You Are Wanted: The Divine Adoption Story

What does it mean to be adopted into God's family? Pastor Mark takes listeners on a transformative journey through Romans 8:15-17, revealing how spiritual adoption completely redefines our identity and relationship with God.

The concept of adoption often carries connotations of abandonment, but Pastor Mark offers a radical reframing: being adopted by God means you are profoundly wanted. This isn't a reluctant acceptance but an intentional choosing that makes believers "co-heirs with Christ," granting the same rights and privileges as God's natural Son.

Drawing from his personal journey, Pastor Mark shares how he moved beyond viewing God as a stern judge waiting to punish every misstep to embracing the intimate relationship captured in the term "Abba, Father." This shift from fear-based religiosity to confident sonship liberates believers from the bondage of performance-based acceptance.

The message explores the fascinating metaphor of believers being "engrafted" into God's family tree—a permanent, secure joining that can never be undone. Through powerful scriptural insights from John, Ephesians, and Hosea, Pastor Mark builds a compelling case for adoption as one of scripture's most beautiful themes.

For anyone who has ever felt unwanted, rejected, or like they don't belong, this message offers profound hope. Even if earthly parents desert their children, God holds His adopted ones close with an unbreakable embrace. The transformative understanding that we are wanted by our Creator changes everything about how we navigate life's challenges.

Ready to experience the freedom of knowing you're not just forgiven but fully adopted? Listen now and discover your true identity as God's beloved child.

In lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.

Transcript

Introduction to Divine Adoption

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey there again to you, Words of Life listeners and viewers. I am Pastor Mark, and in this week's message, we're going to talk about adoption. You know, we are not impersonal transactions as wards of the state, yet we are co-heirs with Christ. And what that means is adoption into God's family. We are his very own with the same rights and privileges of his darling son Jesus Christ just because of that transaction conducted by Jesus on our behalf. There are no more acceptance issues. There are no more belonging issues that Satan loves to lie to us about. Even if mother and father desert us, God will hold us close. Come on back and see what the topic of adoption is about, right here on Words of Life.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

We thank you for joining our Words of Life broadcast or podcast, where our mission is making God known for extolling Jesus the Christ as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity. We now join Pastor Mark for this week's Words of Life Message.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Hey there again to you, Words of Life listeners and viewers. We are back, and as you can tell, uh trying to be faithful to what God has called me to do in the midst of allergy season down here in Texas, uh specifically for us, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. But that being said, God is faithful to me, and so therefore, uh I pray that he allows me the strength just to continue to put forth his gospel message through his words of life. And with that being said, we're going right to the book of Romans. Uh I want us to turn to chapter 8. I'm gonna read a few verses beginning at church, uh verse 15. Uh, my version will be the Berean Bible, the Berean Standard Um. And again, just ad-libbing just a little bit, as I always do, uh, to give you time to get there. It is the book of Romans, chapter 8. We're gonna read from verse 15 down to verse 17, and I believe uh that gives you all enough time to get there. One more time, add libbing. You got that New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, the synoptic gospels, and then you have John, and right after that, you have the book of Romans. So here we go, Romans chapter 8, beginning at verse 15, down to verse 17, and the verse reads as follows For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, Abba, Father, is like saying daddy. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children, and if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. May the Lord add a blessing to the hearers, the readers, but most importantly, those that intend to do with God's help, his holy word. Again, the title of our message this week is Adoption. Adoption in the Greek simply means being placed as a son or daughter, and in becoming joint heirs at the exact moment that we unite with Jesus Christ, God adopts us as his very own, with the same rights, same privileges that any son or daughter has associated with their family name. So, consequently, let's modify a common narrative regarding adoption to think of it as not being deserted, but let's look at it as the exact opposite. We are wanted by God. Let's not look at it as adoption is only uh a reality because somebody has been deserted. No, let's start looking at it as the exact opposite, especially spiritually. We are wanted, even those that have been adopted and cast away in the natural realm, you are wanted by God. Note that this common thread of thought is interweaved throughout scripture. John 1 and 12. But to all who did receive him, receive Jesus, to those who believed in the name of Jesus, God gave the right to become. Jesus gave the right for us to become children of God by his act. Ephesians chapter one, verse five. He, God, predestined us for adoption as his sons and daughters, daughters, emphasis mind. But the text says, as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will. He did it because he felt like it. He doesn't even have to answer to anybody or explain anything. First John 3 and 1. Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. Wow, we are wanted by God, we have not been abandoned. God doesn't want anybody to be lost or abandoned. And so when we're talking about being co-heirs with Christ, and you all excuse me because my allergies, I'm gonna take just like uh a minute. Well, I guess it wasn't a minute, it was about a second or so. Um, with my allergies, understand, let's get started with our exegesis. Uh, and if we exegete exegete the text, and speaking of being heirs with Christ, in context, um, Paul starts talking about not you didn't receive a spirit of slavery uh that returns you to fear. Uh, but in context, let's let's talk about this heirs with Christ that is spoken of before we got to our primary scriptures. Um, Paul is telling his believers there in uh and they're in Rome, the church in Rome, uh, but they're surrounded by a lot of obstacles and challenges. And so Paul says, Hey, we have an obligation. You don't have an obligation to the flesh anymore, because if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But now it's the spirit that lives in you, God's spirit. You you you now have his spirit if you have accepted Jesus as your savior, and with God's spirit living within you, you can now put to death the deeds of the body. For all who are led by the spirit of God, we are called sons and daughters of God. And so in verse 15, we opened up with Paul says, so notice you're not obligated to every time the flesh or your weaknesses jumps up, you're not obligated to fulfill it. You can't uh you can't live and fulfill the law. It is a standard, a holy standard of God that lets us know how lost we are. And it requires God's help for us to even obey. Don't do this, don't do that, thou shalt not. It requires God's help. And with that, with God's spirit now living in us, this is whom we have received. Excuse me. This is whom we have received, God's spirit.

