04.10.11 - Love the Sojourner

love the sojourner, for you were sojourners

David VanAcker, Pastor of Discipleship

Grace Church, Sunday Worship

Deuteronomy 10:12-19

April 10th, 2011

Deuteronomy 10:12-19 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? ¹⁴ Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. ¹⁵ Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. ¹⁶ Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. ¹⁷ For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. ¹⁸ He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. ¹⁹ Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Disclaimer

This sermon is more autobiographical than any other sermon that I’ve given. However, if it seems like this sermon is mainly about me or my family then either I’ve done a bad job presenting it or you’ve simply missed what I’m really getting at.

Let me be really clear about what this sermon is meant to be about: the gospel. The main thrust of this sermon is that right at the heart of the gospel is the doctrine of adoption. This message is meant to highlight that and to show how God has used the knowledge of this to change our lives in the hopes that Grace Church would be encouraged and challenged to think, act, and feel biblically about the gospel generally and adoption specifically.

our adoption story

I imagine that most of you know by now that Gerri and I are in the final stages of adopting a little girl from Colombia named Gabriela. Gabi is three years old and has lived in an orphanage all her life.

I asked Pastor Daniel if I could preach right before we leave to get Gabi because I’d like to share a few things that God has taught us during this process.

I’d like to start by sharing a bit of our story.

Since I have known Gerri (and even before), she has possessed and expressed a desire to adopt. Gerri has said that God used three main things to burden her for adoption: 1) Her love for God; 2) The knowledge that He loves “the least of these”; and 3) The recognition that He had given her gifts and desires to help those that can’t help themselves.

When I asked her about the origin of her burden to adopt, Gerri said, “All I really remember was early on in high school praying about my choice of major for college and feeling a strong desire to love, pray for, and care for orphans and kids with disease or disability that no one else would want and thinking that, because of the Holy Spirit, I could handle it because my source of strength was not my own. I knew that I wanted to choose nursing because of this and because I wanted to be a mom. I also remember seeing lots of pictures of kids/orphans from my parent’s mission trips to Haiti.”

While I was never opposed to the idea, I certainly did not share Gerri’s enthusiasm or burden for adoption initially. If I’m being totally honest/vulnerable (which I think will be most helpful here), the sad truth is that in the beginning I liked being able to say that we were interested in adoption (and maybe still a bit even today—I’m a prideful person) without any real intention to adopt (which is obviously no longer the case).

Over the next few years we began to have biological children—all of which also seemed to flow from my wife’s burden before my own. Before Jeremiah was born I remember thinking, “This is nice but overwhelming. I’m OK if we stop here.” After Jeremiah was born I remember thinking, “This is nice but overwhelming. I’m OK if we stop here.” I thought the same thing after Daniel and Anna were born too. But God was using this time to cut out a good deal of sinfulness in my heart. He seemed to focus on my selfishness, worldly view of family, and impatience.

Throughout this nine year span God made Gerri increasingly burdened to adopt. As the years went by she began to mention it more and more. Working as a nurse with pediatric clients that were in foster care drew Gerri’s attention to the fact that there are many, many kids waiting for families.

Then, after Anna was born, God began working on my mind and heart in a noticeable way. I could tell that my attitude toward adoption was changing (even if very slowly at first).

There are a few things that I’m aware of that God used to catch my attention.

1. The knowledge that Gerri and I probably wouldn’t have any more biological children because of how hard Gerri’s pregnancies and deliveries were on her body.

2. The relationship between Jeremiah and Daniel as brothers.

3. The realization that our kids were getting older.

4. A growing maturity in my faith.

While God did use each of these first four things to change my heart toward adoption, they seemed to be more about tilling up the soil of my mind and heart rather than working specifically on adoption. The next six, however, had surgical precision.

5. The prayers of Gerri.

6. God’s providence.

7. The book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan.

8. The book “Adopted for Life” by Russell Moore.

9. The faith of our kids. At one point, a few weeks into praying through whether or not we could handle adopting a child with such serious medical issues, Jeremiah said to me, “There’s a little girl who’s sick and needs a home; I don’t get it, what’s taking so long?”

10. The Holy Spirit working through Scripture. Russell Moore’s book served as a remarkable guide through the Scriptures.

I’d like to share with you now some of the ideas in Scripture that God used to change my mind and heart regarding adoption.

Adoption in Scripture

Again, a significant part of God’s working on me regarding the practice of adoption involved helping me to understand the doctrine of adoption in Scripture. There seems to be three main lines of thinking in Scripture regarding adoption. Let’s spend a few minutes looking at each.

1. God is great and so He defends the vulnerable.

Consider for a moment how most Americans relate to the vulnerable as they increase in power. At best, as we move up in social status and power we tend to use that influence and authority to distance ourselves from the vulnerable. As we make more money we move to homes further and further away from the vulnerable. As we have kids, we send them to schools largely based on how few vulnerable families are in them. And, as we refine our social or recreational lives we tend to do so in such a way that all but eliminates the possibility of encountering the vulnerable.

At worst, however, we use it to further oppress the weak.

