Believe in the Father

Our theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”

This series is called, “Believe Again”

You may have already believed the gospel, but it is time to believe again.

We began with “Believe in Jesus”

Then we talked about believing in spiritual reality.

We talked about how an encounter with Jesus leads to transformation, living in both realities.

We talked about life - remember the great circle of life - God’s life in us and flowing through us?

We talked about light and how light displaces darkness and exposes what is hidden.

Last week we about truth and freedom. - that knowing the truth about God and about yourself sets you free from guilt and condemnation.

Today we are going to be talking about God the Father.

Most Christians today understand the concept of Trinity - that God is three persons who are essentially One.

Father- Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus is God - John tells us that right from the beginning.

But what about God the Father?

If Jesus is God, then God must be like Jesus!

That might seem like an obvious statement, but many people get confused about God and Jesus.

Some people think that the God the Father is harsh in contrast to Jesus who is all love and forgiveness.

One of my professors from seminary, David Lamb, has written a book called “God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?” He wrote it to answer skeptics of Christianity who say that the God of the Old Testament is different in character than Jesus.

Much of the reason for this is that we do not understand Old Testament stories in their context. Often when God’s judgments seem harsh, they are actually very merciful and very necessary if we understand the context.

God the Father and Jesus are One both in essence and in character.

The first thing that we need to believe about God is that God is good.

If you believe that God is good, then you will want to know Him more.

When you believe God and know God, then God can work through you to draw others to Himself.

To help people to know God the Father, Jesus uses a very familiar analogy - He refers to Himself as a good Shepherd.

The patriarchs of Israel were shepherds.

When Jacob blessed His son Joseph, He called God his Shepherd.

Genesis 48:15 ESV

15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

The prophet Ezekiel referred to the corrupt leaders of Israel as shepherds, but not good ones.

Ezekiel 34:7–8 ESV

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep,

These are shepherd who neglect the sheep, who fail to feed them but who eat them instead.

Ezekiel 34:9–10 ESV

9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

It is pretty pathetic when shepherds are so bad that God needs to rescue his people from the ones who are supposed to be caring for them.

Maybe that is why we have such difficulty with God as Father?

Our own fathers were supposed to care for us, but sometimes they were abusive.

Even good fathers have had some bad days.

Maybe you had a Pastor, a teacher or a church leader who was supposed to demonstrate the heart of God

Maybe what they communicated to you was the message of condemnation.

They made you feel worthless.

Or that you will never be good enough.

God wants us to know that he is good, that He loves us and has a plan to redeem us - that is why He sent Jesus - the good shepherd!

Father God is good.

John 10:1–2 ESV

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Why is it important to use the door?

H. Clay Trumbull is a biblical scholar who has written extensively about covenant. In ancient times, and still in some parts of the world today. The doorway to a house is a family altar. There will be covenant symbols at the doorway, perhaps even blood stains from the ritual slaughtering of sacrifices at the threshold of the house.

Crossing over that threshold is an act of making covenant with the owner of the house. Its why first-time guest come in the front door, whereas family friends go round the back. Or why a groom carries his bride over the threshold.

Coming in by the door is the way of entering into covenant where there is mutual commitment and agreement.

It’s a sign of respect.

Good people respect you.

The basis for any successful relationship is mutual respect.

You don't trust a person who breaks into your house.

You might not trust a person who just barges in and starts eating your food without a proper greeting either.

Relating to a person who doesn’t respect you is just asking for trouble.

Don’t act surprised when the relationship turns abusive.

The first thing you need to know about God, in order to know that He is good, is that He respects you.

Yes, He’s God, but He doesn’t bully you - He respects your choices.

Sure God can just do things sovereignly, but for the most part he doesn’t do anything on earth without some form of human participation.

When you think about Jesus, God became human to reach humanity.

How respectful is that? God doing human stuff.

God gets down on our level to communicate with us.

God condescended to be like us to reach us.

That’s using the door!

John 10:7–10 ESV

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Because God is showing the respect to humanity of becoming one of us, we can know that His intentions toward us are entirely good!

There is an enemy who wants only to use us for his own purpose.

