It is great to be home in the presence of our Heavenly Father and surrounded by our Christian brothers and sisters.  Joy and I recently returned from China where we traveled to pick up our new, adopted son, Jared. Although the journey was well worth the reward (our son Jared), it was not an easy trip or something that I was prepared for.  Our prayer is that one day, Jared will be able to return to his China home and share with others about the miracles God has performed in his life. Today’s message however is not so much about Jared as it is about you and me. When I compare Jared’s adoption to our adoption as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, I see great similarities.

Jared was born with a congenital heart problem (congenital means that it was something inherent in him).  If you think about it, we were too. We were all born with a hole in our hearts that can only be filled by our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jared comes from a province that is extremely poor and polluted. Our hope in adopting Jared was to remove him from that desolate place and provide him with a hope and a future.  In that process, he will also acquire a new language, a new culture, and new relationships. If you think about it, our Heavenly Father – through the sacrifice of His only begotten son – did the same for us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, that sin contaminated mankind. Yet, because God loved us so much, He bankrupted heaven and sacrificed his own son in order to adopt us into His family…to receive His inheritance and to give us His name. Similar to all that Joy and I want to give to Jared, God wants to give to us…a new language, new relationships, and a new song.

If you are a Christian today, it is a miracle! God has given each of us another chance at life. He’s given us a new home and new hope, yet why is it that some of us still drift away. Why do some Christians go back to their old way of living after all that God has done for them? Why do we turn away from all that God has to offer us? This is not new.  In fact, we read stories in the Bible about how the Israelites, after being rescued from bondage and being lead through the desert by both fire and a cloud, they turned away from God. In spite of all that God had done for them and His blessing of the Promise Land, when they were faced with problems and challenges, they told Moses, “Hey—let’s just go back to Egypt; let’s go back to where we came from.”

Don’t we do that with God sometimes? We go back to things that we used to do before we were a Christian even though we have been accepted and adopted into His family. The writer of Hebrews saw this happening in the church during his time and he gave this warning:

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Heb. 2:1).

It is important not to disregard the warning signs that you see along the way in life. When we drift away, it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. There are warning signs that we should pay very close attention to. Many are found in the Bible. The first is:

1.    DON’T DETOUR AROUND RELATIONSHIPS.

Sometimes we see relationships developing or opportunities to get involved in relationships within the church and we detour around them. If you find yourself pulling away from relationships within the body of Christ, that is a warning sign. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you are immune from the enemy’s attempts to attract you and distract you away from the inheritance God has for you. The enemy wants you to walk away from what the Lord has planned for you. Judas Iscariot walked away from his inheritance. He was one of the original twelve disciples and had actually been walking with the Lord yet he walked away from the Lord and His teaching.

“And Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests, in order to betray Him to them” (Mark 14:10).

Judas betrayed the Lord. He was so close to the Lord and yet he fell so far away. Do you know why that happened? That happened because he broke relationship with the other disciples. Nowhere in the Gospels does it say any of the disciples went up to him, grabbed him by the shoulders and said, “Judas, what are you doing?” No one held him accountable. No one tried to bring him back to the calling on his life.

Think of it this way: everybody gets tested. The question is not if you are going to get tested but when. There will come a time when you’ll hit a wall and you’ll need to decide if you are going to continue doing what God has asked you to do (as a parent, spouse, friend, co-worker, or whatever role you have in life that carries responsibility) or will you go back to the ways you were before you met the Lord? Having good healthy relationships with godly people will provide you with the support and encouragement you need to help keep you from falling or drifting away.

Sometimes, even after we’ve said “Yes” to God, we don’t want to get together with other Christians but let me encourage you to.  There are so many opportunities here at New Hope, and within the body of Christ, to get involved in relationships. There are opportunities and groups to fit just about any style.  Join one of our small groups. Serve in a ministry. It is important because your brothers and sisters in Christ will be there to support you through your toughest times. The Bible tells us this:

“…[Let] us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25).