I’ll leave it up to each of you to work out how much different most Christians are.

What I want you to see in contrast, however, because of its prominence and plainness in Scripture, is that the most powerful being in the universe never uses His power to oppress the weak. Instead, His might is thrust forward in defense of the weak. The amount of times that God expresses concern for the fatherless (or orphans), the widow, and the sojourner (alien, foreigner, immigrant, stranger) in Scripture is absolutely remarkable.

Exodus 22:22-24 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, ²⁴ and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Deuteronomy 27:19 "'Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

Psalm 10:17 - 11:1 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear ¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 68:4-5 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! ⁵ Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Psalm 146:9 The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Additionally, over and over in Isaiah and Jeremiah, for instance, God rebukes the Israelites for their sins; particularly their sin of failing to defend the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:12-17; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 5:28; Jeremiah 7:5-7; see also Malachi 3:5). So not only is God committed to protecting the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner, He is also committed to punishing those who do not.

One of the first things that I began to see in a new light is how the greatness and power of God is often directed at defending the weak (especially the fatherless) in Scripture. God has a unique love and burden for those who cannot look out for and defend themselves.

2. God is great and so He made us His children.

The simple story of the bible is that God created Adam and Eve to be in fellowship with Him, to be His children, and to share in the blessings of His presence and bounty. However, rather than receive this fellowship and accept this blessing, Adam and Eve chose, on behalf of all mankind for all time, to reject God as their Father and to unite themselves with the Serpent, the Evil One and the death that is his inheritance.

However, because of His great love for His people and His glory, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us, children of the Devil, and to adopt us as His own, and to share in His inheritance as His sons.

The second main Scriptural line of thinking regarding the adoption of orphans is that it reminds us of what God does for us by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ: He adopts us! Consider the following famous “adoption” passages in Ezekiel, John, Galatians, and Romans.

Ezekiel 16:4-14 "As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. ⁵ "No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. ⁶ "When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' ⁷ "I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall, and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. ⁸ "Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord God. ⁹ "Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ "I also clothed you with embroidered cloth, and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ "And I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace around your neck. ¹² "I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴ "Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord God.

This passage is directly about the Israelites. However, it is also about all of us who are born into sin and depravity. We were, in a spiritual sense, fatherless. We were helpless. While we had no hope God chose us to save us. He adopted us.

John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, ¹³ who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

This is the heart of the gospel: When we receive God by faith, not by our wills, but by the will of God, He adopts us. He makes us His children.

Romans 8:14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness 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 in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

Galatians 4:4-7 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Scripture teaches the good news that through faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted by God into the family of God. One of the most remarkable aspects of the gospel is that God does not merely regenerate (make us spiritually alive) and justify us (declare us to be “not guilty”); even though these would be absolutely awesome and undeserved all by themselves. He also adopts us (gives us all the rights and privileges that we would expect as sons and daughters of the King of kings).

The second Scriptural understanding that God drove deep into my mind and heart is the fact that adoption is at the center of the gospel! That is, we cannot understand the gospel if we don’t understand the doctrine of adoption.

3. God is great and so we should follow His example in adoption.

This brings us to the title and main text of the sermon and one of the most prominent aspects of adoption in Scripture: God is great and so we should follow His example in adoption. Consider the following verse:

Moses and God’s people had been miraculously set free from Egyptian rule by the mighty hand of God, but had yet to enter the Promised Land. They had received the Ten Commandments, made the golden calf, and were teetering back and forth in their obedience and worship (between God and other gods). In this context Moses delivered the plea that we just read.

Notice with me three things from this text:

Moses calls the Israelites to stop teetering. He calls them to fear, follow, love, serve, and obey God alone. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?…Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (10:12-13, 16). Moses called the Israelites to declare their allegiance to the one True God.
He calls them to do this because of how great God is. “Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it…For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God” (10:14, 17).

Because God is great, greater than all things, WORSHIP HIM ALONE!, Moses says.

You want proof that God is great, Moses asks. As evidence of God’s greatness, or as an example of how God’s greatness plays itself out in practical ways, Moses lists two things:

First he points out that God chose the Israelites to be His people. “The LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day” (10:15). God’s greatness is shown in the fact that He chose the Israelites, they did not choose Him.

Second, in order to demonstrate the greatness of God, Moses describes how God deals with the vulnerable: “[God] is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing” (10:17b-18). God’s greatness is, once again expressed in His concern for the helpless.

God calls the Israelites to worship Him alone because of how great He is.

Two key aspects of declaring allegiance to God alone are 1) remembering that we were once helpless; and 2) therefore loving the helpless.

Again, the Israelites are called to remember their condition before God rescued them (helpless, hopeless, homeless, mistreated, oppressed, defenseless, slaves). “For you were sojourners in the land of Egypt”. And the Israelites were to respond by loving those whom God loves and doing what God does. “Love the sojourner, therefore…” (10:19).

