I want to speak a message that the Lord placed on my heart a while ago that I believe is going to significantly touch hearts this morning. I want to speak about our Father's love.
Romans 8:15-17 says "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out "Abba Father". The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together".
Father, we thank you that you are here with us. We thank you for this word that you give us that applies not only to every area but is alive and living in us now. We thank you for what you did in this place as we were here praying on Friday night. Spirit of God, we thank you for what you're going to do this month through this church, through our ministries and the outreaches that will be life changing for many lives. Lord, may we decrease and may you increase, in Jesus name, amen.
I find it interesting that out of all the ways God desired to reveal himself to us he chose to be known as Father. There are so many other things that he could have chosen. We're taught to pray, "Our Father", and we understand the triune God that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But for many of us this has become just theology. He didn't reveal himself just as creator. He didn't reveal himself as creator, son and spirit or all powerful, omnicient, great worshipful master, but Father. He is all those other titles, he has revealed himself in his splendor but under the new covenant he said, "I want you when you pray to say "Our Father".
Father is a title of relationship. It speaks not only of being in a relationship with someone but of being related to somebody. It is that tie that is bought through blood, someone who has a vested interest in us, not only through commitment thought they will be committed because they are part of the family. They see a responsibility to provide and protect because they are family with us. Out of everything that God wanted to reveal to us is that he is our Father and we are family.
As I was thinking about coming into these next couple of months I was thinking about how many people have yet to know God as their father. He's God but he's at a distance; he's the creator but he's at a distance. He is all powerful, almighty, incredible but he's at a distance. The Bible says that when we become a Christian that his spirit bears witness that we are his children. This is so important. How many understand what I'm talking about when it says his spirit bears witness? There is that knowing in your heart that you are a child of God not just when his annointing or his presence is there but when we gave our life to the Lord one of the key things that was revealed to us was that he was our father. We are his children and our heart cries out, "Abba Father"or "Daddy God". He is our father in heaven.
One of the primary purposes of Jesus' ministry, out of everything that he did, was to reveal God the Father, to reveal the heart that he has for you and me. I believe the reason why the Lord laid this so strongly on my heart is because so many people feel so far away from the Lord right now. How many people have yet to know the depth of God's love really in all it's fullness? There is something that happens in a heart of a person who knows God as their Father, when they have that close relationship with Him that is so tight and so wonderful and feels the security that comes from that.
One of the primary purposes of Jesus was to reveal that father heart of God.
John 14:7-10 says, "If you had known me you would have also known my Father and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us". Jesus said to Him, "I have been with you so long and you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the father. So how can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak I do not speak on my own authority but the Father who dwells in me does the work".
The desire of Jesus is to reveal both the power and the love of God. The truth is that the two of them are absolutely inseparable. His power and his love go hand in hand all the time. For many their understanding of God has been shaped by their relationship with their earthly Father. The more that I counsel people and the longer I live, the more I find that a person's view of God has been shaped by what their own Dad was like. But something happens when they begin to get a revelation of Jesus. It doesn't matter who your dad is or what he is like, God is so much different and so much more precious. For those of us who have a good father, that's a bonus. If you've had a negative father it depends on what you see. Those of us who had a nurturing, hard working, involved, attentive father have no problem seeing God as loving and caring, powerful and awesome. Others who have a wimpy, thinskinned, weak and lazy father may see God as a teddy bear or as a cosmic santa clause. For many their old man was anything but kind, generous and available. Many today have grown up as a product of abuse and neglect or they had an absent father who was absorbed by everything else other than their family. It's a challenge for those who grew up in that environment to view the "Ancient of Days" as anything other than aloof, authoritative and judgmental. The truth is he is far more than that.
