Sunday, August 10, 2025
BORN INTO TWO FAMILIES
I. EVERY PERSON HAS TWO BIRTH CERTIFICATES
John 1:12-13 (NLT) – “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”
The Distinction:
- Physical Birth: “physical birth resulting from human passion or plan” (human initiative)
- Spiritual Birth: “a birth that comes from God”—divine initiative, spiritual transaction
II. JESUS REDEFINED FAMILY
Matthew 12:46-50 (NLT) – “As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.’ Jesus asked, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!'”
Three Key Insights:
- Spiritual relationships can be deeper than biological ones
- Obedience to God creates family bonds
- Jesus Himself demonstrates this priority
Psalm 27:10 (NLT): “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.”
Ruth 1:16-17 (NLT): Ruth choosing Naomi’s people and God over her biological family: “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!'”
III. THE GREATER ADOPTION
Romans 8:15-17 (NLT) – “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”
Galatians 4:4-7 (NLT): “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.’ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”
IV. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – HOW THIS TRANSFORMS EARTHLY FAMILIES
A. It Relieves Pressure on Earthly Families
B. It Provides a Model for Earthly Families
- Unconditional love (Romans 8:35-39 NLT)
- Forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32 NLT)
- Sacrifice (1 John 3:16 NLT)
- Commitment (Hebrews 13:5 NLT)
- Purpose (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)
C. It Creates Extended Family Support