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Brother Ryan Gallagher, allowing me to have this opportunity to preach to everyone. Thank you so much for Pastor Thompson, for having this church here, and thank you so much, all of you, for being faithful members, and even though you're just starting out, we're all in the work together, serving God. Let's go ahead and delve right into this. Where I derived the title of this message is found in verse 14, and if you would, take a look down at your Bible. It says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption. Whereby we cry, Ah, the Father. The title of this message this afternoon is Hanai. The word Hanai in Hawaiian just simply means to be adopted. It also loosely translates to feed, but you can see how to feed someone. It's kind of to adopt someone, to take someone under your wing. Hanai in Hawaiian culture is very important and a very big aspect of our everyday living. A couple weeks ago, we heard Ryan speak on the subject of ohana. Ohana is family, and we know that family is a big part of our everyday living. But adoption is something that, in Hawaiian culture, a lot of people don't realize. If you walk around throughout your day, you may hear children coming up to you and say, Uncle, Auntie, can you help me with this? Can you grab that? Obviously not your biological children or niece or nephew, but they are giving you an endearing term. They're trying to treat you as if they're your own family. And that's just, you know, in the mainland or in the states, you may hear someone say, Mr. So-and-so or Mrs. So-and-so, could you help me with this or that? So it's just like I said, it's an endearing term, and it really blows my mind. As you study subjects in the Bible, how much they tend to pop out at you. The Bible is really a big book of so much doctrine that can be taught, so much information that can be popped out at you in any way, shape, or form. Let me start my timer really quick just to make sure. Okay. And, you know, for instance, when that Trinity debacle went down not too long ago, all of a sudden we're starting to study the Trinity more in our Bible, and it starts popping itself out on every page of the Bible. But not only that, I liken the Bible as a marriage book. You know, it's a book of the marriage. I mean, the very first thing in the Bible is God telling Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and for this God of man shall leave his father and mother, and leave with his wife these two shall be one flesh. We also see that at the very end, Jesus Christ marrying the bride of Christ, which is believers of all time. So the Bible is very big on all sorts of doctrine, but when you start studying a very specific doctrine on the subject of adoption, it starts popping itself out at you everywhere. Whether you know that or not, as you study your Bible throughout time, you're going to start seeing it more, and hopefully this afternoon, we can see that the Bible is very big on the family, and in families there is a situation where adoption occurs, and adoption before used to be a minority group, but as the world progresses, and as times get worse and worse, adoption is actually becoming more and more prevalent in everyday families. You know, husbands leaving wives, families breaking apart, there's a lot of dysfunction in marriage today, because they're not following after the commandments of God on marriage, but nevertheless, like I was saying, adoption occurs, and you know, it's truly that you can't really understand a subject until you've experienced it yourself. You know, I'm not adopted, so I cannot completely know what it's like to be adopted, but I will say this, that the Bible tells us all these answers, and when I got married, you know, all of a sudden, I started realizing what adoption is like, because let me ask anyone here, raise your hand if you know someone who is a family member, or you yourself are adopted, okay? Notice it's a bigger group nowadays, and of course, though our church is small, it used to be that this was a minority group, this was a phenomenon that didn't always happen, but nevertheless, as the time progresses, it's happening more and more, and we need to, as God's people, have grace towards this subject, and that's the first thing I want you to know. How should we view the subject of adoption? Well, we need to be sensitive to the subject, and like I said, before I was married, I had a friend or two that I knew who adopted, but we weren't too close, but being from Hawaii, I understand that this is kind of a part of Hawaiian culture and society, and when I got married, you know, my wife is adopted, and not only that, now I have a nephew who's adopted, so obviously, though I myself am not adopted, I can speak on behalf of those who are adopted, who don't always have a voice to speak on matters that they may want to or are able to, or don't know their Bible well enough to do this, so with that being said, when we approach the subject of adoption, we have a loved one, a friend, a relative, or something like that, we need to be sensitive to the subject, because I can't know what it's like to have children. I don't have children. Unmarried people don't know what it's like to be married. They're not married. Married people with children don't know what it's like to be grandparents, because they don't have grandchildren. Until you experience these things in your life, you kind of have to just take in information as necessary, check in with the Word of God, and make sure they're accurate, but with that being said, like I was saying, this subject is actually found pretty much everywhere throughout the Bible, and as I was studying it, it blows my mind how the Bible literally has the answers to every question in life. I'm not saying to the questions of a new, you know, the Bible teaches there's nothing new under the sun, so therefore everything is given to us of how we are to live our everyday lives. Number one, how should we approach the subject of adoption? We ourselves need to be sensitive to the subject. We need to have grace for those who are or are going through it. And number two, this is the first point that I want to bring up, or the second point I want to bring up, and that is, well, how does God view adoption? What does it matter what I think or what people think? How does God himself view the subject of adoption? And I will say this, that God has a very special place in his heart for adopted children, and I'm going to explain why more as this sermon goes on, that God really cares and loves for all the children of the world. Red, yellow, black, and