I could tell story after story of reasons why so many people struggle with a father image of God. Today many of our families are without a father. Promiscuity and divorce have so reached our country that in certain segments of our society up to 62% of families don't even have a dad. Some have been physically or sexually abused by their father so they can't understand why God would be gentle and kind. There are even many today who have good fathers and come from solid families and good homes. They love God but they have yet to realize the depth of God's love for them and I believe that God wants to do that in this place this morning. Because of various types of earthly fathers it is vital for Jesus to reveal God's father heart to us. That's what I prayed this morning as I began to prepare for this message, that we would be receptive to what Jesus is going to speak in our heart. How many are thankful for the Holy Spirit who knows how to minister to each and every one of us in this room in a very special way? I have found so often as I preach the word of God that what I say really may not be what you hear. The truth is that what I speak, the Holy Spirit may be doing a completely different work in your heart. I invite you this morning to receive that in God's fullness.
It is impossible to know the Father unless Jesus reveals him to us. In James 14: 6, Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me". Matthew 11:27 says, "All things have been delivered to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father. Nor does anyone know the father except the son and those whom the son wills to reveal him". A revelation of the father's heart is life changing. Once we come to know him, not just as all powerful God who is far away but as God the Father who is family to us. He is the patriarch over our life, the one who cares for us immensely and will take responsibility for every step of our walk with him. This is how our soul finds complete rest in the Lord. When you grasp the Father heart of God you begin to rest and trust in Him. It is how the inner turmoil ends and how we begin to find the power and the purpose of God in our life. We receive this by knowing his great care for us. A father's love and touch completely shapes a child.
I grew up in a home where after my father died at 5 years old I am thankful for the love of my mom and for everything she poured into my life. How many know there is nothing like a mother's love? But the truth is there is nothing like a father's love and it is necessary. Father's, we shape our children in ways that we could never ever imagine. The impact that you an I have on their life is astounding. In the same way the impact of Father God on us is immeasureable.
Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light".
God's heart is revealed to everyone of us this morning. That heaviness that we carry, the strain of this life, the intensity of what we go through is automatically erased when we begin to find ourselves with Father God. Every work that Jesus did was meant to reveal the heart of God, his power and his love. Every healing that Jesus did, every kindness that he showed, every miracle that he did, was not just a display of power but of love. The turning of water into wine at a wedding, opening blind eyes, feeding the thousands, raising the dead was not just a demonstration of the power of God but was a demonstration of the love of God. How many are thankful for the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit? We can get so caught up in the power that we forget the reason for the power is to demonstrate God's heart for all of mankind; not only in us when he heals us and sets us free but when God uses you and I to go into the world and minister his life into other people it is a demonstration not only that he is God but that he is the Father.
I believe there is not one man in this room who has a heart for God that wouldn't do anything for their children. That's the way God is for us.
Jesus said in John 14:11, "Believe me that I am in the father and the father in me or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves". How many of you have seen the power of God in your life? Last week when you shared with me about the healing and how God took that cancer, the doctors opened her up and there was nothing there. That wasn't just a demonstration of his power but of his love and not just to the people that he healed. When those doctor's opened her up they found out that God really does care. Science and medicine are all great but God supercedes it all. The same is true today when God heals sickness, when he delivers people out of addiction, when he provides for us in time of need, when he restores a broken home, when he touches a woman just like he did with the lady caught in adultery. He said to her, "Go and sin no more". She felt the Father heart of God, not condemnation, not a beating. What she had done was sin but that woman didn't need the hand of another man to use her and abuse her. All she needed was the hand of a Father who would set her free nd that's what she got that day. All of this is an illustration of God's love.
Many Christians who know Christ have yet to experience the true connection with their heavenly father. Many are continually overcome by fear; many of us still suffer from depression; many of us walk around with the guilt of our past sins that we've committed. Many struggle with certain sins and they fear that they will never have any victory at all. They live bound up with the fear of losing their job and that somehow God won't provide. I want to tell you that in this economy we have nothing to fear. The unemployment rate is now at 11%. If you have a mother and father who will take you in and provide for you, how many believe that you have a havenly father who will do the same? Somehow this changes the life of the believer; when you get to know the father heart of God you begin to walk differently and live differently not out of guilt and obligation but because you know the great love that he has for you.