Co-Heirs with Christ

SPEAKER_01 8:08

We didn't receive a spirit of slavery that has us afraid and fearful of the law. Oh my gosh, I did this. And I'm gonna interject something here just because of my own experiences, you know, growing up and developing a relationship intimately with God on my own. You know, there are some denominations or churches that I went to in my youth, whereas I looked at God as this grandfather that had a judge and a belt. And every time that I may have messed up, oh my gosh, he's gonna get me. He we don't we don't have to have that fear of the law, like, oh, I messed up, I thought this, I did this. God's wrath is imminent and it's coming on me right now. That's how I kind of grew up, and I had to learn to develop my own relationship with the Lord, not one bound by, and now I'm not saying anything's wrong with different denominations within the body of Christ. I dare not um I dare not want you to think that. But I just shared that example to get us to understand that's what it looked like for me growing up. This spirit of slavery that slavery to the law that returned me to fear. Ooh, if I told a lie at school, oh, my death was imminent at that moment. God's gonna get me. No, we have now received the spirit of adoption to sonship, where when we do mess up, we can go to God and cry, Abba, Father, it's like daddy, intimate. Just you adopted me. And even when I don't feel like I do things right or say things right, the spirit himself in verse 16 testifies with our spirit that we belong to God as his children. And if we are his children, then guess what? We are heirs, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. And if we suffer with him, we do so so that we can also reign with him. And so back in Roman times, that phrase, you didn't receive a spirit of slavery that returned you to fear. We've been transformed. And in the context of Roman society, slavery was common still then, and that fear attached to slavery was well understood. And for us again, that spirit of slavery, we're just oh, the law and sin and judgment and death, it is imminent if I do A, B, and C. No, it is imminent for those death if you have not accepted what Jesus did for us on the cross. And so, this concept of adoption, children, you now have the full rights and privileges of the natural-born father and dad, even if that meant you inherited rights. That's the way it was in Roman culture. And so, this adoption is not just a legal thing to do, but in Christ, it is a relational one. We have a new identity, we have a new status before God. We don't have to be afraid to approach him. The spirit of adoption refers to God's spirit saying, You are mine. When you mess up, I'm not throwing you away. You don't have to fear I don't love you anymore. You don't have to think my mom and daddy didn't want me, or I don't belong, or I don't fit in. Well, guess what? God says, by the act of Jesus, believing on him, you now belong to me. And it is not a temporary guarantee, it is an eternal promise. Okay, God is not a promise breaker, he's a promise keeper. Hebrews, or should I say, Hosea 1 and 10, it was prophesied. Those that were not considered God's people, one day they would be called sons of the living God. God is able, he's a promise keeper. I can refer to Galatians 3 and 29. God has fulfilled his promise to Abraham, making all those that believe in Jesus hares, or I'm sorry, I thought I saw an A in there, but no, heirs according to God's promise. And again, God is not a promise breaker, he's a promise keeper. Look at Galatians 4 and 6. Because you were sons, God sent the spirit of his son, Jesus, into our hearts. God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind or self-control. John 1 and 12, but to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Ephesians 1 and 5, I do believe we referenced earlier. God predestined us for adoption as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will. First John 3 and 1. Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us