white, they're all precious in his sight. Fatherless, motherless, parentless, or whatnot, God loves the children of this world. And we need to understand how God sees adoption. And turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy. While you turn to Deuteronomy, I'm going to read from you from Exodus 22. The Bible says in Exodus 22, 22, Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child, if thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry it all unto me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath shall rise hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children shall be fatherless. So God, like I said, has a very special place in his heart for children who don't have parents. Now, in this, it could arguably be said that this child is fatherless. It's not that he doesn't have a mother, because it is coupled with the widow. So a family who is a mom, dad, and a child, if that dad dies, that woman is not a widow. That child is now fatherless. But nevertheless, as we heard earlier, if a woman's spouse dies, if a woman's husband dies, she's relieved from the law of that marriage. She can decide to go marry someone else. And if she does, that child will be adopted by that future husband, if she decides to remarry in that sense, which there'd be nothing wrong with her to do so if her husband died. But even not completely, because like I said, some would say this isn't a child without parents. It is for sure a child without a father. And I could say that God looks out for children who are at least missing someone in their family, a parent in their family. I would even venture to say that the fatherless is not just someone without a dad, but also could be someone without parents. Because, look, it happens. You don't think that there are people out there who don't have parents. We all know that there are people whose parents have abandoned them, their children have been stolen from them, and so on and so forth. So God looks out for these children himself personally. And if you afflict one of these people who are fatherless or without parents, God's wrath is going to wax hot against you. So where you are in Deuteronomy 24, it says the same thing. If you would, look down at your Bible at verse 17. It reads, Thou shalt not prefer the judgment of a stranger, nor the fatherless, nor take a widow's raiment to pledge. But thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou cutest down the harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten the sheep in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the Lord thy God may be blessed thee in all thy work of thy hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of the vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command thee to do this thing. So like I said, God himself is actually caring for these children. We know that in the Old Testament law that God, and even in the New Testament, commanded the firstfruits of the harvest of your flock to be dedicated to the Levites because they did not get given an inheritance of a land possession, but rather they are dedicated to God. But after, and any person who's into farming or something like that knows that there are three major harvests in the plant. There's the firstfruits, and the Bible teaches this actually, that Jesus Christ, he himself is the firstfruit. It's the price, ripest fruit that come first. This is not a majority harvest. The second harvest is the bulk harvest, the majority of the plant itself. And that's when the Bible teaches that first, Christ at his first coming, then them, which are his at his second coming, and then comes the end. And this is what's known as the gleaning of the harvest. Gleaning is just simply that what was not taken from the first or second, and what's left over. And God told the people of Israel to leave the gleaning of the fields in your flocks, things like that, for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Because someone needs to care for these people. The husband died, the dad is gone, they don't have children. God himself will look out for these people and make sure they are well cared for, protected, fed, and so on and so forth. So how should we view the subject of adoption? We need to be sensitive. We should have grace. How does God view the subject of adoption? He's actually got a very special place in his heart for adopted people. And not only that, as Jesus said in the New Testament, you know, if you offend one of these little ones, it were better that a millstone were hung about thy neck, and you were cast into the sea. So if you're going to afflict, let alone a child who has a parent, a child who doesn't have a parent, it were better that a millstone were hung about your neck. And God himself says, I will kill you with the sword, and I'll make your wife a widow, and I'll make your children fatherless if you afflict them. So that's how God sees the subject of adoption. He's very critical on this subject, and we should be as well. Okay, I get it, David. We'll be sensitive to those who are. We'll be, you know, polite and graceful as we should to any of our neighbors, but more so to them because, like I said, I've not been adopted. I don't know what it's like, but you and I both know that children or people who have been adopted, they're, I mean, you've heard the saying, right? It's not the cards you're dealt, it's the way you play the game, right? And let's face the fact, if you're adopted, you're dealt a bad hand. You are at a handicap. You're at a disadvantage in life right off the gate. But nevertheless, even though that's it, you can still play the game and win the game of life through using the word of God and understanding what the Bible teaches on this subject. But with that being said, I now know what some people who are adopted feel. They have this empty void in their heart and in their soul because they feel like someone has abandoned them and they have abandonment issues and they feel very vulnerable and they're very sensitive and we need to be sensitive to them. But as we progress, I'm going to tell you this. If you are adopted, if you know someone who's adopted, I'm not faulting you for being, feeling bad and having discouragement, but you don't need to be discouraged. And we're going to explain why. With this being said, there are people who adopt children. And let me start out by saying this. There is nothing wrong with adopting children. As a matter of fact, this is a good thing, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about adoption. And like I was saying, as I studied my Bible, it really blew my mind how much the Bible