Somehow this idea of the love of God has become sort of a soft soap, soft sell within the church. The love of God is the most powerful thing that has transformed not only our own lives but the entire world. The force of his love is absolutely amazing. The world has tried to change love into some kind of sappy song that makes you feel good or a movie that is either a 3 hanky or a 5 hanky movie. That's not what it's about, the love of God is way more powerful than that. I'm not knocking those movies, I love a good cry every once in awhile. But when we have a revelation of the father's love we will no longer be walking around in fear, afraid we're going to lose our jobs or afraid that we'll have to live in sickness. When you get to know the father and he wraps his arms around you he changes everything inside of you.
God chose to be a father to you and me, not just to be a creator. There's a difference between a father and a creator. A creator makes something then walks away. Though they have a vested interest in what they did they really don't care what happens when its done but the Father does. You don't have to go looking for it, hoping that you will be the lucky puppy in the window that finds a home. John 15:16 says, "You did not choose me, I chose you". Somehow we just wait around hoping, "when is it my turn?" I want you to listen to me, your turn is now, right now. He's already chosen to make his home inside of you, to dwell with you, to be with you at every moment. We were not a surprise to God. We're not a mistake or an accident that happened like an unplanned child. Every one of us were planned, every one of us were formed, every one of us were thought out, every one of us have been cared for and you are precious to the Lord. He is almighty God, creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the righteous judge but above all he is our father and because he is our father and is almighty we can face anything without fear or insecurity but with complete confidence in Him. That's our God. He chose to be our father on the basis of mercy and love alone, not how good we are or how well we look. There is no condition to be good enough. I have met so many people and I have found this increasing within the body of Christ, that think they're just not good enough, that they haven't done all that they should and all that they can. Listen, God has already done it all for us. You can't earn it, you don't have to do anything for it, he just loves you. I know that for some people in this room today that revelation is going to absolutely transform your life. For those of you who already got it, I pray that revelation will be the thing that motivates us to love and care for others in an even greater level.
As we walk into Thanksgiving, as we begin to celebrate Christmas, I thank God for the decorations and all those things but what I'm even more grateful for is for the power of God's love and this opportunity to worship and give thanks to a faithful savior who came to us and that we can share his love at a time where people are most receptive, and that they would know him as a father. It's amazing how he knows us and in spite of all our sin and unworthiness he loves us.
1st John 3:1 says, "Behold, what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God". What manner of love, we can hardly fathom it or wrap our brains around it. What kind of love is this? It's our heavenly father's love. As our father he is committed to protect us, to provide for us and care for us. He is committed to correct and discipline us just like a good father would. How many are thankful for father's who disciplined you and put you on the right path? How many are thankful for a heavenly father who does the same? He guides and directs us.
There are several hindrances that have kept us from receiving the love of the father. One is that we really don't believe what God says about himself. How many really believe what this word says? The truth is there are many fathers who don't live up to what they say and don't fulfill their promise. That's why there are so many today who won't believe what God says about himself. God and his words are true. The Bible speaks as God's voice revealing his love and tenderness. Psalms 145:9 says, "The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works". Are you ready to take the father at his word? How many believe you are his work?
Another hindrance is that we don't rest in the fact that God knows what is best for us. Never has God taken something from us except to do something better, more beautiful or more fulfilling. Never has God allowed anyone to go through anything without us coming out on the other side better. Some of us in this room have had to go through some pretty amazing things and some are having to go through some of the hardest things we've ever faced in our life. Being a Christian doesn't exempt you from the hard things but it does mean that your father is right there. I live 1200 miles away from my Dad but at any moment I can get on the phone and ask for his help. I have his Nextel, his cell phone, his home phone and his other cell phone. When I can't get him on one, I call all of them and eventually I'm going to annoy him enough that he's going to answer. I don't care who you are or how old you are, when you finally get dad on the phone it feels good. If you need to vent, if you need to fix something and you don't know what you're doing, if you're going through a tough time, there's just something about a Dad that's there. The truth is there's nothing like being able to get God and you don't have to try a bunch of different numbers. All you have to do is call out his name and he's right there. That's our father.
