WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:06.040 The scripture reading comes from James, chapter 1, starting at verse 19. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.939 Please follow along on the screen or in your Bible. 00:00:12.500 --> 00:00:16.240 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:21.839 Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:25.940 For human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:32.880 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:38.359 humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:43.939 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.620 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:52.400 he is like someone looking at his own face in the mirror. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:58.579 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:04.920 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:08.859 and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer who works. 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:12.340 This person will be blessed in what he does. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:17.500 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:21.759 his religion is useless, and he deceives himself. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:27.500 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this, 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.180 to look after orphans and widows in their distress, 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:36.120 and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:37.620 Amen. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:41.480 Amen. 00:01:42.600 --> 00:01:43.420 Thank you, Ellen. 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:49.040 Church, my name is Jeremy, and it is a real pleasure to welcome you again. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:56.320 And this morning I am extremely excited about what the word of God is going to speak to us 00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:59.180 through the book of James that Ellen just read. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:07.719 And I'm excited for us, but I'm also terrified for me and for us as a church. 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:18.280 I'm excited because this passage points us to what I see as a lavish and beautiful love and grace from God, 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:21.900 and also this glorious calling for his people. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:27.400 But I'm also terrified because James is confronting us. 00:02:27.579 --> 00:02:34.360 God is confronting us with a stark truth about true religion and false religion. 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.060 James asks us, 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:41.000 are you just a hearer of the word, 00:02:41.200 --> 00:02:44.160 or are you a doer of God's word? 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:49.820 Let's look right back at the text with me at verse 22. 00:02:51.100 --> 00:02:51.760 It says, 00:02:51.759 --> 00:03:16.219 Now what an illustration to start off with. 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:22.439 Just imagine that your best friend told you that their favorite thing was to go hiking, 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:24.419 and they really want to go on a hike with you. 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:26.439 And you're like, 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:27.419 Yeah, you're my best friend. 00:03:27.500 --> 00:03:29.599 And you think about that hike every day, 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:35.340 and you memorize all the map points and all the transportation to get to the hike. 00:03:35.419 --> 00:03:37.680 You might even start a discussion group, 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:41.259 a small group to talk about the hike. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:44.879 You might even write some songs and sing about hiking. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:46.340 But for whatever reason, 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:48.579 you keep putting off this hike. 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:49.439 For whatever reason, 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.039 you don't actually follow through and go on this hike. 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:54.439 And if that was the case, 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.379 what kind of best friend are you? 00:03:58.479 --> 00:03:59.620 And, you know, 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:00.879 this is kind of a silly illustration, 00:04:01.859 --> 00:04:05.060 but I think the reality is that all of us, 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.300 we so often forget what is important. 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:09.199 We have the best thoughts. 00:04:09.359 --> 00:04:10.579 We have the best intentions. 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:14.760 But when it comes to actually following through and executing, 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:16.040 we fall short. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:21.300 I kind of think like when you're running into a friend in the MTR. 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:22.259 This happens all the time. 00:04:22.280 --> 00:04:24.699 An old friend that you haven't seen in a long time. 00:04:24.840 --> 00:04:27.180 And you are genuinely happy to see them. 00:04:27.520 --> 00:04:27.600 Right? 00:04:27.660 --> 00:04:28.540 This is one of those friends. 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:30.420 And you want to reconnect with them, 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:32.800 and you want to rekindle that friendship. 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:33.660 And you're like, 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:34.000 Hey, man, 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:35.040 let's meet up soon. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.620 And you really mean that. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.100 This isn't one just friends that you, 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.520 you just say so you can get out of the conversation and you really want to. 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:45.379 But as soon as you part ways, 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:49.939 all of those good intentions fall by the wayside because other things get in 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:50.360 the way. 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:52.140 Has that ever happened to you? 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.000 It happens to me quite a bit. 00:04:55.379 --> 00:05:00.240 And isn't that so often what we do with the word of God? 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.519 But the challenging thing is God, 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:04.360 God, 00:05:04.460 --> 00:05:09.480 what God loves and what he cares about is a lot more serious than a hike with 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:14.680 friends or even rekindling a friendship with an old friends. 00:05:15.460 --> 00:05:20.040 And James says that we today need to think about whether our religion, 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:22.860 the way we worship God, 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:23.960 that's all it means. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:25.360 The way we worship God, 00:05:25.460 --> 00:05:26.259 that's our religion. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:27.660 We want to think, 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:32.000 he wants us to think about whether that is actually what God wants. 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:34.340 Verse 27, 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:39.820 pure and undefiled religion before God, 00:05:39.900 --> 00:05:46.379 the father is this to look after orphans and widows in their distress. 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:49.580 And what's that all about? 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:56.260 And I thought God just wanted me to sit through this live stream and read the 00:05:56.259 --> 00:06:00.339 Bible and pray sometimes and tell some people about Jesus. 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:04.839 But what on earth is all this stuff about widows and orphans? 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:06.819 And church, 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:08.719 the thing is that all throughout scripture, 00:06:08.719 --> 00:06:11.639 when you read through from old Testament to new, 00:06:11.719 --> 00:06:13.560 you see a God that yes, 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:15.399 he loves all of his creation. 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:17.860 He loves all of his people. 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:24.860 And yet he has a particular preferential love for those who are vulnerable and 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:26.560 marginalized in society. 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:28.740 They are the lowly, 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:29.960 the rejected, 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:32.960 despised by society, 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:33.680 the forgotten. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:35.620 And yet God says to them, 00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:38.180 I have not forgotten you. 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:39.879 I remember you. 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:44.259 And there are so many places in scripture we can look to, 00:06:44.379 --> 00:06:49.079 but I think there's two specific passages that can really help us to see 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:49.439 this. 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:52.879 Let's start with Psalm 68. 00:06:53.159 --> 00:06:56.600 And this is just a beautiful description of who God is. 00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:03.019 It's like God introducing himself as the Israelites recall his faithfulness. 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:12.039 He says this God in his holy dwelling is a father to the fatherless and a champion of widows. 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:17.439 God provides homes for those who are deserted. 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:19.099 You see, 00:07:19.219 --> 00:07:21.419 in the patriarchal ancient times, 00:07:21.539 --> 00:07:28.979 losing your father or husband would have been devastating and would have put you in immediate risk of sustenance and protection. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:34.120 And what James seems to be doing is he's picking up on this language in verse 27, 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:34.860 that he's saying, 00:07:34.960 --> 00:07:35.620 God, 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:36.360 the father, 00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:37.840 God is our father. 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:46.840 And yet pure religion that is pure and faultless is to take after orphans because the father to the fatherless. 00:07:48.280 --> 00:07:49.319 And here's the thing. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.240 It's not just that God provides food or money or shelter to the orphan. 00:07:53.580 --> 00:07:58.240 The Psalmist says God provides homes for those who are deserted. 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:04.700 And we can also translate that as he puts the abandoned or the lonely into families. 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:07.560 God understands a family. 00:08:07.700 --> 00:08:10.180 He knows that family is important, 00:08:10.340 --> 00:08:12.160 not just physical sustenance. 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:19.240 James would also have been familiar with God's command in Isaiah one. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:21.000 Look at that with me. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:21.800 Verse 16, 00:08:22.340 --> 00:08:25.000 wash and make yourselves clean. 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.519 Take your evil deeds out of my sight. 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:30.300 Stop doing wrong. 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:31.819 Learn to do right. 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:32.820 Seek justice. 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:34.279 Defend the oppressed. 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:39.159 Take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.299 These strong words. 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:46.439 And what was the evil that the Israelites were committing? 