has to talk on this matter and how it has all the answers to every question that anyone can ask on this subject or any subject. And on the subject of how we should go about adoption is number one, how not to go about adoption. And I believe strongly that the primary number one way to not go about adoption is through governmental means. I do not believe that the government should have any relation with the family. The government should have no attachment with the family. The government is absolutely wrong to be taking children from their family no matter what their case. And look, I understand that there are scenarios that are very extreme where people are abused, sexual abused, physically abused, and they're under a very horrible situation, but that does not give the government power and authority to go into a family and steal or take a child, as we see in the Bible teaches that if you steal a man or a person, you're a kidnapper. And the government is doing this every single day. But do you really think that in all the cases of adoption, they're doing it for the right reasons? Look, there's obviously a financial gain for a person to remain under child care. And look, I have loved ones in my family who work with CPS. So I know the inner workings of what's going on in the CPS, and they themselves don't necessarily know what they're up to. They think they're doing something good. But nevertheless, God teaches us that the government itself should have no means in the subject of adoption or the family at all. Well, how do you know this? What makes you say that? Well, before I go to Bible, let's just point out some random statistics. And let me just say this, when it came, I'm not the best at research. I'm not like some epic, like, statistic finder, and I can just be able to find any subject on anything online. I'm actually not the best at statistics. But with that being said, I cross-referenced a lot of statistics that I've seen. And I've noticed that if you look at the subjects that I'm about to bring up, it's drowned out by the CPS and the government sites. They don't want the truth on these matters to be revealed because it makes them look bad. They have a financial gain to keep children in their custody. And a good example of this is, for instance, how many children do you think die every year in either the foster or adoptive care, every year in America? And ultimately, every year, 1,600 children die from a foster or adoptive home. Now, you're saying, that's not that much, David, but this is 1,600 children who are under the care of their own family that the government took. And like I said, what if, when I was looking up these statistics, I had to cross-reference with so many other sources because there's no agency that's putting the task, the government's response, or what they're doing. Different states have different rules of how they go about the subject of once they let a kid go or they go into the foster care home system. Some children, if they get adopted, the CPS will stop getting involved in their life and they are no longer involved. Some follow on for two or five years. It all depends on the states. But of the children that die every year, one of the articles that I found was written by a lady who actually worked for an adoptive magazine source. And I forgot the name, but she got a lot of flak for making a blog post revealing the light on the truth of what's going on, of how many children die. And this 1,600 children that I found, they say would probably be a third, a fraction of what's really going on. It's just the ones that are being reported because those that aren't being reported, it's like no one's checking the government and saying, what about that one child that got sent off to so-and-so? Well, we don't keep in touch with them anymore. So if that child died, that's not added to the statistics. So they're drowning out the numbers of how many children die every year from foster or adoptive care. Well, let me tell you this. How many children do you think are molested sexually from a foster or adoptive home? Now, ultimately, the numbers that I found that were best, most accurate were about 6,500 children in the last 12 years have been molested by either a foster home or an adoptive home. That doesn't seem like that much. 12 years, that's a long time. Well, if you do the math, that's 540 children each year that have been molested by someone that stole them and stuck them in a new home, and then that person abused that child. What did they do wrong? They did nothing wrong. So therefore, and of these 540, 50% of them are known, professed sodomites. Not saying they're sacred sodomites. They're just known to be, before they let the child go into that home, they professively said, we are sodomites. We want these children. 50% of them. What about the ones who aren't professed to be sodomites? And that's what I'm saying. When you look at the HIV statistics, right, we understand that so many people a year have HIV. And why is it that 2% of the population make up more than half of the HIV rates, half of the molestation of children in foster care and adoptive care? This is what I'm trying to say, that the government has no dealings in the subject of the family, because children are being victimized in and of itself. Not the parents, not these foster people, but these pedophiles are the ones who are destroying these children's lives. We know that sodomites are not reproducers. They'll be trying to recruit and destroy lives as they go out. But what else? You know, how many children get reunited with their families, would you say? Because they always tell you in these foster care homes, or in the foster care system, that the primary number one goal is to reunite the child with either mom, dad, or someone in the family. And I have a personal testimony going through this, and that's how I even looked into this subject, because it actually happened to me. Like I was saying earlier, my nephew himself is adopted, but before I go into that, about 70% of adult adoptive children, after they've left the home, 70% of them are trying to find or look for their biological family. Does that tell us that those children that were taken, 70% of them want to be with their family. They don't have a voice in the matter. The government makes the decision for them, and the government did have no dealings in this matter. And this is why we need to stand strong on what the Bible teaches on this. But before I show you that, my personal testimony that I myself have gone through, my nephew, my youngest, full-blooded sister's first son, was ultimately taken from her at birth. She