God commands the Israelites, remember what you were before I rescued you. Remember how I rescued you with no thought of gain for myself—you had nothing to offer me, you had nothing that I wanted. Remember how I rescued you and do the same to others. Remember the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. RESCUE THEM LIKE I RESCUED YOU! PROTECT THEM LIKE I PROTECTED YOU! CALL THEM INTO YOUR FAMILY LIKE I CALLED YOU INTO MINE!

We see this again in Deuteronomy 24:17-18, "You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, ¹⁸ but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

…and in…

Deuteronomy 24:19-22, "When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²² You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

…and in several other passages like these.

God is great. Because God is great he defends the weak and helpless. Chief among the weak and helpless are the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner. These three terms describe all humanity apart from the grace of God in the cross of Christ. In a spiritual sense, we were ALL fatherless, we were ALL widowed, and we were ALL wanderers and strangers. And yet, God adopted, betrothed, and rescued all of us who those who are trusting in Him alone. Those who trust in God alone then, because He is great and because He has saved us, must also love and defend the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner.

Coming to this realization at a heart level was remarkably convicting to me. And one of the primary ways that God changed my mind and heart regarding adoption.

The rest of the story, Current status, thanks, and Prayer

So, after using these several instruments to shape and fashion me to give me a mind more like His, at the end of October (28^th) last year I was finally brought to the point where I was willing to surrender the last (or so I thought) of the idols that were keeping me from a willingness to join my wife in following Jesus to the orphans.

In November we began to contact different adoption agencies. And then, on November 17^th, we heard about Gabi through a friend. For Gerri this was obviously from God. For me, it felt as if each time that I took a step toward Jesus He would move two further steps ahead. We found out that Gabi had a pretty severe heart condition as well as what the doctors called, “global developmental delays”. This felt like one of those “If-you-follow-Jesus-you’re-going-to-end-up-naked-in-Africa” moments.

It seemed as if there were a few more idols left in my heart.

Over the next five weeks we took the time to pray, think and find out all that we could about Gabriela. We were able to discuss her medical needs with several doctors. We sought council from several friends as well as our extended family. We were able to discuss any questions we had about her health and immediate needs as well as future possibilities. Throughout this process, we received nothing but encouragement, positive feedback, and strong support from those whose council we sought.

It was also during this time that our DG was reading Crazy Love, I was reading Adopted for Life, and Jeremiah decided to drop the whole, “There’s a little girl who’s sick and needs a home; I don’t get it, what’s taking so long?” line on me.

It was also during this time that God seemed to providentially string one thing together after another: From the content of our devotions to conversations that we’d have with friends, to finances to…It quickly became obvious that God’s hand was in this.

So, after one last day of prayer and fasting, we all agreed that we wanted to move forward. We sent our letter of intent to the orphanage formally letting them know that we wanted to adopt Gabi!

This brings us to today.

Currently, we are waiting on our adoption agency to get the last of the paperwork from the orphanage where Gabi is living in order to send our last form. This form will go to the U.S. immigration office for provisional approval from the U.S. government. Once approved, the paperwork will be sent to the Colombian government for the final approval. At that point we’ll be notified that we’re able to travel to Colombia.

When we get to Colombia we’ll have a few court appointments, we’ll get to see the orphanage where Gabi has been living, and Gabi will come live with us while we wait for the process to play out. In 4-6 weeks (on average) we’ll be called back to the court system to finalize the adoption. After a few days we’ll be allowed to return home with Gabi.

I want to close by thanking all of you for your remarkable support and by asking you to pray for us in some specific ways.

As we have moved through this process, thank you for:

1. Your prayers. Our great God is greatly pleased to work through the prayers of His saints. Thank you for interceding on our behalf throughout this process.

2. Your allowing us to go. When one pastor is gone that means that we’re losing half of our pastoral staff. This will put a bigger burden on many of you, especially the elders, and especially Pastor Daniel. We’re very grateful that you are allowing us to do this.

3. Your encouragement. More than simply allowing us to go, Gerri and I have not heard anything from this church short of outright enthusiasm. We have not heard one negative word.

4. Your giving. When it is all said and done this adoption will have cost us tens of thousands of dollars. We simply did not have the resources to do that on our own. God has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined through many of you. I don’t know what else to say. This is humbling and amazing.

As we continue to move through this process please pray:

1. Please pray that God would be glorified in this process and in Gabi’s inclusion in our family.

a. Pray that our adoption would highlight the gospel.

b. Please pray that we would trust in God above all things.

c. Please pray that we would engage in this process in a manner consistent with God’s Word.

2. Pray that our adoption of Gabi would be a blessing to Gabi.

a. That she would get and love and grow in the gospel.

b. That she would get the physical and emotional help that she needs.

3. Pray that our adoption of Gabi would be a blessing to our family.

a. That this adoption would help us to live by faith.

b. That this would begin a legacy of many generations of VanAckers defending the fatherless.

4. Pray that our adoption of Gabi would be a blessing to our church.

a. That this would help promote a culture of life at Grace.

b. That others would be willing to consider adopting and/or supporting adoption.

c. That we’d be able to keep the level of awareness up regarding the fatherless (and otherwise vulnerable) at Grace.