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:48.839 When you look at the chapter, 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:53.139 it's that they were doing all these outward ritualistic things. 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:56.379 They were doing religious feasts that God had told them about. 00:08:56.459 --> 00:08:59.399 They were even giving offerings and sacrifices, 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:01.799 and they were doing all those things, 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:03.899 but not justice, 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:08.120 not true religion that is pure and faultless. 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:14.120 And so the most shocking thing to me when you read this is that God actually says, 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:14.519 literally, 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:15.059 he says, 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:17.899 I hate all these things that you're doing. 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:24.620 I hate them because you're not doing what truly matters from my heart. 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:26.720 And church, 00:09:26.819 --> 00:09:34.980 it's really sobering for me to think about my life and to think about our community, 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:39.120 to think maybe because we're not really doing good, 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:41.759 and maybe we're not really doing justice, 00:09:41.939 --> 00:09:45.819 that God might hate this worship service right now, 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:50.440 that he might hate this sermon I'm preaching right now, 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:53.420 that our singing and even our tithes and offerings, 00:09:53.560 --> 00:09:56.740 that all of that is just plain hypocrisy, 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:58.600 just like the Israelites, 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:01.460 because we say we love you, 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:01.700 God, 00:10:01.800 --> 00:10:02.760 we sing to you, 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:03.400 we worship you, 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:04.020 we pray to you, 00:10:04.060 --> 00:10:05.100 but when push comes to shove, 00:10:05.180 --> 00:10:08.220 we ignore the things that are close to his heart, 00:10:09.260 --> 00:10:10.820 that our religion, 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:12.000 as James says, 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:13.560 is useless. 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:20.980 These are strong words from Isaiah that are echoed by James, 00:10:21.060 --> 00:10:23.480 and they should make us pause. 00:10:24.560 --> 00:10:27.520 They should make us reflect deeply, 00:10:27.520 --> 00:10:32.220 because I know that we as a whole church, 00:10:32.540 --> 00:10:33.520 myself included, 00:10:33.660 --> 00:10:40.340 we are not caring for orphans in any active or intentional way right now. 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:44.139 And this makes me pause. 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:45.980 This makes me solemn. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:48.540 But I'm hopeful. 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:57.160 I'm hopeful because this challenging call from God is not given in some kind of vacuum without context. 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:03.019 Let's take a look back at James 1 again. 00:11:03.839 --> 00:11:04.959 Verse 25. 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:06.399 He says, 00:11:06.819 --> 00:11:14.199 the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:16.279 and is not a forgetful hearer, 00:11:16.439 --> 00:11:17.919 but a doer who works, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.199 this person will be blessed in what he does. 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:28.060 We're used to hearing the word law and thinking about burdens and commands. 00:11:28.060 --> 00:11:31.100 I know that's what I often do instinctively. 00:11:31.780 --> 00:11:33.420 Maybe even this command, 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:36.400 this weighty command to care for orphans, 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.340 and it feels burdensome. 00:11:38.560 --> 00:11:41.420 But this is a perfect law of freedom. 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:44.640 That sounds pretty good, right? 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:45.759 Sounds encouraging. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:50.840 So what could it mean to look into this perfect law of freedom? 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:55.419 Let's take a look at Romans chapter 8. 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:58.740 I think this illuminates a bit of what James is saying. 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:00.139 Read this with me. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:01.899 It says, 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:02.319 therefore, 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:07.679 there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:15.600 because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:20.539 You see that parallel with the perfect law of freedom in James? 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:22.500 It's the same root words there. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.659 The law of the spirit of life will set us free from death. 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:29.539 Then in verse 14, 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:34.240 for all those led by God's spirit are God's sons. 00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:39.319 You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:40.419 Instead, 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:44.500 you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:45.279 Abba, 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:45.679 Father. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:53.679 The spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children. 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:56.600 And if children also heirs, 00:12:57.059 --> 00:12:59.460 heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:05.139 if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:07.419 Church, 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:07.659 you see, 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:11.779 this perfect law of freedom is all about Jesus. 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:13.620 the one who came, 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:14.220 the one who came, 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:18.879 who was God and yet in human flesh to identify with us. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:21.799 And he fulfilled all of the law, 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.779 all of the demands of morality, 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:34.019 all the things that we could not do so that we could be set free from sin and death and that we can receive the spirit of adoption. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:34.639 The spirit of adoption. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:36.639 The spirit of adoption. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.740 So what excites me, 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:41.819 not just terrifies, 00:13:41.939 --> 00:13:52.980 but excites me today about today's sermon is that this command to care for orphans is set within the context of our own adoption by our Lord, 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:54.700 by our God. 00:13:56.500 --> 00:14:01.980 Now we should know exactly what it feels like to be an orphan, 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:06.019 maybe not a literal orphan in this world, 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:12.700 but I believe every one of us has experienced orphanhood in the depths of our souls. 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:16.500 Our ancestors going back to Adam and Eve, 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:17.480 the first people, 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:22.420 they rejected their father and they ran away from paradise. 00:14:22.560 --> 00:14:24.220 They ran away from home. 00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:35.379 And since then we have been born generation after generation into this metaphorical giant orphanage called the fallen world. 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:39.460 Without our heavenly father to guide us, 00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:42.639 to shower us with unconditional love. 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:48.700 All we could do was rely on ourselves in this dog eat dog world. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:56.939 So we turn to whatever we could to give us that happiness and that validation and that affirmation, 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:57.240 whether, 00:14:57.700 --> 00:14:58.139 you know, 00:14:58.220 --> 00:14:59.759 you name it education. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.679 Is that what you're pining after a better grade career? 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:05.759 Better money, 00:15:05.979 --> 00:15:06.359 sex, 00:15:06.359 --> 00:15:07.559 and power. 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:09.599 And yet over and over again, 00:15:09.699 --> 00:15:10.979 if we're honest with ourselves, 00:15:11.099 --> 00:15:13.199 those things do not satisfy. 00:15:14.859 --> 00:15:16.000 And it makes sense, 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:16.219 right? 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.239 Because would you expect a child? 00:15:18.319 --> 00:15:19.339 If you imagined a child, 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:20.919 would you expect them to flourish? 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:22.819 To actually flourish, 00:15:22.819 --> 00:15:25.299 not just to survive or to not die, 00:15:25.459 --> 00:15:26.779 but to actually flourish. 00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:30.240 Would you expect that to happen if you just gave them some food, 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:30.740 shelter, 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:31.819 and clothing, 00:15:32.479 --> 00:15:33.179 and some toys, 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:36.120 and maybe some fellow orphans to hang out with? 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:37.519 No, 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:37.879 right? 00:15:38.939 --> 00:15:47.419 The research and probably your common sense will tell you that every child needs a family and a home. 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:49.899 They were made for that. 00:15:49.899 --> 00:15:56.899 They were made for the persistent security of committed and loving parents. 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:02.220 They were made and need the identity of a son or daughter, 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:05.699 not just an orphan with a roof over their head. 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:09.980 And so for us as spiritual orphans, 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:14.860 our greatest need is a heavenly father and a heavenly home. 00:16:14.860 --> 00:16:17.360 C.S. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:17.800 Lewis, 00:16:17.800 --> 00:16:20.159 his famous quote from his book, 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:21.440 Mere Christianity is, 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:22.060 is helpful. 00:16:22.300 --> 00:16:22.680 Again, 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:24.139 it's a gem. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:26.480 He said in this book, 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:26.820 he said, 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.519 if I find in myself a desire, 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:33.360 which no experience in this world can satisfy, 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:39.779 then the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:44.159 The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it in a slightly different way. 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:44.559 He says, 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:49.339 God has put eternity into the human heart. 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:53.919 He has put something that longs for something that is transcendent, 00:16:53.980 --> 00:16:56.500 that is beyond what we can touch and feel, 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:00.319 because we know as this pandemic has shown us that life, 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.120 physical life is fleeting. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.319 Spiritual orphans are on their own. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.179 They can only look to this present world for meaning, 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:11.879 for happiness and purpose. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.259 But as we see, 00:17:14.379 --> 00:17:17.259 this world is a crumbling orphanage. 00:17:18.159 --> 00:17:20.139 Just look what's happening around us. 00:17:20.179 --> 00:17:21.119 Just watch the news. 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:22.919 Just look through history. 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:26.319 But sons and daughters, 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:31.439 sons and daughters can look to their heavenly father to provide the true needs. 00:17:32.139 --> 00:17:34.740 That unconditional love and acceptance, 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:36.620 not just for this short lifetime, 00:17:36.620 --> 00:17:41.220 but one that carries on beyond death to eternity. 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.400 Remember Romans eight. 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:46.160 Let's look at that again. 00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:50.740 It says the spirit himself testifies together with our spirit, 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:53.039 that we are God's children. 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:56.440 And if children also heirs, 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:58.000 heirs of God, 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.180 friends and orphan, 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:04.000 unfortunately is heir to nothing. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.779 By definition, 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:13.339 but a child of God is heir to the everlasting riches of the king of the universe. 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:16.759 And so when we know that our dad, 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:20.839 our heavenly dad is preparing an eternal home for us, 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:21.759 where there's no pain, 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:23.440 death or suffering, 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.819 but only joy in his presence. 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:28.880 What do we have to lose in this life? 00:18:28.940 --> 00:18:30.680 What do we have to fear? 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:37.039 And that is the gospel that God came to us when we were far off, 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:38.380 when we had run away, 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:39.700 when we had rejected him, 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:41.440 when we had fallen short, 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:51.960 and he adopted us at great price because he sacrificed his son so that we could be sons and daughters to him. 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:54.519 And that is the gospel. 00:18:54.519 --> 00:19:01.220 And so the challenge that James brings to us this morning is to not forget. 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:03.440 Because somehow, 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.819 I think this happens for all of us. 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:07.619 We still, 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:08.259 we wake up, 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:09.160 we look in the mirror, 00:19:09.379 --> 00:19:10.519 and we see a son. 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:13.879 We see a daughter of God, 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:14.799 the king of kings. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.339 But then as we leave the bathroom, 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:18.059 we leave the house, 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:21.240 we go about the busyness of our world and our lives. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:22.599 We're orphans again. 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:25.059 We're fending for ourselves. 00:19:25.180 --> 00:19:29.359 We're thinking we need to claw and grasp our way to the top of the food chain 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:31.919 because this life is all we have. 00:19:31.919 --> 00:19:33.079 And we're orphans. 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.139 And we get upset that we got passed over that promotion. 00:19:37.139 --> 00:19:40.139 Or we get devastated when that romance doesn't work out. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:44.120 Or whatever it is that riles you and frustrates you. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:47.160 And this morning, 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:50.720 I believe God just wants us to hear again. 00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:53.720 That if you have put your faith in Jesus, 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:55.240 the Holy Spirit, 00:19:55.540 --> 00:19:56.580 as Romans 8 said, 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.280 the Holy Spirit who resides in you, 00:20:00.040 --> 00:20:01.300 he is testifying. 00:20:01.300 --> 00:20:04.720 He is reminding you that you have been adopted. 00:20:06.860 --> 00:20:08.000 And not only that, 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.680 but I believe that one of the keys to remembering that we're children of God 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:14.779 is to not just think it, 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:22.059 but to actually start acting and doing and functioning as if we're children of God. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.140 Be a doer of the world, 00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:26.339 of the word. 00:20:27.819 --> 00:20:28.059 You see, 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:33.700 the beauty of this adoption is not just that your identity is now a son or daughter. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:34.319 That's amazing. 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:39.419 And it's not just that you have eternal security in your heavenly father, 00:20:39.419 --> 00:20:40.759 but that it's just, 00:20:41.159 --> 00:20:41.500 and it's, 00:20:41.639 --> 00:20:42.659 and that you have that. 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:44.819 And then you just sit back and you just chill for 30, 00:20:44.899 --> 00:20:45.059 40, 00:20:45.179 --> 00:20:45.740 50 years. 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:46.059 No, 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:52.500 the amazing thing about adoption is that you've now joined a new heavenly family 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:56.460 with a new family culture and a purpose. 00:20:56.460 --> 00:20:58.559 And here's the thing. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.539 When God looks at this world, 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:02.480 this mess of a world that we're in, 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:04.000 he's not interested in, 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:09.960 in renovating this orphanage to make it nicer or a little more palatable or a little more comfortable. 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:20.960 God is in the business of rebuilding everything from the ground up to build a loving home for a giant family. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.140 We're even the most marginalized, 00:21:23.460 --> 00:21:25.019 the most despised and forgotten. 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:27.460 They are welcome with open arms. 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:32.360 And that is why God has such a special heart for orphans. 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:36.360 That's why pure and undefiled religion, 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:38.640 the family business, 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:42.140 this must involve orphan care. 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:50.180 So how do we go from hearing about orphan care to actually doing it? 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:52.360 Last year, 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:56.340 a few of us went to a conference called world without orphans. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:04.120 And a big takeaway was that orphans do indeed belong in families as sons and daughters. 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:11.899 And that orphan care cannot just be outsourced to orphanages and institutions that provide food and shelter, 00:22:12.179 --> 00:22:14.779 but not the identity of son and daughter. 00:22:15.659 --> 00:22:21.319 So I want to share with you a testimony of a young man who went through this experience in Ukraine. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:26.479 And I think it gives us a perspective, obviously, from an adopted child, 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:31.099 but it also really gives us a picture of what's at stake, I think, 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:37.140 when we think about family-based orphan care rather than institutionalized care. 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:39.200 So let's take a look at this together. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.579 There should be a family that will love you, 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:54.740 that you come home and you understand that there is a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:59.700 with whom you can talk, hug, kiss, ask a friend. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:04.180 So that there is a sense of life. 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:09.980 I remember that I was in the childhood home, 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:11.740 but when I was 6 years old, I was in the hospital. 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:14.940 I was somewhere already familiar with the word family. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:19.599 I think, when we started to celebrate the day of birth, 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:20.980 they came and said, 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:22.599 you have a day of birth, 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:26.039 I didn't know when I was born, who were my parents, 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:27.759 and where I was actually from. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:29.759 You are still in the hospital, 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:31.599 because there is no one to come, 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:33.359 no one to send a letter. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.039 It was very painful. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.039 We were very upset. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.439 And the director could just throw you 00:23:39.439 --> 00:23:41.759 between children, 300 people, 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.399 and he could just hit you on the leg, 00:23:44.399 --> 00:23:46.439 and pull you up and pull you up. 00:23:46.439 --> 00:23:50.039 And he could just take your scissors and put you on. 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:52.639 And you can't do anything with this. 00:23:52.639 --> 00:23:54.200 But for me it's like a rap. 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:56.039 I dreamt about it, 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:58.079 that someone just stood for me. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:59.200 I wanted to love. 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:00.200 I wanted to love. 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.480 I wanted to come and hug me. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.079 They came and said, 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:06.480 you are good, you are good, you are good, 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:08.480 you need to develop this. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.200 I started thinking, 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.039 mom, if you are a child, 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:14.799 give me a sense, 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:16.039 where you are. 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:16.879 Do you want something, 00:24:16.879 --> 00:24:17.599 so I can understand, 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:21.000 that you are a child. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.039 I was like, 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:23.839 I just lay on the bed and cry, 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:24.599 I'm crying, 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:26.839 I still didn't know my mother, 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:28.039 I didn't know my mother, 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:29.719 I said, 00:24:29.719 --> 00:24:30.839 God, if you are a child, 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:33.039 I believe you give me a family. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:34.439 It was one time, 00:24:34.439 --> 00:24:36.839 and it was just a miracle, 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:40.559 because it was a feeling of a忘れない moment. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:42.639 These moments I can never forget. 00:24:42.639 --> 00:24:44.439 I will always remember. 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:45.440 I was like, 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:46.840 among 300 children, 00:24:46.840 --> 00:24:48.840 they play basketball, 00:24:48.840 --> 00:24:49.840 they play volleyball, 00:24:49.840 --> 00:24:50.680 football, 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:51.240 they play, 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:51.680 they play, 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.680 I was like, 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:54.080 I was standing on the stadium, 00:24:54.080 --> 00:24:54.880 I was just standing, 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:56.480 and she came to me, 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:57.680 and she just started to be 00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:58.840 and started to be a little bit. 00:24:58.840 --> 00:24:59.840 And I, 00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:00.840 I felt like, 00:25:00.840 --> 00:25:01.840 as a moment, 00:25:01.840 --> 00:25:03.840 I felt like, 00:25:03.840 --> 00:25:04.680 God, 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:05.680 I felt like, 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:06.680 I felt like, 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:07.279 I felt like, 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:08.080 wait a little, 00:25:08.080 --> 00:25:08.680 wait a little, 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:09.880 wait a little, 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:10.080 come on, 00:25:10.080 --> 00:25:11.080 come on, 00:25:11.080 --> 00:25:12.279 and he just like, 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:14.180 like water from the bed 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:15.080 and you just like, 00:25:15.080 --> 00:25:16.279 and so much love 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:17.120 just on you 00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:18.880 just through this person. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:19.680 It was just, 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:21.680 and I started crying, 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:23.080 and at that moment, 00:25:23.080 --> 00:25:25.279 my mother said to me, 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.480 that I want you to be in my family. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:28.680 And, 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:29.180 well, 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:30.080 of course, 00:25:30.080 --> 00:25:33.080 joy was just not a point, 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:35.079 because I understood, 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:36.480 why this person is here, 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.679 because I remember, 00:25:37.679 --> 00:25:40.480 that a year passed, 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:42.079 when I prayed and said, 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:44.079 God, I want you to give me a family. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:46.079 And this is my answer. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:47.079 This is my answer. 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.079 And this was a very good moment. 00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:50.879 This is one of the best moments 00:25:50.879 --> 00:25:52.480 of my life in my life. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.079 Well, 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.480 as a God has been a plan, 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.079 it's on all 100%. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.079 I can teach other children, 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.079 because I understand, 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:01.079 if I go to the friends, 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:02.079 and I come to the internat, 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:05.079 and I look at these children, 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:06.079 and I feel like it's pain. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.079 I want to hug them all, 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:09.079 because I understand, 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:11.079 that I don't have to do it. 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:12.079 I got it. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:14.079 You get in the family, 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.079 and you have a feeling, 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:19.079 that now everything will be right away. 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:20.079 And that you will give me 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.079 and that, and that, and that. 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:22.079 And, of course, 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.079 there were trauma, 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:24.079 because, 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:25.079 going to new school, 00:26:25.079 --> 00:26:26.079 you are one, 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:28.079 but you are different. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.079 There were tears from other side. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.079 I came to the heart of my life, 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.079 and I said, 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:35.079 I don't want to go to this school, 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:36.079 help me. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:38.079 And my mom helped me, 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.079 поддерживала me, 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:41.079 успокаивала. 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:42.079 Well, 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:45.079 this is the most beloved person on earth. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:46.079 Thank you for her, 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:47.079 I just came on the path, 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:50.079 to be able to know God, 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:52.079 to be able to develop this, 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:53.079 to be able to find myself, 00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:56.079 what I want in this life. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:59.079 I can be sure to say, 00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:01.079 that my wounds, 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:03.079 and wounds, 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:05.079 they are filled with this 00:27:05.079 --> 00:27:08.079 precious love, 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:10.079 just attention. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:13.079 That you have not in the internet, 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:14.079 but you now have it. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.079 And there is no way to be able to be proud. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:18.079 I am extremely grateful, 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:19.079 in the first of all, 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.079 because it was planned for me 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:23.079 for God. 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:38.079 Amen. 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:42.079 It's just amazing to hear one little story like this, 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:44.079 amongst hundreds and thousands, 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:45.079 I believe, out there, 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:47.079 that just remind us again and again, 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:51.079 that we were created to have a father and a mother, 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:54.079 that we were meant to have the identity of son and daughter. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:57.079 And we've heard this fantastic testimony, 00:27:57.079 --> 00:27:58.079 from this young man, 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:01.079 from the perspective of an adopted son. 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:04.079 Now we want to hear a little bit from the perspective, 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:06.079 of adoptive and foster parents. 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:09.079 And so I'm so honored and pleased to have, 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:12.079 Nick and Chloe here with us this morning. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.079 Nick and Chloe are not part of Watermark, 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:16.079 but they've graciously decided, 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:21.079 and willed their time to share with us their experience. 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:23.079 Chloe also works for Mother's Choice. 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:26.079 So she has plenty of experience and expertise in this area. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:28.079 But for this morning, 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:31.079 we really want to just hear from their personal story. 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:32.079 Because most, 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:33.079 more importantly, 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:36.079 they are adoptive parents and they've been foster parents. 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:37.079 And, 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:40.079 and so we just want to hear your story because obviously you two 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:43.079 have been great friends to Julie and I, 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:44.079 and we, 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:46.079 we love you and you guys are amazing in our sight, 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.079 but I know you're the first, 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:49.079 you'd be the first to say we're just normal, 00:28:49.079 --> 00:28:50.079 regular Christians. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:51.079 And honestly, 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:52.079 I believe that too. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:53.079 Um, 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:54.079 so how did it, 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:58.079 how did that come to a place where you guys decided to be, 00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:59.079 uh, 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:00.079 foster and adoptive parents? 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.079 Just tell us, 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:02.079 tell us your story. 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:03.079 Well, 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:04.079 thank you so much, 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.079 Jeremy, 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:06.079 for having us. 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.079 And it was amazing to travel with you to the world without orphans 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.079 conference last year with a team from Hong Kong. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.079 Um, 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:12.079 and yeah, 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:14.079 we're just so thankful to share our story. 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:15.079 I think for me, 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:16.079 it starts, 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:17.079 um, 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:18.079 you know, 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:19.079 as a child, 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:20.079 I didn't really know any foster adopted families, 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:21.079 particularly growing up. 