has had problems, she broke some laws, she broke some rules, the child was taken from her. Number one, that's absolutely wrong from the perspective of God, but the government did it, nevertheless, no worries. At that point, a family took on my nephew from birth, and that's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with someone trying to take on a child, that's a good thing in and of itself. But mind you, my wife and I are in Arizona at the time, and we're keeping in contact with my mom and my other siblings and saying, Hey, how's our nephew? How's he doing? Well, grandparents on the dad's side, they're planning on adopting him. Why not? He's in the family. Though they're not married, my sister and the baby's daddy, it's going to be in his family. That's his parents, that's his dad, the grandparents want him, praise the Lord, that's good, whatever. You know, as the year goes by in Arizona, I'm not talking to my parents every week, I'm calling them probably every major holiday, once every three months. And the subject of my nephew is getting brought up every time, but every now and again, how's my nephew? He's doing good. The foster people are doing fine, he's growing, things are going good. Cool, right on. Next thing you know, I get a call from my mother saying, you know, FYI, your nephew is being up for adoption from those people who had to come on into the foster care system. And I said, Whoa, wait a second, what happened to the grandparents taking him on? Well, they decided they didn't want to do it. And I don't, you know, I said to myself, okay, well, he's in our family, and someone in our family needs to take the child. And that is what the government always says they want to do. Priority number one is to keep them in the family. Got it. Once this was found out, you know, my wife approached me and said, Is any of your siblings going to do something about this? No. My mom couldn't do anything about it. No. So therefore, I said, we have to take this upon ourselves and keep this child in our family. Because that is what if I had a son or a daughter and I were to be incarcerated, murdered or whatever, I hope someone in my family would take on my child. And we're going to see that that's what the Bible actually teaches. But nevertheless, once it was found out that my wife and I wanted to take on my nephew, the people who have looked to adopt him, lawyered up and they got all defensive and they're like, Wait a second, who are you Johnny come lately? You know, we've been raising this kid for the last year and a half, almost two years and there you are come out of nowhere. Look, I was in Arizona trying to serve the Lord. I was under the impression that he was going to be raised by his grandparents. Next thing you know, they're going to go adopt him. Okay, no worries. We had this Ohana Conference, which is a conference to dictate what's going to happen with the life of my nephew. And once they found out who my wife and I were, we're like, Hey, you know, before he gets taken up by these people, we would be considered willing to adopt him. And they actually went, fine, that's that's a good thing. And the adoptive parents outside of that, we called them after the conference and told them like, Hey, you know, we're not coming to attack you. We care for our nephew. And I understand, look, they've been raising it for the last year and a half. And when people take on a child, there's a bond there, you know, and I don't fault them for wanting to keep them. But at the same time, if you want what's truly best for the child, because we saw the statistics said earlier, 70 percent of adult adoptive people are trying to find their biological family. If you genuinely are looking for what's the best interest of this child and you know that a family member wants to adopt him, and you still take him, then you're not right. And these people are professing to be Christians, by the way. My wife's grandmother wanted to adopt her. Wasn't allowed. I wanted to adopt my nephew. Wasn't allowed. And there are so many other testimonies and stories of family members who take on the nephew or the niece or something, the grandchild or whatever. And the government says you need to meet our standards. Fine. What are your standards? Well, I'm not going to go into the long stupidity of what they deem to be acceptable. But you have to go through a parenting class, a fostering school. And mind you, it ain't easy. They're trying to make you jump through flaming hoops to abide by their rules and regulation, which don't come from the Bible, mind you. Do you think our government is trying to follow the Bible and what the Bible teaches is right for the family? No, they've created their own system, and it's a horrible, wicked, atheistic system. And with that being said, before we started the parenting classes and the fostering thing, the social worker approached us and they said, what are the two absolutes that you will never allow us to have this child? And they said no physical contact of any sort. And I said, I can't abide by that. The Bible commands that if you love a child, you will not spare him the rod, but you will spare his soul from hell. So I told them, I can't do that. Look, I have other nephews and I spank them when they come over because I love them. I don't want what I want them to be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So therefore, if they do something wrong, I'm going to spank them. And we know here in Hawaii, spanking happens. OK, I'm sure some of you spank your nephews or grandchildren. That's how it is. It's just like I'm saying, absolutely no physical contact whatsoever. I can't agree to that. OK, what's another thing? They said, well, you have them. They have to go to vaccination. I said, I can't abide by that either. The Bible teaches that I'm not going to stick poison into the child that may potentially make his immune system stronger, but potentially could give him Alzheimer's or dementia or mental problems. I'm not going to put his life at risk. So when I explain this to the social worker, my wife and I. You know, I could tell she's looking at us like, well, you guys are radicals. You know, you're not going to vaccinate your child. And you think spanking your child is is bad. Well, or is it is a good thing. And she understood where we stand. And look, take Christianity out of the picture for a second. OK, a Buddhist family has a child up for adoption. You know, Buddhists have their ways of life and what they think deemed to be acceptable. And they live an ascetic lifestyle or separated. They like to detach themselves from material things. And they