Spirit of Adoption vs. Spirit of Fear

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that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. And if you do not belong to God, the reason being the world does not know us because they do not know him. Okay? Galatians 3:26. You are all sons of God through faith in who? Christ Jesus alone. And the alone emphasis mine, but that is how God feels about it. Don't approach him without going through Jesus the Christ. It will not win, it will not end well for us if that's what we choose to do. Well, I'm gonna approach him through this religion. I'm coming through him through that. There are many ways to God. No, there are not. You are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Matthew 6 and 9 even references, so then this is how you should pray. Our Father, our Father, Abba, Daddy, I can come to you and talk to you about anything. So understand, God doesn't want anybody to be lost. He wants all to repent and be saved. Hence, please accept my offer of adoption. Let's talk about before we get to our points of the week and conclude our message. Let's kind of talk about why adoption is such a uh crucial subject in scripture, because Israel is at the very center of this topic we're talking about. Now, Israel, that is God's that that is who he chose. And I, you know, I'm guilty growing up and like, well, why'd he choose Israel? Why did well because he's God, because he felt like it, because he can do what he wants to do and doesn't have to answer to anybody, let alone me. So I can be transparent and tell you what I've thought at some point in my life. Yet you might be thinking, well, why is Israel mentioned or why are they so prominent in God's word? What do they even have to do with the topic of adoption? I'm glad you asked. Think of Israel figuratively being God's firstborn nation. I mean, his covenant people. And in selecting Israel as recipient of God's grace and inheritance, their placement within God's family is eternally secure if they would have that offer. But guess what? All is not lost. So is our placement in God's family, it is just as secure. So to grasp our concept of adoption and how it relates to Israel and how it relates to us, we have to grasp our relationship to God through the blood of Jesus. That's us, versus Israel's covenant promise from God. And so, all non-Jewish lineages were biblically identified as Gentiles, and although Jesus was rejected by his very own, salvation has been made available to me, you, and all that will simply believe on the only name able to save mankind. That is Jesus. This transaction conducted on Calvary's Hill, whereby Jesus offered himself as the only atoning sacrifice that God will accept for salvation. This now grants us the right to become God's children. And it is by God's grace alone that he chose to love and want me, you Gentiles,