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:22.079 It wasn't something that was, 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:23.079 you know, 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:24.079 in my family or friend group. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:25.079 I, 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:26.079 I hadn't really thought about it until, 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:27.079 um, 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:29.079 I started working with children without families, 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:30.079 um, 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:31.079 as a teenager. 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:32.079 And I just knew, 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:33.079 you know, 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:34.079 this is, 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:35.079 this is how I want to build my family one day. 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:36.079 Um, 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:38.079 and that sort of desire, 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:39.079 that thought never really went away. 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:40.079 And then, 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:41.079 uh, 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:42.079 when I met Nick, 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:43.079 I, 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:44.079 I told him, 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:45.079 you know, 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:46.079 if we build a family one day, 00:29:46.079 --> 00:29:47.079 I, 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:48.079 I think this is how I want to do it. 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.079 Um, 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:50.079 and he said, 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:51.079 um, 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:52.079 yeah, 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:53.079 I mean, 00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:54.079 I'd never really thought about adoption much before. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:56.079 I hadn't really thought about having kids at all anyway. 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:57.079 Really? 00:29:57.079 --> 00:29:58.079 Um, 00:29:58.079 --> 00:29:59.079 but, 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:00.079 uh, 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:01.079 uh, 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:02.079 a number of, 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.079 uh, 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:04.079 uh, 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:05.079 in, 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:06.079 uh, 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:07.079 in, 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:08.079 uh, 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:09.079 in, 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:10.079 uh, 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:11.079 you know, 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:12.079 quite well. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:13.079 Um, 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:14.079 uh, 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:15.079 yeah. 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:16.079 So when, 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:17.079 when Chloe sort of started talking about this, 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:18.079 it, 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.079 um, 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:20.079 it wasn't kind of, 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:21.079 you know, 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:22.079 uh, 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:23.079 you know, 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:24.079 it wasn't, 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:25.079 um, 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:26.079 this weird thing. 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:27.079 Uh, 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:28.079 so I said, 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:29.079 yeah, 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:30.079 yeah, 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:31.079 sure. 00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:32.079 I'm, 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:33.079 I'm open to that. 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:34.079 Yeah. 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:35.079 Um, 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:38.079 there were just several children that we actually really would have loved to have adopted, 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:39.079 but at the time we, 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:40.079 we weren't eligible and, 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:41.079 um, 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:43.079 and we started doing some foster care. 00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:44.079 Um, 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:47.079 and foster care is something we're also going to talk a bit about, 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:48.079 um, 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:49.079 uh, 00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:50.079 with you guys. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:51.079 Um, 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:53.079 and, 00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:54.079 um, 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:55.079 and, 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:56.079 um, 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.079 and, 00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:59.079 and we knew after doing foster care a little bit, 00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:00.079 actually, 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.079 we really want to make this permanent. 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:02.079 We really feel like, 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:03.079 like we, 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:05.079 we want to adopt a child permanently, 00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:06.079 um, 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:07.079 into our family. 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:08.079 Yeah. 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:09.079 I mean, 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:10.079 you know, 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:11.079 we never really heard a, 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:12.079 um, 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:13.079 a big, 00:31:13.079 --> 00:31:14.079 you know, 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:15.079 telling us to adopt. 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:16.079 We don't want to kind of over spiritualize the, 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:17.079 the, 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:18.079 the kind of decision making of it. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:19.079 You know, 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:20.079 um, 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:22.079 we knew that this is a part of the character of God, 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:23.079 you know, 00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:24.079 as, 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:25.079 as you've just been talking about today. 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:26.079 Um, 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:27.079 you know, 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:28.079 for us in our own situation, 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:29.079 we just, 00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:30.079 yeah, 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:31.079 we knew deeply, 00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:32.079 this was, 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:33.079 um, 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:34.079 this is, 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:35.079 um, 00:31:35.079 --> 00:31:38.079 consistent with who we are as believers and, 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:39.079 uh, 00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:40.079 who we are as a couple. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:41.079 Yeah. 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:42.079 Yeah. 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:43.079 That's awesome. 00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:44.079 And it's just cool to hear that. 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:45.079 There was just an openness. 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:46.079 It seems like even from a younger age about, 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:48.079 about this and openness to hear God's word on this. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:50.079 So in this journey, 00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:51.079 uh, 00:31:51.079 --> 00:31:52.079 I'm sure it hasn't been easy, 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:53.079 but, 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:54.079 uh, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:56.079 how have you experienced God in this journey? 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:00.079 How has your faith kind of manifested itself in this? 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:01.079 Yeah. 00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:02.079 I mean, 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:03.079 um, 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:05.079 we've really experienced God kind of, 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:06.079 uh, 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:07.079 step by step, 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:08.079 you know, 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:09.079 it's, 00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:10.079 the, 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:11.079 the, 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:12.079 the process of adoption, 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:13.079 um, 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:14.079 you know, 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:15.079 is, 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:16.079 you know, 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:17.079 there's, 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:18.079 um, 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:19.079 training is, 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:20.079 and, 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:21.079 uh, 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:22.079 interviews, 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:23.079 all, 00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:24.079 all this stuff that's very, 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.079 you know, 00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:26.079 sort of step by step. 00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:27.079 So we really felt God kind of meet us wherever we happen to be in that, 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:29.079 in that process and just leading us through step by step. 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:30.079 And, 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:31.079 um, 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:32.079 through step by step, 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:33.079 giving us enough light on the path to take one step ahead. 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:34.079 Right. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:35.079 So it's very, 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:36.079 very kind of continuous rather than, 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:37.079 um, 00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:38.079 you know, 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:39.079 like, 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:40.079 there's not, 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:41.079 um, 00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:42.079 I think maybe sometimes we, 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:43.079 we think, 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:44.079 oh, 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:45.079 we need, 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:46.079 you know, 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.079 to step out and adopt a kid, 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:48.079 but, 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.079 you know, 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:50.079 we really, 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:51.079 you know, 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.079 we just needed whatever the next step was very kind of continuous way. 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:54.079 Yeah. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:55.079 Yeah. 00:32:55.079 --> 00:32:56.079 And I think just, 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:58.079 just meeting other families and being involved with, 00:32:58.079 --> 00:32:59.079 with other families, 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:01.079 there's no normal family actually. 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:05.079 And just meeting families who have adopted before us or families who, 00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:06.079 you know, 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:09.079 their children have unexpected medical needs or unexpected special needs. 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:14.079 And just seeing how they just embrace that unknown parenting journey. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:17.079 And I think just speaking with people just like, 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:24.079 like those types of families gives us so much courage and reminds us there's no one way to build a family. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:25.079 And I, 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:26.079 having that discussion, 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:27.079 um, 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:28.079 before we had kids on, 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:29.079 you know, 00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:31.079 how are we going to build our family was really valuable for, 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:32.079 for our family, 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:33.079 um, 00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:34.079 and how we built it. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:35.079 And then, 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:36.079 you know, 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:37.079 when the, 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:38.079 when the time came and then, 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:39.079 you know, 00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:41.079 we're finally ready and we're waiting and then we get this phone call to say, 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:42.079 you know, 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:43.079 there's this child. 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:44.079 And, 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:45.079 um, 00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:46.079 you know, 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:47.079 we're sitting there in this, 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:48.079 um, 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:49.079 in this social workers office and there's like, 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:50.079 you know, 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:53.079 stacks of paperwork and a bunch of it's scary and words we don't understand. 00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:54.079 And, 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.079 and, 00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:56.079 you know, 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:58.079 I think we felt like this is the moment to have that huge amount of faith. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:33:59.079 And it wasn't, 00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:00.079 it, 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.079 I think it was just all of those steps of faith and courage. 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:04.079 We'd, 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:05.079 we'd been able to take, 00:34:05.079 --> 00:34:06.079 uh, 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:07.079 throughout, 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:08.079 you know, 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:09.079 this like 10 or 15 year journey. 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:10.079 Um, 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:12.079 just when we were looking at that paperwork, 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:13.079 we're like, 00:34:13.079 --> 00:34:14.079 this is just a child, 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:15.079 right? 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:16.079 It's really easy to look at paper and, 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:17.079 and it's very scary, 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:18.079 but it's like, 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:19.079 it just felt like, 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:20.079 no, 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:21.079 this is, 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:22.079 this is our child. 00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:24.079 This is actually the easiest part of it is to say yes. 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:25.079 Um, 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:26.079 and we knew that, 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:27.079 that he was our son and, 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:28.079 um, 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:29.079 yeah, 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:31.079 he's four years old right now and just the best. 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:32.079 Amazing. 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:33.079 Yeah. 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:34.079 And I really want to acknowledge, 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.079 you know, 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:36.079 there, 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:37.079 there's lots of, 00:34:37.079 --> 00:34:38.079 um, 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:39.079 uh, 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:40.079 adoptive families within our community, 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:41.079 um, 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:43.079 that we know who are not motivated by faith. 00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:44.079 Right. 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:45.079 And, 00:34:45.079 --> 00:34:46.079 and their journeys to adoption, 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:47.079 uh, 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:48.079 just as valid and meaningful. 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:49.079 And, 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:50.079 um, 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:51.079 I think we all have, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:52.079 um, 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:53.079 so much to learn from, 00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:54.079 um, 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:55.079 each other's journeys and, 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:56.079 um, 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:57.079 you know, 00:34:57.079 --> 00:34:58.079 the, 00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:59.079 you know, 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:00.079 the, 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:01.079 the steps that each of us has taken to get to this point. 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:02.079 Yeah. 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:03.079 Um, 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:04.079 it sounds like, 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:05.079 um, 00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:06.079 faith and obviously a huge part, 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:09.079 but also I know Christian faith was, 00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:12.079 we were designed to experience it as a community, 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:13.079 you know, 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:14.079 with people. 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:18.079 And I can only imagine all the more something as significant as adoption or fostering. 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:20.079 Hopefully that's been your experience. 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:21.079 And if so, 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:26.079 how have you felt or not felt the community around you, 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:27.079 the Christian, 00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:29.079 the people of God walking with you in this journey? 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:30.079 Yeah, 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:31.079 um, 00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:32.079 definitely, 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:33.079 you know, 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:34.079 our, um, 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:35.079 you know, 00:35:35.079 --> 00:35:36.079 school, 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:37.079 uh, 00:35:37.079 --> 00:35:38.079 workplace, 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:39.079 you know, 00:35:39.079 --> 00:35:40.079 all of these things, 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:41.079 they're absolutely vital really for, 00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:42.079 for any family, 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:43.079 I think. 00:35:43.079 --> 00:35:44.079 um, 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:45.079 you know, 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:46.079 for adoptive families, 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:47.079 I think, 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:48.079 you know, 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:49.079 there, 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:50.079 um, 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:51.079 there's always loss, 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:52.079 right? 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:53.079 Like no matter how, 00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:54.079 um, 00:35:54.079 --> 00:35:55.079 great or wonderful, 00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:56.079 um, 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:57.079 you know, 00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:58.079 a person, 00:35:58.079 --> 00:35:59.079 uh, 00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:00.079 person's adoptive kind of experiences, 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:01.079 there's always, 00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:02.079 there's always loss in there. 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:03.079 Right. 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:04.079 And, 00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:05.079 um, 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:06.079 I think there's this, 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:07.079 um, 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:08.079 whether it's church or, 00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:09.079 or other communities, 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:10.079 there's, 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:11.079 you know, 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:12.079 adoption is, 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:13.079 is many things, 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:14.079 you know, 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:15.079 it's just, 00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:16.079 just, 00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:17.079 like you, 00:36:17.079 --> 00:36:18.079 you get this kind of thing of, 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:19.079 you know, 00:36:19.079 --> 00:36:20.079 people might, 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:21.079 you know, 00:36:21.079 --> 00:36:22.079 might be like, 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:23.079 Oh, 00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:24.079 isn't that, 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:25.079 you know, 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:26.079 aren't you, 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:27.079 aren't you so lucky, 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.079 right? 