fast often and things like that. And even a Buddhist wouldn't be allowed to adopt a child because the government would say, well, you guys are trying to detach yourself from the world. That's not best for what's for the child. And look, I don't agree with what the Buddhist philosophy is, but they should have the right to raise their own biological children. That's what I believe. So with all that being said, apparently the law used to be in the social worker explained this to me, that while he's under foster care, because first you have to go through the foster system before you adopt a child. While he's under the foster system, he's technically a property in a sense of the state. And you can't vaccinate him at that time. You can't spank him at that time. Once you adopt him, he's your child. He's your son. You can do what you seem deemed best for that child. And you know, we agreed to that. We said, you know what? Fine. Because usually fostering takes about two to five years, depending on how many T's and I's you've docked and crossed and things like that. But nevertheless, in the best case scenario, it would be about a two year process to go through the foster system. Fine. We won't physically spank him and we will vaccinate him in those two years. Got it. She then brought this information to her boss, her higher up, and the boss knew what we were up to. They knew like, well, once they adopt him, they're going to just spank him anyways and they're going to not vaccinate him. So you know what? No, we're not going to allow this. And ultimately we were denied the right to adopt my nephew. And like I said, we can attest to so many other people's testimonies where they were denied rights because of vaccination, spanking and who names matter. Whatever the matter is, the government should have no dealing with who is allowed in the family to adopt the child. And these foster or these adoptive parents, when we were on the phone with them, they told us, you know, we like you guys. We think you're good people, but you know, we think we're better. So it's like, you know, like I said, if you want what's best for this child, then you're going to allow what he wants, but he's the child. Well, 70 percent of adoptive children are trying to find their family. And one day, look, you're going to be an adult a lot longer than you're a child. So when you're adopting a child, you're adopting an adult, you're not going to be in your life forever. So therefore, in the longevity of a child's life, they should be near, around and with family. Well, how do you know this outside of those statistics and these things that you've been through personally? What does God say on the matter? Turn, if you would, to Exodus 2. On the subject of God's perspective of the government going through the adoptive program, it's found in Exodus 2. The only example that we see, the government being involved in the life of a child who's adopted is found in Exodus 2. But Moses himself, we know Moses was not raised or brought up with his biological family. And the Bible teaches us that right here, if you would, look down at chapter 2, verse 5 reads, And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the riverside. And when she saw the ark of one of the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. And she had compassion on him and said, this is one of the Hebrew's children, let's pause there really quick. Was there something wrong with Pharaoh's daughter for taking on Moses? Is that a horrible, wicked thing for her to do? Because she had compassion on the child. If it were up to the government, Moses was going to be killed. She wasn't like a horrible reprobate as Pharaoh himself was, trying to kill the firstborn of the children of Israel. She looked at this baby and said to herself, like, we need to help this baby, we should care for it. She didn't do the wrong thing, she did the right thing, but there's still a way to go about it. And she tried to go about it the right way. She's in a system. She was doing what she thought was right. Let's keep reading. Then, verse 7, Then said his sister, this is Moses' sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go, look in the main way, and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son, Pharaoh's daughter. And she called his name, Moses, and said, because I drew him out of the water. So, like I said, she tried to go about this the right way, like, well, here's a Hebrew woman. This is of his kin. This is of his people. Maybe one of you can nurse it. But nevertheless, if she were to leave that child with them, they were going to put it to death. So she took him as his own, as his own son, and raised Moses. She tried to do the right thing. She tried to put the child in the care of his own family. But she knew that if she left him there, they were going to kill him. So therefore, she paid Moses' mother to nurse him. And I bet Moses' mother had so much just joy to know that not only could she nurse and care for her own child at those first two years, but to know that he's going to be safe and alive for the rest of his life. And we know that the Bible, you know, it turned a few into Hebrews. Hebrews 11. That Moses himself, though he were raised in Pharaoh's daughter's home, I don't think Moses paid Pharaoh's daughter. I think he loved her. I'm almost certain he probably was a very good child and he probably served his mother and was a good child to her and really cared for her. And like I said, I'm sure Pharaoh's daughter loved Moses. But nevertheless, just as we see in the statistics, outside of that, the Bible itself tells us that Moses would have rather himself than raised with his own people. Well, how do you know that, David? Look down at your Bible, you would, in Hebrews 11, verse 23, it reads, Let us, oh wait, I'm in the wrong passage. It says, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child, and they were afraid of the king's commandment. By faith, when he came to years, so he's older, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sins for a season. Moses himself, though his mother probably loved him, though he probably loved Pharaoh's daughter, chose rather to suffer the affliction. And he chose not to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He would have rather been raised by his own people, by his own family. And this is why the government, the only example, we see the government in the meddling of adoption is a bad example. Number one, the wrong way to go about adoption is to go through the government. If you do go through the government and you go to take on a child, because there's nothing wrong with