Galatians 4: 4 But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.
That term – Abba, Father – is like a little child who looks up with trust at his father and says, Daddy!
Think about it, a little child doesn’t come up and say, Father, I beseech thee, may I have a cookie! No, he is like, DADDY, COOKIE!
How do we become adopted sons of God?
Max Lucado says “To accept God’s grace is to accept God’s offer to be adopted into his family.”
Scripture tells us even more certainly:
John 1:12-13 But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children —children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.
So it is in ‘receiving Christ’ – by ‘believing in His name’ – that we become God’s adopted children. This is what it means to be born again – to be born of the Spirit. When we believe, God promises to give us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and to guide us, and to teach and remind us everything about Jesus.

Rom. 8: 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
So we see that
1) We can be adopted by God to be members of His eternal family
2) As a result, we can have intimacy with God and can call Him, Abba, Father, Daddy.
3) We can know for certain that we are adopted and can know for certain that we will spend eternity in a love relationship with God.

Remember Lee Nailling, the eight year old orphan who lost his father’s letter? Things got worse before they got better. In a succession of sad events, Lee had lost his father, had ridden a train from NY to Texas, had been separated from his brothers, and had been kicked out of two homes. His little heart was about to break. Finally he was taken to the home of a tall man and a short, plump woman. During the first supper, Lee said nothing. He went to bed making plans to run away. The next morning they seated him at a breakfast of biscuits and gravy. When he reached for one, well, I’ll let him tell you what happened…
I slid into my seat and reached for a steaming biscuit. But Mrs. Nailling stopped me. ”Not until we’ve said grace,” she explained. I watched as they bowed their heads. Mrs. Nailling began speaking softly to “our Father,” thanking Him for the food and the beautiful day. I knew enough about God to know that the woman’s “our Father” was the same one who was in the “our Father who art in heaven” prayer that visiting preachers had recited over us at the orphanage. But I couldn’t understand why she was talking to Him as though He were sitting here with us waiting for His share of the biscuits. I began to squirm in my chair.
Then Mrs. Nailling thanked God “for the privilege of raising a son.” I stared as she began to smile. She was calling me a privilege. And Mr. Nailling must have agreed with her, because he was beginning to smile too. For the first time since I’d boarded the train I began to relax. A strange, warm feeling began to fill my aloneness and I looked at the empty chair next to me. Maybe, in some mysterious way, “our Father” was seated there, and was listening to the next softly spoken words. ”Help us make the right choices as we guide him, and help him make the right choices too.”
“Dig in, son.” The man’s voice startled me. I hadn’t even noticed the “amen.” My mind had stopped at the “choices” part. As I heaped my plate I thought about that. Hate and anger and running away had seemed to be my only choices, but maybe there were others. This Mr. Nailling didn’t seem so bad and this thing about having an “our Father” to talk to shook-me up a little. I ate in silence.
After breakfast, as they walked me to the barbershop for a haircut, we stopped at each of the six houses on the way. Each time, the Naillings introduced me as “our new son.” As we left the last house I knew that at first light the next day I would not be running away. There was a homeyness here that I’d never known before. At least I could choose to give it a try.
And there was something else. Although I didn’t know where Papa was, or how I could write to him, I had the strong feeling that I had found not one but two new fathers, and I could talk to both of them. And that’s the way it turned out.
To live as God’s child is to know, at this very instant, that you are loved by your Maker not because you try to please him and succeed, or fail to please him and apologize, but because He wants to be your Father. Nothing more. All your efforts to win his affection are unnecessary. All your fears of losing his affection are needless. The adoption is irreversible. You have a place at His table.
The results of being adopted by God are these:
A. Freedom and confidence
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12 NIV)
We can approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence – this should REVOLUTIONIZE our prayer lives. God cares about every aspect of our lives and we can approach Him as our Abba Father, like a child approaches his father.
B. His provision
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13 NIV)
Rob and Mike?
If you are unsure whether you are a member of God’s family – will you accept his offer of grace and ask God, as the loving Father who longs to be in intimate relationship with you, to give you His Holy Spirit? He has promised to give Him to you. This guarantees your inheritance
C. Inheritance
2 Cor. 1: 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
A pledge is a guarantee. We’ve been sealed to receive an inheritance as His heirs.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3–4 NIV)
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17 NIV)
D. A certain eternity
John 10: 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Wow. When we receive God’s gift of grace – when we accept what He has generously offered – this extravagant love that we don’t deserve, we are given eternal life and NOTHING can stop it. It is eternal.
John 5: 24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
This is one of my favorite verses for sharing the good news.
John 6: 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst... 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
1 John 5: 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Do you believe what God says about you, or what the world says about you? God calls you His sons and daughters. Do you feel loved and accepted as part of God’s family, or do you feel like an outsider looking in, wishing that you could somehow please God? If you feel like an outsider, let me tell you this: There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more than He does today. Will you turn to Him and allow Him to choose you for adoption?
Maybe you’d like to believe, but it just seems too good to be true – that the God of the universe chooses to adopt you. Read the stories. Read the gospels – historically I’ve told people to start in the gospel of John – because it talks about salvation and eternal life and being born again – but I think I’m going to start encouraging people to start at the beginning of the New Testament – in the book of Matthew – and every time you come upon the phrase – “to fulfill what was written” – go back and read what was written – there should be a footnote indicating what prophecy was being fulfilled – and see for yourself if it doesn’t make sense.
Do you remember Dee, the 75 year old grandmother with the beautiful scarf I met in the airport? We had just started talking about what I was going to share this week – about knowing for sure that you are going to heaven – and they announced that it was time to begin boarding – so she starts reaching into her bag and pulls out a plastic bag and starts wrapping her scarf up – “I want your wife to have this” – I joked, I can’t take this - how is this going to look?! – and she said – tell her you got it from a 75 year old grandmother. So I reached into my bag and gave her a “Do you know for Certain” tract – she seemed genuinely appreciative and interested in looking up the verses and she promised to watch the sermon online next week – so, Hi Dee – thanks for watching!
Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
Now – for those of us who have been adopted into God’s family – as you go through life, think about what your life was like before you were adopted. Let the phrase, “I am a child of God” become your motto. Write it on a notecard, “I am a child of God” – and post it where you’ll see it every day. As you look around you and see those who don’t yet know Christ, consider that they don’t yet understand God’s extravagant love for them – that they are still orphans, not yet receiving the adoption offered by God. I’d like for you to take a minute of silence and think of someone who is close to you who might not yet have that assurance that they are loved by God and can spend eternity with Him. Remember our motto for this year, Just Sow It? As you pray for them, consider if there is anything that God would have you do to help draw that person to Himself. Max Lucado writes, “Boldly share the Father’s love. Relying on your faith, speak with joy and confidence”
We have one more week of our GRACE series – if you feel led to invite that person, there are cards available. I also have ‘Do you know for Certain’ and ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ tracts available.
Let’s have that moment of silence now…
Heavenly Father, thank You for adopting me and each one here who has faith in You. Thank You for making me part of your forever family in your forever home. Without you, I was hopeless and helpless. Without You, I was lost. But with You as my Father, I am found, rescued, forgiven and loved. I am Your child because You want to be my Father. We praise You, O Lord!! I pray this in the name of Your begotten Son, Jesus.