I don't know what your Dad is like, maybe he doesn't answer on your first call, maybe he's let you down, maybe he's done some pretty amazing things to you that you would never share with anyone because they were that bad, but I remind you that you can always count on your father, God. You say, "Pastor, is this word really necessary because I think I know it". Christian, I pray that word is in effect in you like it's touching some hearts now and that you will let the compassion of the Lord so well up within you so when you minister to others you will realize how they need to hear the father heart of God. He'll be as close as the mention of his name.
Another hindrance to receiving the father's love is that we believe it's just too good to be true. How can something that good be that real? I know I've preached some pretty heavy messages but we live in a pretty desperate place. How many know the truth that God is that real? He's that good, he's that free, he's that dependable and he's right there for us. We can be loved, we can be cared for, we can be healed and it's not too good, it's way good. His word is for you and he's faithful all the time. He gives gifts that will blow your mind. His arm around you will minister to you in the deepest hurts where even your spouse can't comfort your hurt. God is right there.
One of the parables Jesus told that greatly reveals the father's heart is the parable of the prodigal son. It's amazing how many times as Christians we've heard this story and we say that's great for the kids to hear. The truth is what it reveals to us is not something so childlike that it doesn't have a profound effect on us. You know the story, a boy went to his Dad who had a lot of wealth and said, "Dad, I'm ready to move out on my own". How many have ever had teenagers say the same thing to you? Those who haven't, get ready, they're on their way. "I got it, Dad, I can handle it. You've taught me everything you can teach me and I can handle it from here". A wise Dad looks at their kids and says, "Ok, you think you've got it, go ahead". Sometimes we want to hang on so much. The more I study God's word, the more I realize that he's never afraid to let his children go and do what they're going to do because he's always going to be there anyway.
That father looked at his son and said, "Alright, here's your inheritance". How many know that he knew? He didn't say, "Boy, I know you're going to blow this whole thing so I'm not giving it to you. You're just too stupid for your own self, I know what you're going to go out there and do". He said, "Alright, you think you've got it, here's the money". He loved him, he wasn't mean. He probably gave him the Dad talk. Then off into the world he went and he blew everything. He messed up royally and now he doesn't have anything. He went from living in the palace to eating with the pigs. He couldn't even fill his belly and was eating the slop they threw to the hogs. As that boy crawled around in the mud the thought came to him, "My Dad's servants live better than this. I'll go back and be his servant". Do you want to know something? Deep in his heart, the kid knew that he could always go back. Our Father is consistent whether we come to our senses or not. The Bible say that the prodigal son came to his senses. That father loved his son and relished in giving him his inheritance, and he gave him the chance to do something with it. The truth is that God is the same with us. That son blew it all but when he came to himself he was astonished at his father's response.
Luke 12:20-24 says, "Then he arose and came to his father but when he was still a great way off his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son". But the father said to his servant, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Bring out a ring and put it on his hand and sandals for his feet. Bring out the fatted calf, kill it and let us eat and be merry for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to be merry". This parable reveals so much of the Father heart of God. Regardless of our failures, regardless of our wastefulness, some of us in this room have been rebellious against God and have wasted everything that God ever gave us. You went out and you spent the inheritance, it's gone. He loves us despite that.
Jesus gave three reasons in John why he came: to destroy the works of the devil, to bring forgiveness to our life and to reveal the depth of God's love for us. That means when we've done everything wrong, when we've blown it, when we've gone the absolute opposite way of God, he still loves us and cares for us. He's still there and he can't wait to be with us. Our Father's love is not a syrupy niceness but it is a love that's so deep, dynamic, powerful and so demanding that it sent Jesus to the cross to die in our place. Jesus reveals the graciousness of a father who embraces his children who have fallen. Sometimes we think that this just applies to us when we finally come to Jesus and give him our life. Some of us gave our life to the Lord and we still blew it. How many know he's still faithful and he still loves you and still cares?