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:29.079 to be in this family? 00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:30.079 Isn't it wonderful that you're, 00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:31.079 that you've been adopted by this family? 00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:32.079 And, 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:33.079 you know, 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:34.079 that, 00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:35.079 that, 00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:36.079 right. 00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:37.079 And, 00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:38.079 and, 00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:39.079 and it may not be the only feeling they have about it. 00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:40.079 Um, 00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:41.079 you know, 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:42.079 as communities to understand that, 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:43.079 um, 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:44.079 you know, 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:45.079 there's joy and loss and pain and, 00:36:45.079 --> 00:36:46.079 um, 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:47.079 happiness and, 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:48.079 you know, 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:49.079 feeling, 00:36:49.079 --> 00:36:50.079 really affirmed in family, 00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:51.079 but also there's, 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:52.079 there's always that thing of like, 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:53.079 of the, 00:36:53.079 --> 00:36:54.079 um, 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:55.079 you know, 00:36:55.079 --> 00:36:56.079 of, 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:57.079 uh, 00:36:57.079 --> 00:36:58.079 of the loss in person's background. 00:36:58.079 --> 00:36:59.079 And, 00:36:59.079 --> 00:37:00.079 you know, 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:01.079 um, 00:37:01.079 --> 00:37:02.079 uh, 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:03.079 open to, 00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:04.079 uh, 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:05.079 open to learning, 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:06.079 you know, 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:07.079 and we're all gonna make mistakes, 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:08.079 right? 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:09.079 And, 00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.079 um, 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:11.079 you know, 00:37:11.079 --> 00:37:12.079 for, 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:13.079 you know, 00:37:13.079 --> 00:37:14.079 and, 00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:15.079 but just open to the voices of adoptees and adoptive families. 00:37:15.079 --> 00:37:16.079 Um, 00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:17.079 uh, 00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:18.079 in, 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:19.079 uh, 00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:20.079 our child's, 00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:21.079 uh, 00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:22.079 kindergarten class, 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:23.079 they did, 00:37:23.079 --> 00:37:24.079 they did a story book, 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:25.079 um, 00:37:25.079 --> 00:37:26.079 and, 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.079 um, 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:28.079 I think for most people, 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:29.079 they wouldn't kind of have a problem with it. 00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:30.079 Some, 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:31.079 but some of the themes in it, 00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:32.079 um, 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:33.079 you know, 00:37:33.079 --> 00:37:34.079 um, 00:37:34.079 --> 00:37:36.079 kind of worked against the, 00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:37.079 you know, 00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:38.079 that idea of permanence, 00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:39.079 which we really, 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:40.079 you know, 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:41.079 work really hard to establish and saying like, 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:42.079 you know, 00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:43.079 you will always be our kid, 00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:44.079 you know, 00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:45.079 no matter what you do or, 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:46.079 you know, 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:47.079 whatever issues come up, 00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:48.079 um, 00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:49.079 you know, 00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:50.079 health issues or, 00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:51.079 or whatever, 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:52.079 lovely book. 00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:53.079 You know, 00:37:53.079 --> 00:37:54.079 it kind of worked against that in, 00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:55.079 in some ways. 00:37:55.079 --> 00:37:56.079 And, 00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:57.079 um, 00:37:57.079 --> 00:37:58.079 you know, 00:37:58.079 --> 00:37:59.079 I kind of brought this up with, 00:37:59.079 --> 00:38:00.079 um, 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:01.079 kindergarten principal and, 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:02.079 and she was, 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:03.079 I mean, 00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:04.079 she was super great about it, 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:05.079 right? 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:06.079 Like, 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.079 you know, 00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:08.079 she hadn't sort of before, 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:10.079 she hadn't really had cause to think of it from that perspective, 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:13.079 but was really open to kind of seeing it from our perspective and be like, 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:14.079 oh yeah, 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:15.079 I understand that. 00:38:15.079 --> 00:38:16.079 Okay. 00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:17.079 Yeah. 00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:18.079 I think, 00:38:18.079 --> 00:38:19.079 um, 00:38:19.079 --> 00:38:20.079 uh, 00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:21.079 really important thing. 00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:22.079 And, 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:23.079 and just as, 00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:24.079 as you journey as a church is also not to put, 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.079 uh, 00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:28.079 people who step forward to the adoptive parents or foster parents or support, 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:29.079 you know, 00:38:29.079 --> 00:38:30.079 um, 00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:31.079 teen moms on a pedestal. 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:33.079 They don't have more faith than anyone else. 00:38:33.079 --> 00:38:34.079 They don't have more courage. 00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:35.079 And, 00:38:35.079 --> 00:38:36.079 and when you put people on a pedestal, 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:38.079 they actually can't share their struggles. 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:41.079 They can't share their challenges in the same way. 00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:42.079 Um, 00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:45.079 and so just really recognizing that everyone needs support. 00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:46.079 Um, 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:47.079 and, 00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:48.079 uh, 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:49.079 there's just so many ways for the community to support. 00:38:49.079 --> 00:38:50.079 It's not just, 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:51.079 you know, 00:38:51.079 --> 00:38:52.079 kind of family like ours. 00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:54.079 It's actually every single person has, 00:38:54.079 --> 00:38:55.079 has a role to play. 00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:56.079 Um, 00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:57.079 and especially, 00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:58.079 you know, 00:38:58.079 --> 00:38:59.079 with, 00:38:59.079 --> 00:39:00.079 uh, 00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:01.079 with, 00:39:01.079 --> 00:39:02.079 with foster care, 00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:03.079 you know, 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:07.079 the whole idea of foster care is that that child will leave and you need to have your support network around you to, 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:08.079 to, 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:09.079 to come alongside you to help you. 00:39:09.079 --> 00:39:10.079 Um, 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:11.079 and adoption too. 00:39:11.079 --> 00:39:14.079 It doesn't just finish when you sign these legal paperwork. 00:39:14.079 --> 00:39:15.079 It's a lifelong journey. 00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:16.079 So I think, 00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:17.079 you know, 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:18.079 we're super excited for, 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:19.079 for Watermark church, 00:39:19.079 --> 00:39:20.079 you know, 00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:21.079 as a family to step forwards in this, 00:39:21.079 --> 00:39:22.079 um, 00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:23.079 and to really say, 00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:24.079 you know, 00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:25.079 we're in this together and, 00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:26.079 and, 00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:27.079 um, 00:39:27.079 --> 00:39:28.079 so, 00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:29.079 yeah, 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:30.079 it sounds like we, 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:31.079 there's just so much a community, 00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:32.079 a faith community, 00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:34.079 a church can do in terms of just being literate, 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:36.079 educating ourselves about what we can do, 00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:37.079 what to say, 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:38.079 not to say, 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:39.079 how we can come alongside. 00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:40.079 Um, 00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:41.079 we have our work cut out for us, 00:39:41.079 --> 00:39:44.079 but it's just so illuminating to hear, 00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:45.079 um, 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:46.079 from you guys from the horse's mouth. 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:49.079 So thank you so much for joining us today. 00:39:49.079 --> 00:39:50.079 Thank you. 00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:51.079 Thanks for having us. 00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:52.079 Yeah. 