God wants to restore us to the life that he originally created us to live.

Abundant life! - life that is lived in harmony with God and with each other.

It’s that overflowing stream that Jesus talked about which comes from inside of you.

Good people take initiative with you.

John 10:3–5 ESV

3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

How do you know who is the well-intentioned person and who is the thief?

There are people who will treat you respectfully at first, just to gain your trust, but who do not have good intentions.

The good shepherd goes ahead of the sheep and lets them follow.

Good leaders do that - they actually do what they want you to do.

When I was in Israel, we had a tour of the Golan Heights from an army general who described the war of 1967 in detail. The Syrian army had an artillery on a hill top that could reach targets all over the northern region.

In order to take out the position, a unit had to charge straight up the hill through a ravine. The last hundred yards they would be subjected to direct gunfire. It took multiple units, but eventually they were able to take the position.

“What you need to understand about the bravery of these units, is that Israeli commanders always go in front of their units,” He said, “The rank insignia is displayed on the back of the helmet.”

Bad leaders just stand back and bark orders.

They try to tell you what you should do, even though they have never done it.

If you succeed, they take the credit, but if you fail, that’s on you.

One of the best reasons that I can give to trust jesus with you life, is that He has already been there and experienced all that this life may bring.

You can trust His voice, because He knows you by name.

He knows suffering and joy and has walked the path ahead of us.

God is not asking you to do anything that He has not already done.

Good people sacrifice for you.

John 10:11–15 ESV

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Most relationships work as long as they are mutually beneficial.

That is to say, people stay in relationship as long as they are getting something out of it.

But the really best relationships are the people who are there for you when you have nothing to offer them.

That’s when you know who your friends really are.

The good shepherd put his own life on the line to protect the sheep.

Sleeping out on the hills at night can be dangerous.

There are predators who are looking for an easy meal.

A good shepherd puts himself between the predator and the most vulnerable of his flock.

The hireling says, “you can pay me for my time, but you can’t pay me enough to risk my life.”

He doesn’t care about the sheep - he cares about his paycheck.

What could possibly make it worth it for Jesus to come to earth and die for mankind?

I mean, if He created the world and everything in it, couldn’t he just start over?

Redeeming humanity can only have one benefit - love.

Isn’t that what it’s all about?

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God is good, because God really cares.

When it comes to sacrifice, He didn’t have to do it.

He loves us - He really loves us!

You can know God the Father.

Learn to love what God loves.

John 10:16–17 ESV

16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

Other sheep “not of this fold” is Jesus telling us that there is alien life?

Not really. But it would have been just as shocking for Jews to realize that Gentiles would become believers and would eventually dominate the church.

John is writing many years later, probably from Ephesus, a mostly Gentile church.

Who would have thought that Jews and Gentiles would come together in unity in Christ?

Part of knowing God is loving what God loves.

Do you want to know what I have learned about what God loves?

God really loves the lost!

He loves the people who are forgotten by everyone else.

He loves the broken and the outcast.

He loves precisely the people that we find hardest to love.

We say that we want to love God more.

If you love someone, you learn to love the things that they love, just to get closer to them and to share something in common.

What would happen if we learned to love the people that God loves?

You might find yourself hanging out with some pretty unlikely characters - but isn’t that what Jesus did?

Jesus laid down his life for us - for most of us, all we need to do to be like Jesus is simply lay down our pride.

Learn to do what God does.

John 10:18–23 ESV

18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” 19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.

So far we have talked about laying down our lives to be like Jesus, but what does it mean to take it up again?

Jesus was raised from the dead; it could certainly mean that.

I think more than just the resurrection, Jesus was talking about the new life after the resurrection.

Jesus dying and rising again is not the end of the story.

After the resurrection Jesus commissioned his disciples and then sent the Holy Spirit to empower the church.

Notice the objection again - “he has a demon!”

The early church was used to the accusation of being called demonic.

They were the bad guys, the evil ones because they disrupt the political and religious systems of this world.

But think it through - demons disrupt and destroy, but do they heal and restore?

The only thing being destroyed is our neatly packaged preconceived ideas about God.