Many people who have fallen and wasted their lives respond with shame and a sense of such unworthiness like the son who said, "I'll go back and just be his servant". People like this distance themselves from God because they don't believe he'll ever take them back. Listen, he will take them back. May our church never act like that. I pray for anyone who's been away from God or has messed up, we're going to be like the Father and welcome them with open arms. We're the family of God. Some of us are going to mess up, some of us are going to do things that are so bad. That father knew what the prodigal son was going to do but when he saw him come back he didn't wait for him to come groveling on his knees, he ran out to him with all that he had and wrapped his arms around him. That's what the body of Christ needs to be like, that's what we are to be as a church, that's how we're to love people just like our Father God loves us.
The revelation of the Father speaks to our unworthiness and draws us close. That father never lost hope and God never stops caring about you and me even when we mess up, even when we run away, he never loses sight of our potential and his desire for us. Many of us have had parents that were kind and supportive but some father's act like their kids are a bother and a chore so they feel rejected like they could never measure up. That's not so with God. He already knows what he's planted inside of you.
This parable teaches us that the Father is always looking our way. Every time I can just see that dad walking around his house, looking down the road thinking "I wonder when my son is coming back". He was always looking. That's why he saw him from a distance because he was looking for him. Some of you have said that to your own kids when they left the house, "I know what you're doing but you'll be back". Some of you need to understand that who are dealing with wayward kids. They'll be back. "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it'. They're coming back, they don't have a choice. You already gave them to the Lord, now they're just walking on God's time. They just think they have it all together. The father always looked for him and when he saw him he ran out to meet him. Somehow the American church has kept those at a distance who have walked away. We're so afraid to hug people.
When we were out on the street last Saturday I met a guy named Arturo and you could tell that most people wanted nothing to do with him. We started talking about service to our country and serving God and Arturo reached out to hug me but he wasn't sure I'd hug him back. But I wrapped my arms around him and he came back up to me later and said, "You know, you blessed me today. Most people won't touch me". What are we so scared of? He was drunk and hadn't showered in a long time. So what! He kissed me on the cheek and asked, "Aren't you afraid of catching something?" No, I want him to catch something. I want him to catch the love of God. I'm not worried about it, I'm the healed of the Lord. This love of the Father is absolutely powerful. I know you have to be careful but you'll never go wrong. The father always receives the repentent.
The son came back and said, "Dad, I'm sorry". He came back with respect though he was broken and on his knees. That father received him and didn't reject him. When we repent, God not only receives our apology, he restores our life with him. God's desire is to restore relationship with each and everyone of us. I don't know where you're at with God but he loves you this morning. When that man saw his son he saw that he was a mess. He looked at his servants and said, "Go get my boy some good clothes. No son of mine is going to walk around like that". He got a ring and put it on his finger. That ring meant that he was family and the father wasn't ashamed of him. Then he killed the fatted calf and had a party. Not only does God celebrate when we come back, not only does he make us presentable and cover our nakedness but he makes sure that we know that we're accepted and that he loves us.
Let me ask you this morning, do you need a revelation of the father's love for you? Have you had that revelation of how much God cares for you? Have you had a revelation of how much God cares for others and become that father's heart so that others can see it? My prayer is that after today you will never be the same again, not because the preacher preached a particularly due message but because you've had a revelation of God's heart. How bad are you hurt? Do you realize you can run to him and that hurt will go away? Have you been walking afraid? Do you realize that fear can go away today? Christian, have you lost that love for other people? Then may you have a revelation of how much God cares for them. Maybe you've been so hurt that you've grown cynical and don't even know how to care anymore. A fresh revelation of that will change your life the way you reach out and touch others. Our Father, not just our God, not just some idle that we serve or some far out religion we practice a couple times a week, but our father who is our family and has that love for you and me that radically changes our life. That's the revelation he wants us to have this morning. Amen