someone trying to take on a child, you need to make sure yourself that that child has no one in their family who is willing to take them on themselves. Because if you're right with God, you're going to say, though I want a child, this child, what's best and right for him is that he's with his own family. And that's my second point that I'm going to go into. We found out the wrong way, what's the right way to go about adoption. I believe the right way to go about adoption is through the family. The government says that's what they want, but they don't honor it. So with that being said, primary number one option for any child in any family to be adopted should be with the family. Grandma, grandma, cousin, other cousin, aunt, uncle, whoever can and is willing and able. And outside of that, it should be the option that the mom or the dad gets the chance to raise their own child. Because even with the situation of my nephew, I'm not saying they should have taken my nephew from my sister. Though I will say she's doing wrong things, what if the only thing that was going to keep my sister sane was to be able to raise her own child. What if that would have been the only thing keeping her intact and connected and then they stripped that from her. So you know, we got to realize that taking a child from their biologicals is a horrible, wicked thing. So we, the right way to go about adoption is through the family. Turn if you would to the Book of Esther. And like I said, it just blows my mind as I was studying the subject how every angle I could find, it's literally got an answer for it. And the Bible teaches us the right way to go about adoption. And before I go into that, one last thought I want to leave on the subject of Moses himself. Because here's the thing, Moses was a great man of God, one of the greatest men in the Old Testament, one of the greatest men in the Bible. One of the most mentioned names in the whole Bible was Moses himself. And like I was saying earlier, children are adopted, tend to be introverted, they tend to be broken spirited, broken hearted, they feel a little, you know, abandoned. They feel they feel a little separated in that sense because they don't think a lot of people can experience what they've been through. But what does it say about Moses? The Bible says in Numbers 12-3, it says, Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which was upon the face of the earth. Maybe he was meek because he was adopted. Maybe he had a lowly view of himself because he thought to himself, you know, I'm in a messed up situation, but because he was willing to be meek, God exalted him in due time. And God can exalt any child who is adopted as he did to Moses. Not only that, as we're about to see also with Esther. Number one, you need to have grace to the subject. Number two, God has a special place in his heart for adopted children. Number three, the wrong way to go about it is through governmental means. There are private industries that adopt children that you don't need to go through a government. There are private entities that adopt children as well. Even if you go through the government, you need to make sure you're doing it the right way. Number four, the right way to go about it is through your family. And Esther is a good example of that. You're in Esther too, right? Look down at your Bible at verse five. It reads, Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jer, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which he had been carried away with Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter. So his uncle's daughter and his cousin. He took on his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful, whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. So this is the right way we see someone going through adoption. Mordecai, the cousin of Esther, when it was found out that Esther's parents died, took her on to be his own daughter. And what can we learn from this? Well, number one, Esther, if you're adopted, I don't, like I said, I can't completely know what this was like. But I do have a stepdad in my life, and I know that the Bible teaches that the first commandment with promise is to honor your father and mother in the Lord. This is the first commandment with promise. That Esther, though she was dealt a bad hand, played the game right. She honored and respected and obeyed Mordecai. Though it was not her dad, it was her cousin, Mordecai had compassion and cared and took up Esther to be his own daughter. How do you know Esther was a good child? Well, look at, if you would, at verse 19, it says, And when the virgins were gathered together the second time that Mordecai sat in the king's gate, Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai like as when she was brought up with him. So even though she was adopted, she respected Mordecai. She treated Mordecai as her own dad and did what Mordecai told her. And like, you know, at the time, Mordecai told Esther, don't let them know you're a Jew or of Israel. You may get looked down upon and so on and so forth. And she would, she said, okay. And it says as she was brought up with him. So two things we could see with that. Esther obeyed her stepdad and Esther was blessed. Esther became a queen who saved her people from destruction. And Mordecai himself, you know, on the perspective of a parent who's adopting a child, I don't doubt it's really hard to raise an adopted child. I mean, I've never experienced it myself, but I attempted to. And I know that like children who aren't with their biological mom or dad tend to have resentment towards you. You're not my mom. You're not my dad. I don't need to listen to you. But you know what? If you honor and respect it anyways, God's going to exalt you. And not only that, parents who bring up the child in the nurtured admonition, God will actually bless you who the adoptive parent. Well, how do you know? Mordecai was blessed for being a good parent to Esther. And if you would look down in your Bible at chapter six, verse one, it says, On this night could not the king sleep and had commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles. And they were read before the king. And it was found written that Mordecai had told Abigail and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keeper of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king of Hazuharis. And the king said, What honor and dignity had been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servant that ministered unto him. There is nothing done for him. Let's pause here really quick. I'm not going to go into the whole story. But earlier, there are