Engrafted into God's Family

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and all that will come into Jesus and Him alone, we can now describe our adoption into God's family as being securely embedded or joined into his family. We're now united and rightly related to God via the blood of his only begotten son. And understand, not only have believers been adopted into God's family, but Jesus' blood has also think about this word. We have been engrafted into God's family. I don't know if a tattoo, that permanent stain, that's what I think of just now. But we have been engrafted into God's family, signifying that we are wanted and we will never be abandoned or deserted. Romans chapter 11, uh, verse 17 through 24, it gives us an exceptional metaphor for this symbolic engrafting into the family of God. Let's let's let's listen to this. Now, if some branches, Israel temporarily, if they have been broken off, and you, Gentiles, a wild olive shoot, you've been grafted into among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, that being God, don't boast over those branches that have been broken off. If you do, remember this you do not support the root, but the root God supports you and you're grafting in. You will say then, branches, Israelites, were broken off so that I could be grafted in, and that is correct. They were broken off because of unbelief, their rejection of Jesus. But you, Gentiles, you stand by faith. So don't be arrogant, but be afraid. Not in the context of fearing God, but in the context of if God did not spare the natural branches, Israel, he will certainly not spare you, Gentiles, either. So take notice, therefore, of the kindness and also of the severity of God. Severity to those Israelites who fail, but kindness to you, Gentiles. And if you continue in his kindness, you're good. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they, Israelites, do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. See, God does the grafting, okay? For if you, Gentiles, me, you, were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature, you were grafted into one that is cultivated. Here's God's promise: Israel is not lost. How much more readily will these, the natural branches, Israelites, be grafted back into their own olive tree? Wow. So understand, Israel will always be secure because of God's promise to them. But the joy in knowing that we, Gentiles, I have been grafted, attached, joined, fixed, adopted into God's family through the only root able to nourish the entire tree of connected branches, and it's not by any works, not by our wealth or ability that we might possess. When we realize we've been grafted in and it's got nothing to do with us, gratitude for such grace, it becomes imminent because we really start to understand that, man, in spite of me, God still wanted to engraft me or adopt me as his very own. Adopt you as his very own. You, me, Gentiles. No matter the race, the creed, the status, the position, or what the color is, there is no favoritism with God. He is no respecter of persons, and he desires to engraft everyone who places their trust in Jesus to adopt us into a secure, safe relationship with him. All nationalities. Revelation chapter 7, verses 9 through 10 convey this description of the innumerable number that God desires to become a part of his eternal family. Let's see what those verses say. I looked and I saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation, every tribe and people and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands, and they cried out in a loud voice, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, throne into the Lamb. Salvation comes through Jesus, and that is how we can be adopted, engrafted into God's family. So as I transition from our text and kind of get ready to give us some thoughts to think about for the week. If you have yet to respond to God's incredible offer, he wants to adopt and engraft you into his family for the eternal plan that he has specifically for you. If you've ever felt abandoned, if you've ever felt not wanted, you don't belong, it seems like you felt deserted or been deserted, maybe even cast out, displaced, banished for whatever reason, persecuted because of the color of your skin or your nationality. Be encouraged. God still has plans for us, even in the midst of everything that's going on nowadays. Jeremiah 29 and 11 confirmed this. Israel, back then, when they were punished due to sin, it's not like God jumped in immediately. He told them, get comfortable where you are, have family, so on and so forth. But don't forget, I know the plans that I have for you. I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you a future, and to give you a hope. And since God has a glorious plan, a glorious future and hope set aside for each of his children. Remember, we're heirs of God. We're co-heirs with Jesus. Well, now we can progress towards this future glory, but along the way, we'll encounter turbulence of suffering, affliction, all of that that life will bring us. But remember, afflictions, trials, and failures in our lives, it doesn't mean we lose our relationship with God. We have been engrafted, we are not being removed. God is not deserting us or tossing us away. Okay, so 2 Corinthians 4 and 17, any affliction that we go through is considered light and momentary, but it's producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. Troubles, affliction, they won't last always. But guess what? Our membership in God's family will. If we simply accept his adoption offer, which signifies how much he wants us in his family. So understand, we are loved, we are wanted by God. And so the question that I prayerfully ask you to consider is this if you're listening to this or if you're watching the broadcast, have you responded to God's offer of adopting you through Jesus