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:53.079 Uh, 00:39:53.079 --> 00:39:54.079 let me just pray for us real quick. 00:39:54.079 --> 00:39:55.079 Lord, 00:39:55.079 --> 00:39:56.079 thank you so much for this family. 00:39:56.079 --> 00:40:02.079 Thank you for their stewardship and for speaking into our lives this morning in Jesus name. 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:04.079 All right. 00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:05.079 Amen. 00:40:05.079 --> 00:40:06.079 Church. 00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:07.079 Um, 00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:09.079 we're going to wrap up with a couple of things, 00:40:09.079 --> 00:40:10.079 uh, 00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:13.079 just to kind of tie up some loose ends. 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:15.079 And. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:19.079 I think there's a vision for us, 00:40:19.079 --> 00:40:21.079 both from myself and I think the leaders, 00:40:21.079 --> 00:40:24.079 we've really seen that there is a clear need in Hong Kong, 00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:30.079 for the church family to step into this gap that orphanages institutions. 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:32.079 They simply cannot fill. 00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:33.079 So we're, 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:42.079 we're going to take a step of faith to really explore what it would look like for watermark to have some kind of fostering adoption ministry of some sort. 00:40:42.079 --> 00:40:44.079 And, 00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:46.079 you know, 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:47.079 we've heard God's word and now we must do. 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:48.079 And just, 00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:49.079 I just want to imagine for a moment, 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:51.079 just kind of dream with me for a minute. 00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:53.079 Just imagine like a bunch of us in watermark, 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:56.079 bringing these kids into the church community, 00:40:56.079 --> 00:40:57.079 you know, 00:40:57.079 --> 00:40:59.079 whether it's through fostering or adoption, 00:40:59.079 --> 00:41:00.079 you know, 00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:03.079 mobilizing financial support for couples who need it. 00:41:03.079 --> 00:41:04.079 You know, 00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:05.079 you have entire CGs, 00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:07.079 including singles rallying around them, 00:41:07.079 --> 00:41:08.079 providing supplies, 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:09.079 childcare, 00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:10.079 counseling, 00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:11.079 emotional support, 00:41:11.079 --> 00:41:12.079 whatnot. 00:41:12.079 --> 00:41:17.079 And you might have one couple who's going through the fostering process itself, 00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:19.079 but you might have a couple singles who are walking with them, 00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:22.079 who are getting legally qualified as well, 00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:28.079 so that they can actually be qualified and legally to babysit for them in times of need. 00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:29.079 You know, 00:41:29.079 --> 00:41:34.079 we might even have a church wide system to provide supplies and other things. 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:35.079 And guys, 00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:37.079 we do such a great job with pregnant mothers. 00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:38.079 You know, 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:39.079 we've, 00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:40.079 Julie and I have experienced that firsthand. 00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:47.079 We could do an equally amazing job for those who are expecting a foster or an adoptive child. 00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:48.079 And I want, 00:41:48.079 --> 00:41:49.079 I'm just dreaming here, 00:41:49.079 --> 00:41:52.079 but I just want to invite you. 00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:55.079 We want to invite you into this process and actually dream. 00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:57.079 What could this look like? 00:41:57.079 --> 00:41:59.079 And I think if God is in it, 00:41:59.079 --> 00:42:00.079 which we believe he is, 00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:04.079 then only he knows how amazing this could be. 00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:06.079 You know, 00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:07.079 personally, 00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:10.079 I've been thinking about adoption for quite a while now. 00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:11.079 And, 00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:16.079 but something recently has really kind of significant in my life has, 00:42:16.079 --> 00:42:21.079 has kind of shaped the way that I see orphans and vulnerable children. 00:42:21.079 --> 00:42:22.079 Many of you know, 00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:24.079 this my wife and I, 00:42:24.079 --> 00:42:25.079 uh, 00:42:25.079 --> 00:42:27.079 welcomed our first child into the world, 00:42:27.079 --> 00:42:28.079 our little girl, 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:29.079 Ava. 00:42:29.079 --> 00:42:33.079 And now I'm not saying that everyone needs this kind of experience, 00:42:33.079 --> 00:42:36.079 but I think for me in my own faith journey, 00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:37.079 I think before I had, 00:42:37.079 --> 00:42:43.079 I had a bit of a detached and maybe a bit self-centered view of orphan care, 00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:44.079 where it was like, 00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:45.079 Oh, 00:42:45.079 --> 00:42:47.079 there's kids out there who need a family. 00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:48.079 So I'll do it. 00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.079 God kind of, 00:42:49.079 --> 00:42:50.079 I'll step in. 00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:54.079 And I think there was definitely an element where I thought it was more about, 00:42:54.079 --> 00:43:01.079 it was more about doing the right thing rather than really seeing these children the way that our heavenly father does. 00:43:01.079 --> 00:43:04.079 And now that I've gone through, 00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:05.079 you know, 00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:06.079 the nine months of seeing my, 00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:10.079 my wife grow this baby and all the, 00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:11.079 all that goes into that. 00:43:11.079 --> 00:43:12.079 And, 00:43:12.079 --> 00:43:13.079 and the, 00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:18.079 the painstaking labor that goes into bringing a child into this world and, 00:43:18.079 --> 00:43:23.079 and all the things it takes to keep her alive after she's been born and, 00:43:23.079 --> 00:43:24.079 and well. 00:43:24.079 --> 00:43:30.079 So when I look and I think about the orphans and the children in need out there, 00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:31.079 I, 00:43:31.079 --> 00:43:34.079 I know because I've seen myself and I've been convicted. 00:43:34.079 --> 00:43:40.079 I know that every single one of them have gone through that experience that they were fearfully, 00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:50.079 wonderfully made knitted together in their mother's wombs that God piece them together crafted. 00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:54.079 They are his handy work and that this precious, 00:43:54.079 --> 00:44:03.079 beautiful image of God that I see in my little girl is repeated in every single one of those kids out there. 00:44:04.079 --> 00:44:08.079 And so the question that now kind of becomes to me is, 00:44:08.079 --> 00:44:10.079 well, why wouldn't we reach out? 00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:11.079 Why wouldn't we love them? 00:44:11.079 --> 00:44:13.079 Why wouldn't we care for them? 00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:17.079 Because it was the same God who knitted them together, 00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:20.079 who piece them together painstakingly. 00:44:20.079 --> 00:44:23.079 They went through the same experience of coming into this world. 00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:27.079 And it's just that they don't have physical parents or in a difficult situation. 00:44:27.079 --> 00:44:29.079 So who cares whether they were, 00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:32.079 whether God knitted them together in someone else's womb. 00:44:33.079 --> 00:44:36.079 It was our heavenly father who did that. 00:44:36.079 --> 00:44:39.079 It was my heavenly father who did that. 00:44:39.079 --> 00:44:43.079 And so as we wrap this up, 00:44:43.079 --> 00:44:48.079 I just want to make sure you remember two specific things that we heard today. 00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:52.079 First, we must remember our own adoption. 00:44:53.079 --> 00:44:58.079 James is talking about religion that is pure before God, the father, and that's our father. 00:44:59.079 --> 00:45:04.079 And that true religion must flow out of true relationship with God. 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:10.079 And I want to hear, I want you to hear God, your dad telling you this morning that, that you are a son and daughter, 00:45:11.079 --> 00:45:13.079 that I love you and I want what's best for you. 00:45:13.079 --> 00:45:14.079 I want to teach you what's good. 00:45:14.079 --> 00:45:18.079 I want to show you my heart and let's take care of orphans together. 00:45:19.079 --> 00:45:21.079 Church, we're in this together. 00:45:21.079 --> 00:45:28.079 Second, I want to just echo James's call that we hear this, but we don't stop there. 00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:35.079 And we respond by doing because this call for orphan care is a call to the entire church. 00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:40.079 And so it's not a question of whether you should be involved, but simply how. 00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:43.079 And we have a few specific action points. 00:45:43.079 --> 00:45:45.079 We'll touch at the end of the service. 00:45:45.079 --> 00:45:52.079 The reality is not everyone will actually foster and adopt, but all are commanded to play a role. 00:45:52.079 --> 00:46:02.079 And I know some of you guys out there, I know that some of you guys are already feeling the stir and a prompt or a thought about really considering fostering and adoption. 00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:04.079 And I encourage you, don't snuff that thought out. 00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:06.079 Really take a hold of it. 00:46:06.079 --> 00:46:07.079 Come before the Lord. 00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:14.079 Tell me, I'd love to talk with you and really begin thinking how we as a church can walk alongside you. 00:46:14.079 --> 00:46:15.079 And encourage you. 00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:19.079 This morning, we've been hearers of the word. 00:46:20.079 --> 00:46:25.079 And the challenge to us from James and from our Lord Jesus is, will we be doers? 00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:26.079 Let's pray. 00:46:27.079 --> 00:46:32.079 Father, we just come before you right now and say thank you for our adoption, Lord. 00:46:32.079 --> 00:46:35.079 Thank you for knowing our spiritual father. 00:46:36.079 --> 00:46:38.079 God, thank you for the security, Lord. 00:46:38.079 --> 00:46:41.079 And help us not to just take hold of that. 00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:50.079 Help us not to just hold it into ourselves, Lord, but to let that overflow in grace and love to all those who are in need, God. 00:46:51.079 --> 00:46:58.079 As we have been orphans who are adopted by you, Lord, let us reflect that same love, Lord, to those around us, God. 00:46:58.079 --> 00:47:02.079 I just want to pray specifically, Lord, for just us as the next step. 00:47:02.079 --> 00:47:05.079 This is a huge enterprise, a grand God-sized vision, God. 00:47:06.079 --> 00:47:11.079 And so, Lord, we humbly ask for your guidance, your conviction, your leading. 00:47:11.079 --> 00:47:13.079 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:47:14.079 --> 00:47:15.079 Amen. 00:47:15.079 --> 00:47:16.079 Amen. 00:47:16.079 --> 00:47:17.079 Amen. 00:47:17.079 --> 00:47:18.079 Amen.