these two people. We're trying to kill Hazuharis. Mordecai overheard this and told the chamberlains, who told Esther, who told the king, and they were putting those people to death. Haman is a man, a horrible, wicked man who's trying to kill Mordecai because Mordecai was not willing to bow down to Haman. Haman was considered like a vice president. He was like a number two. And Mordecai was not impressed. He was not willing to bow down to Haman. And Haman was in the midst of this trying to create a gallows to put Mordecai to death. But because Mordecai did that which was right and raising his own child, or the child of his cousin, and did the right thing, he asked Haman, what should be done to the most honorable in the kingdom? Haman then goes to him and says, give him a royal apparel and ride the king's horse. And instead, treat him like a king. Make him waltz around and be lifted up and high-minded. And he goes, OK, do that to Mordecai. Because at this point, he didn't get his reward for saving the king's life. So Haman's just sitting there stewing in his heart. And this is for you adoptive parents. If you do the right thing, God will exalt you. He will make sure your child becomes a queen, as it were. And the Bible teaches that if a child honors their father and mother, they're going to be exalted. And even the parents, because like I said, parents may have struggles with how to raise a child that's adopted. But if you do the right thing and follow what God tells you, God will exalt you, as he did to Mordecai. So that's the right way, number one, to go about adoption. What's the right way, number two, to go about adoption? I believe that if it's not the objective of the family, and if the family can't do it, the government shouldn't do it, what if there's a child who has neither cousin, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandma, everyone's gone. Just the child themselves. Who is responsible for this child? I believe it is the job of the church to raise this child. What do you mean, David? You can't just drop a baby off at a church. Like I said, in the extreme example of someone who has no one in the family to take a mind, I do believe that the family that goes to a church, haven't you heard of baby dedications? Where when someone has a baby, they dedicate it to the church? And we see an example of this found in 1 Samuel. Turn if you would to 1 Samuel. That it is the responsibility of the church to help raise that child, because if a congregate in a church is doing the right thing, and showing themselves to be friendly, and making friends in the church, the church needs to then help out with that child where that parent left off. I'm not saying the pastor himself needs to adopt that child, that's not what I'm saying. But I have a personal friend of mine from Faithful Word Baptist Church, who I consider to be, if not my closest friend, one of my closest friends. Have you heard the term God Father, God Parents? In a sense, he, his son, when he was born, he came to me because we were really close. He said, God forbid anything were to happen to me or my wife. We want you and your wife to raise our son. Because we know, and he had one prerequisite. He says, the only thing we require is that he's raised in a church, an IFB church. And I see that as a huge, great blessing and honor that he would come to me and say, if we died, we want you to raise our church. And I think that it is the responsibility of the church to care for the children that are in the church. And like I said, it doesn't need to be the pastor that adopts it. Though there would be nothing wrong with that, I think that would be a great thing. But us, the congregates, need to understand that it is our responsibility to look out for one another, and one another, each other's children for that matter as well. Well, how do you know that? Well, right here, the Bible teaches us this in 1st Samuel. Look at, you would, chapter, verse 5, 1st Samuel 1, verse 5. But unto Hannah, he gave a worthy portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb. We'll pause there. This is another subject when it comes to the realm of adoption. Look, there are people who can't have children. And like I was saying, there's nothing wrong with wanting to adopt a child, but just make sure you go about it the right way. You know, I don't have children. I've been married for five years, and the Lord decided not to bless me with children as of now, and he may never bless us with children. But nevertheless, we're going to see the approach that we should have if God decides to withhold children, because it does say that the Lord shut up her womb. It's not the means of us, but God is the one that controls life. God is the one that gives life, not a doctor, not anything like that. It is up to God to give life. And it says, And her adversary also provoked her sword, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her, therefore she wept and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband, to her, Hannah, why weepest thou, and why eatest thou not? And why is thine heart grieved? And not I better than thee than ten signs? Look, did I marry my wife to have children? No, I married my wife because I love my wife. Did my wife marry me because she wants children? No, she married me because she loves me. And this is what I'm trying to say. In the subject of adoption, good godly Christian people who can't have children, that may be the way that you help a child in their life. That may be the way you parent a child is because you take on a child. But nevertheless, we do know that every barren woman in the Bible eventually had a child. But that doesn't mean everyone will have a child. And I know this is a sensitive subject for some, that if they're not having children, it's hard to see a booming church just blossoming and children are coming every eight months. There's a new child coming in. And that's a blessing. We need to be happy for those who have children. But for those who aren't able or can't have or don't have children, we need to find pleasure in God and each other. And know that we married each other for each other, not for children. Though the byproduct of a marriage is children, it is God that decides and is for knowledge the reasoning of who knows why. He gives some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundred. But nevertheless, it is God that controls life. But with that being said, let's keep going. The Bible reads in verse 9, So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by a post at the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept a sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but will give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. So like I was saying, Samuel's mother dedicated Samuel to the Lord. Now obviously she didn't die. I'm just saying in the simplicity of baby dedications and babies being born in the church, every parent should have the thing in their heart to dedicate that child to God. But, you know, though she or her husband didn't die, she vowed a vow. She made a promise and said, as long as you give me a child, I will give this child to you. And we should give our children to the Lord and make sure they serve God. But for the sake of time, I'm not going to read the rest. But Eli took on Samuel, raised Samuel, and year by year the parents came and made sure that everything was good. So the right way to go about adoption is with the family. Family can't do it. There's no one around. The church should be involved. A close friend, a church member, the pastor, whoever needs to be looking out for that child. But turn, if you would, to John. Actually, turn, if you would, to Luke. Well, that's all Old Testament things, Dave. What about the New Testament? You know, the Bible teaches in John 19, 26, with Mary and John. When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, that's John, he saith to his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. John himself, the disciple of John, whom Jesus loved, when he was on the cross dying, said, Woman, this is your son. He honored his father and mother because he was about to die and pay for the sins of the world. He said to his mother, I need to make sure you are cared for, thou that I am going. John, you care for her. Woman, behold thy son. And vice versa, John, behold thy mother. John took her unto his own. It was made for Mary was cared for the rest of his life. And that leads me into my next point. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world himself was adopted. Do you not understand that Jesus himself, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was adopted? This is what I'm trying to say to those who are adopted. Look, Moses, a great man of God, exalted in due time, adopted. Esther, become a queen and Savior of people, adopted. Jesus Christ himself was adopted by Joseph. And the King James Bible is very careful to never call Joseph Jesus' father. And every time these false versions call Joseph Jesus' father, that's blasphemous. God the Father has always been Jesus' father. But Joseph was the stepdad of Jesus Christ himself. As we see in that genealogy in Matthew 1 and 16, you know, the begat and so and so begat and so and so begat. Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom came Christ. So we know that the King James Bible was accurate to say that Joseph was the stepdad of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ respected and obeyed his parents. Back to you adopted children who are in your family as Jesus Christ himself honored Joseph. You need to honor your parents that are caring and loving for you. Well, how do you know Jesus was good to Joseph? The Bible tells us that right here in Luke 2, if you would, look down at verse 48. And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, Son, why has thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. Mary just called Joseph the father of Jesus. What was Jesus' response? And he said unto them, How is it that you sought me? Was she not that I must be about my father's business? And they understood not the same when she spake unto them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them, not just Mary. He was also subject also to Joseph. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Wasn't Joseph a man? He was in good stature with God and man. So we know Jesus Christ himself being adopted, respected Joseph. And though he was adopted by Joseph, we don't see Joseph actually anymore after this point in the Bible. But we know he respected him. And Joseph himself was blessed to be able to help raise the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And that's going to lead me into my last point. My last point, turn if you would to John 3. In Matthew 12, the Bible says this. Jesus Christ, his half brother and his mother came to him seeking to, kind of in a sense, get a VIP treatment to his preaching. They were like, oh, he's our son and brother, let's go talk to him. But what did Jesus say? Jesus said, who is my mother and who are my brethren? But these that do the will of my father, these are my mother and my father, or my brother and my sisters. We are adopted, every single one of us who have been born by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And though I don't know physically what it's like to be adopted, we all know what it's like to be adopted by God himself. You know, the Bible teaches in John 1 12, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Elsewhere in the Bible it says, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourges every son whom he receiveth. We are all adopted in the sight of God. And we need to find peace in the fact that if you are physically adopted, we have something in common. You and I are brothers and sisters and we are all in the same family together. As Ryan preached earlier, we are all in the same Ohana. We are all in the same family. We are all Hanai in the sight of God. We were brought into the family of God through the blood of Jesus Christ himself. John 3 3 explains that to us, Jesus talking to Nicodemus. In verse 3 it says, Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh. If you were adopted in the flesh, it happened, but that which is spirit is spirit. We need to understand the subject of adoption, of Hanai, that we are all born into the family of God. We are all adopted and we need to find grace, number one, for those who are physically adopted. We need to have a special place in our heart for those who are adopted as God, as a special place for those who are adopted. And also, we need to go about adoption the right way and not the wrong way, but understand that all of us are adopted in the sight of God. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Sorry for the holdup, I know it's getting warm. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word. Thank you so much for everything you've done for us, adopting us in your family, and helping us to understand that in serving you and seeking and pleasing you and humbling ourselves, you'll exalt us in due time and help us, those who are adopted physically, to never be discouraged, to try to press towards the mark and to find comfort in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.