You can find a place of connection within the body of Christ so it is worth looking for and doing.  So while detouring relationships is the first warning sign we should watch for, the second is:

2.    YIELD THE “RIGHT OF WAY” TO GOD’S WAY.

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9).

There will be times when the only thing that carries us through a day or a situation is our daily devotions: God’s word and direction. The sooner we realize that God’s in charge, that He’s in control, not us, the better off we’ll be.

When Joshua arrived in the Promised Land, he still had to fight. God had delivered him just as He said He would but Joshua still needed to equip himself for battle. He still needed to prepare his men, and encourage and resource them. Only as He sought the Lord was he able to experience victory.

“For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that [Joshua] might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that [Joshua] might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses” (Josh. 11:20). 

Sometimes I think we misunderstand what the Promised Land really is. We tend to think of it as some item we’ve wanted or some outcome that we’ve prayed for but maybe it’s something much more. Perhaps the Promised Land is a spiritual state where we realize the truth of God’s promises.

Our promised land is not supposed to be paradise. It isn’t an oasis filled with comfort zones. There will be challenges and mazes to work through, frustrations to overcome, puzzles to solve, and anxious moments when only God can carry you through, but God will show up in the midst of those battles.

Joshua fought with the kings of the Promised Land a long time before becoming victorious. Likewise, the road that runs through our Promised Land will not be easy. There is no bullet train to zip us through. We will have to ride on the wings of faith but our God will seem bigger than ever and our victories will be even sweeter. We can allow the tests of endurance to defeat us, or perfect us. We must remember that God is still God. He will never leave or forsake us. Just as Joshua reminded his men, we need to be reminded, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies with whom you fight” (Josh. 10:25).

Battles are necessary for us to rely on His strength and really realize what these victories mean. Yield the right of way to God and He will be with you all the way. But how are you going to know God’s plans? You can know God’s way through your devotions and through people who will hold you accountable. Daily devotions and accountability relationships are so important. When you understand these principles and apply them to your life, you will begin to understand:

3.    WITH THE FATHER’S LOVE THERE ARE NO U-TURNS.

Once God has adopted you into His family, He will never leave you or reject you.  This is big! We need to understand and value the salvation that He offers us. We need to understand the magnitude of giving our lives to Christ. When a single person makes a decision to accept Jesus Christ, the Bible says He stops all of heaven to celebrate. That’s huge! Never forget how great your salvation is:

“Take care, brethren, lest there be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. …For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end” (Heb. 3:12-14).

The day you were saved is when the Father’s unconditional love was sealed for you forever. In your toughest moments, when you have to decide whether to continue on or give up and turn back, remember that you have been welcomed into His family as an adopted son or daughter and He is saying to you, “Everything I have is yours.”

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).   

It is inevitable that we will face tough times so pay attention along the way! Don’t detour around relationship with godly people who will hold us accountable, and yield the right of way to God’s way. If you do, God will always be there for you; with the Father’s love, there are no U-turns. Aren’t we glad? Amen!

Discussion Questions

1.      When we are saved, we can go back to our old culture and tell our families and friends about the miracle that happened in our lives. But in addition to telling them, we also need to be able to show them the new person the Lord has made us into. How have you changed? What observable differences are there in you? How could you shine His light more brightly?

2.      Similar to our 3-year old son Jared who, despite his limited knowledge of English, is very quick to say, “No” – don’t we often say “No” to God? When He doesn’t do what we want Him to do, we reject Him. His response is, “I’m going to love you anyway.” Is there something you having been saying “No” to God about (like daily devotions, consistently coming to church, or joining a small group)?  What is it and why are you fighting Him?

3.      Did you know you can pray for the willingness to be more obedient? God is here to help.  What do you need His help with?

4.      When we’ve done all that God has asked us to and He does not deliver our “promise land” the way we expect Him to, isn’t that the toughest time to submit? Well have you ever tried submitting it all to Him in one of those times?  If so, what happened?  What would you do differently next time?

Much “Mahalo” to Robin Hart who is paying attention to the calling of God upon her life and service in the Sermon Notes ministry