God doesn’t care about religious systems, He cares about people.

God heals and restores people.

When we love who God loves, we do what Gods.

We offer hope and healing to a broken world.

Just one more thing about this passage.

Its happening during the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) where the Temple was rededicated after it was destroyed.

We are His temple - broken and destroyed lives rededicated to His service!

And it took place on Solomon’s porch - the part of the temple grounds where the early church met.

The church is the new temple, the presence of God in the world, bringing healing and restoration to the lost and broken in His Name.

Learn to move with God.

John 10:24–28 ESV

24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Some people are still waiting for a sign from God to what they should do.

If you are still waiting for a sign - you have already missed it!

God is on the move! - if you are still waiting for Him then you are not moving with Him.

If you want to know what to do, start doing what you know to do.

It’s easier to steer a moving vehicle.

You want to see miracles?

Put yourself in a position where you have to trust God for the impossible.

You want a Word from God? Have you done the last thing that God told you?

I used to think of verse 28 as being curled up in God’s hand, fast asleep, so secure that nothing can touch me.

But I’m seeing it differently now.

God’s hand is moving, and we are moving with him.

No one can snatch us out of His hand if we are moving with Him.

The Father is working through those who know Him.

You are in union with God through Christ.

John 10:29–33 ESV

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Jesus is God. - I am not God.

But there is a sense in which I have union with God through Jesus Christ.

It used to be controversial, even heretical to imply that we could be anything like God.

We don’t want to be like satan who thought he could be like God.

But a growing number of theologians are beginning to recognize that the Bible teaches that union with Christ is becoming like God, not in His essential attributes, but in His character and His purpose.

2 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

When we think of being like God - we imagine having unlimited power to do whatever we want.

That’s not God, that’s the sinful nature.

But a biblical”becoming like God” is having infinite love and mercy to do whatever must be done to save the world.

It’s using our power to serve others, like Jesus did.

We are working in partnership with God.

John 10:34–38 ESV

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

How can you tell if a person is “godly?”

Their life shows the character and the fruit of God’s life at work in them.

If they are acting like, “they think they are god” they are definitely not god or godly, or anything like it.

But if they act like God does, laying his life down for others and loving the least and the lost, then you have a match!

A person who knows God, loves God and is in union with God will do what God does because they are working in partnership with God.

If you are in partnership with God, then people will see you doing what God does - you will be an agent of healing and restoring the world.

Is it God doing it, or is it you doing it - it doesn’t matter who they see doing it - you’re partners -it getting done.

God is good -if you seeing me doing good, that must be God in me.

We are an extension of the work of God in Christ.

John 10:39–42 ESV

39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

Jesus has to slip over to the other side of the Jordan to escape violence.

He’s come full-circle, back where he began his ministry.

He doesn’t have to try to make a following - people are still coming to him even when he is hard to find.

Al Jesus has to do is be who He is and people are transformed.

Jesus came to show us the Father.

And we represent Jesus and the Father to the world.

How is anyone going to know God the Father, except that they see something of Him in us?

People thing that God the father is a white-bearded man in the sky waiting to hurl lightning bolts.

That’s not God, that’s something out of Greek mythology.

Most people in the world today think that Jesus is that austere figure that they see in pictures or on statues.

Maybe they picture him looking down in dismay or agonizing on a cross.

If anyone is going to see the real Jesus, they will learn to know Him through his followers.

The character of God - the love and sacrifice, the healing and redemption - all of that is up to us to show them.

Just like Jesus, you are going to have people who will misunderstand and take out their God-issues on us.

But if you know who you are in Christ and who God made you to be, is there any other way to be?

Questions for Reflection:

Is God good? How has God shown you respect? Has he taken initiative with you? What has God sacrificed for you? What is your appropriate response?

Have you learned to know God as Father? Do you know what He loves? Do you see what He is doing? Have you tried doing it with Him?

Is union with God in Christ possible? Does it seem incredible or is it even desirable? If God’s plan hangs on us representing Him to the world, how could we do that without Him? Doesn’t that make you want to “press in” to know Him all the more?