Reflections on Adoption

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Christ? Here are some other reflections I want us to think about as we prepare to close. When was the last time we approached a person? And I'm talking about anybody within your circle of influence. It might be family, your job, um, wherever. When was the last time we saw them appear distraught? We saw them sad. They just weren't themselves that day. They could be somebody you don't even know. But when was the last time when we watched somebody like that? When was the last time we approached that person to offer them encouragement, to offer them relief, to offer them a listening ear, even if it meant adopting and inviting them into our space? Here's another reflection. Do you know anyone personally that has been adopted or placed within a foster home, or you've had foster children? Thinking of them, how often do we consider how God feels about them? Psalm 27 and 10 says, even if mother and father desert me, God will hold us close. Somebody that's been put in a foster system or taken away, they've been in a sense deserted. Have we ever thought about how God feels about them? And would this change how we would interact with or even treat them? And the last reflection is have we considered that neglecting to respond to God's desire to have a personal relationship with us through Jesus alone, that is just like rejecting the very creator that made the creator. That's exactly what it's like. That's something that we must always keep before us. God has predestined that we are only here for a certain amount of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. And when that predestined moment arrives for us to depart this earth, we'd better make sure we're in right standing with God and not a branch broken off. But Jesus is securely in my heart at Lord, know you, N-O, know God, NO. But if I know you, Kno, I know God. This is your moment right now because we have a new identity in Christ from slaves and oh my gosh, the fear of the law. I'm a slave to sin. I we are now sons and daughters of the living God. The Holy Spirit equips us now to live our faith out. The Holy Spirit is the only. Reason I'm sitting before Mike right now to you giving the gospel, the word. I can't do that in and on my own. In my abilities, I have no inherent ability to do that. It is being the empowerment. That's the empowerment within me of God's Holy Spirit equipping me to do what I'm doing now. God has something for you to do just as well. Whether it's preach, whether it's just as a believer, God equips us to live out our faith boldly without always running back to old patterns of sin, fear, and bondage. We got this personal relationship when we do fall now. Abba, please help me. It's a personal relationship with God. I need your help. We don't have to fear approaching him. I go to God like, Lord, it's me. Please help me. No matter what, you still call me your child. I'm not bound by a spirit of fear. We don't have to be. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live confidently as children of God. He's not tossing us away. We are heirs to his promises, and this should influence how we live temporarily right here on earth, and then eternally when our exit dates approach. Do you have a relationship with ABBA, father, daddy, through Jesus Christ? If not, this is your moment. I'd like for you to just simply pray with me. It doesn't take anything, and we call these the ABCs of the gospel, the simplicity of the gospel. So the prayer is right now, if you decide to pray with me, you want this relationship with God. He's not some mean granddaddy waiting to hit you over the head when you mess up, but you want this personal, I'm approaching him anytime, anywhere, because that's my daddy. Father, that's Abba. Pray this prayer with me. Father God, in the name of Jesus Christ, I come to you and I admit, Lord, I fall short every single day. I am a sinner. I accept that. I acknowledge that. But Lord, I believe in my heart the promise you made me. Jesus took care of my sin debt, my failure of meeting the demands of your holy law. I believe when you said Jesus alone did that for me. And since I believe it, I'm gonna now confess that I belong to you through Jesus alone. There's nobody else that can do that. But Jesus did that for me. I will now go forth. I'll confess that with my life, with my mouth, with my actions, with my interactions with those that might still be detached from your family. Broken off. Lost. You've given me purpose now. And since, Lord, you have saved me at this moment, I don't have to be a slave to the law. It is you that will perfect all that concerns me. Every weakness, every issue I have, you will complete the good work that you started in me this day. And it is in the name of Jesus that I believe it to be so. That's why we say amen.

Closing Prayer and Book Announcement

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Well, listener and viewer, that's it for another episode of Words of Life, or should I say, another broadcast sermon of Words of Life, whether you're watching it or if you're just listening to the audio right here on the podcast. Before we get out of here, again, I would like to kind of tell you we're a bit excited about what God is doing, just allowing us to take the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout nations. That is a blessing. I am not worthy, but God has chosen me and put me on earth to do just that. Tell you that there's only one way to God, and it is through Jesus. We're grateful for that. And our excitement extends to our first book, the first book that Holy Spirit has given me to write. It is called Navigating Life. Uh, and you can get it anywhere. Books are sold. You can get it for your tablets, you can get it for your phones if you like a manual copy. Uh, I like manual copies, so I'm studying the book as well as if I didn't write it, because in writing it, Holy Spirit gave it to me, but now I'm backtracking, studying it, and I like highlighting and writing notes in it. And so you can get a manual copy by ordering it at our bookstore on our webpage, uh words of life with pastormark.com, or uh books by slash pastormark uh d Ingram. And or is it Pastor Mark Ingram? I'm not sure. Just put books.by uh or Google it and uh the book will come up. I know that you can get it at Barnes and Noble, um, Google Play. Um, you can also get it at Amazon, anywhere that the book is sold. We're excited about navigating life, and our prayer is that you get that copy as well to walk along with us, use it as a devotional, a Bible study group. Um, shout out to those in Germany. Uh, we kind of get a report every week, and shout out to my Germany uh listeners in Christ. Uh, you have done a blessed thing to my heart because when I saw that report last week, uh, our listeners in Germany have accepted uh navigating life and for you to purchase the book. My wife and I, we are so grateful for you. And now my producers, now my producer is rolling up, which means I gotta get out of here. He's giving me that. Let's go, keep it going, let's go. I'm gonna do that. Our our song of the week coming up is literally entitled Your Child. We hope you enjoy it. And until next time, same podcast, same broadcast, but most importantly, it all comes through the same words of life, God's word. We thank you, we bless you, but most importantly, in Jesus' name, we love you dearly. We look forward to seeing you again soon, okay? God bless. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

But I've got some drama with problems. I know I got some issues with you told me that I can't wait. Sometimes when they know I'm just a faith. But I have no excuse, cause you know everything I don't say.