The Perfect Father

Joe Pellegrino, Founder of Legacy Minded Men recently said on an interview broadcast entitled Becoming a Good Father - “The greatest problem in the world are men who have abdicated their role as leaders, husbands, and fathers. That is the root problem of what we’re seeing all over the world. Men need to be who God created them to be. Those who love, protect, and serve.” He went on to say, “Fatherlessness is the greatest pandemic that we have in the world today! If the government would simply to look at the data, they would see that it is the root cause, and fixing this problem will change the world.”

Wow! What a statement.

So, how do we fix the problem?

By addressing it and creating awareness one life at a time.

By getting our eyes off of ourselves and looking to the one who is

The Perfect Father.

We need good fathers more than ever before, and men, if you’re not yet a father, we need who men who aspire to be a leaders, husbands, and fathers more than anything else.

This morning on Father’s Day I want to speak to you about “The Perfect Father.” Some of you might hear that statement and think, “there’s no such thing, there are no perfect fathers.”

Well, if you mean there are no perfect (earthly) fathers then I would wholeheartedly agree with you.

However, when I say The Perfect Father, I’m speaking about the Father we all come from. The one who breathed the breath of life into the first man, Adam in the Garden of Eden and the scripture says, “he became a living being.”

God is a father to the fatherless and He is The Father of all who place their trust in His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Is that you today?

Is God truly your father is He just someone you think you know because you come to church and hear other people talk about their relationship with Him?

Jesus said in John 14:6 - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes WHERE?? (TO THE FATHER) except through Me.” Jesus, is the only way to the Father!

According to “America First Policy Institute” - “Across America, 2022 data indicates there are approximately 18.3 million children who live without a father in the home, comprising about 1 in 4 US children!” That’s 25% of our homes right here in America that have no father to lead the family!”

And, I believe that this issue is what is at the core foundation of our broken down society today.

In Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ - Prophesying of John the Baptist who is one day coming to prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus on the earth, he says

““Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.””

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When I read the news or try stay up to date with what’s happening in just our nation alone, I can’t keep up with all the evil surrounding us and I truly believe this nation is experiencing the consequences of fatherlessness!

But I believe in Jesus name, that today on Father’s Day, men everywhere are beginning to hear the voice of the Lord and will rise up and take their place as men of God and true fathers in their homes and in the church!

Today, I pray that…

Whether you are father or desire to one day be one,

Whether you had a great father or you never knew him

Whether your relationship with him was strained, neglected, absent, or even abusive, that you would hear the voice of the Heavenly Father who wants to reveal Himself to you and I.

My message this morning is not only for fathers, or men, but for women and everyone listening today, because each of us is only alive today because we had a father. (Pause for Silence) (Maybe repeat last phrase)

Jesus refers to God, in one way more than any other way in the 4 Gospels alone, as FATHER.

189 times to be exact!

And today we’re going to look at a few ways the scriptures describe God as “The Perfect Father.”

1. He’s the Original Father -

Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”

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We are all named and derived from our Heavenly Father!

Even all creation is the offspring of the Father and receives their name from Him! ‭‭He’s the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

Psalms‬ ‭147‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “He counts the stars and calls them all by name.”

The heavenly bodies as well as all the animals of the earth live and move in harmony with their Creator.

Psalms‬ ‭104‬:‭19‬, ‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. Then the young lions roar for their prey, stalking the food provided by God.”

Everything in all creation receives life from the Father in Heaven!

*Illustration: The first time I can clearly remember receiving the desire to be a father, I was 16 years old and I had just recently given my life to Jesus.

Isn’t it amazing how when God changes your life, He begins to change your desires too?

I had no desire for fatherhood prior, but I can recall the moment clearly. One of my cousins was getting married and while I was watching him and his fiancée exchange their vows, I began to feel this very strong desire to experience the same joy of marriage and fatherhood one day.

Not only that, but I also remember having a revelation or knowing that my first child would be a girl. Many years later when Celeste and I were newly married, I remember one day we went for a walk and we began to discuss baby names. We decided that we loved the name Olivia for a girl and Orlando for a boy.

God gave us the names of our kids before they were even conceived! Why?

Because HE is the Original Father.

God names children through their parents just as he named all living things on earth through the first man Adam.

*Joke: And every once in a while, when the parents miss God, He will change their child’s name later in life. Just a few examples: Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, and Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle.

Hudson Taylor on Seeing God as Father:

“Before I was a father, I thought God never would forget me; but since I have been a father, I know God never can forget me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ declares:

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

‭‭God knows all of our days from beginning to end because He ordained it so. Before you and I were ever born He knew us intimately.

Before we conceived our own children He knew them intimately.

He’s the very first Father there ever was, and He’s the ORIGINAL Father.

Not only is He the Original Father, but He’s also….

2. He’s the Eternal Father -

Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬ ‭NASB(1995‬‬)

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

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The word “eternal” according to dictionary.com means, “without beginning or end; lasting forever; and always existing.”

And I love this second definition. “Existing outside all relations of time; NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE!”

Our God and Father never changes, amen? He’s Eternal.

Our minds can barely fathom eternity, but the scripture says in

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

‭‭ “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted ETERNITY in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from (what?) beginning to end.” Just like the definition we just read!

Some of you here today or even those watching online, might struggle believing that the Heavenly Father will never leave or abandon because of your negative experience with your earthly father.

I’m always saddened when I meet people who say to me in conversation, “I don’t know my father. I’ve never met him.” To me, that’s tragic and I cannot imagine the pain of that, but even if you’ve never known your earthly father or maybe through some pain of the past you have come to reject or even hate him, I want to tell you today that “The Perfect Father” will never leave you nor forsake you!

Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬b NIV‬‬

“For God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.””

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Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.”

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‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭63‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Surely you are still our Father!

Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, Lord, you would still be our Father…”

Amen! God said it, and that settles it!

All of these powerful verses are essentially saying the same thing and that is, that our Eternal Father will never forsake us.

When I was a little boy I went and saw a movie that I loved and was a childhood favorite to millions no doubt because it had heart and depth, but many years later as an adult, watching it again for the first time since childhood I was even more impacted as a young man in a way I’ll never forget, and I want to share my favorite scene from the updated version of that movie with you today.

*Illustration: “The Lion King” scene, “Remember Who You Are” (2019)

[Can we provide the link in the YouTube livestream so I can mention it to the I online audience to go and watch later? We cannot show online for copyright reasons.]

So, who are you? Are you a son or daughter of your Father who is the King of the Universe?

What a powerful reminder of the authority of a father to give IDENTITY to his children, especially to a SON who wants to be just like him.

I believe every follower of Christ wants to be like our Eternal Father.

His love is infinite, endless, and unfailing.

Not only is our God, the Eternal Father but He’s…

3. He’s the Unchanging Father -

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““I the Lord do not change...”

For little boys especially, we imitate our fathers and want to be just like them. We look up to them and trust in everything they say with total confidence, but once we start to get a little older we begin to learn fear, doubt, and unbelief.

I want to remind you of a father in the Bible, who in many ways parallels the relationship between the Father God and Jesus, the Son.

His name is Abraham, and he’s called the Father of our faith.

He was faithful to God and his faith was found to be unwavering even when He was tested.

Genesis‬ ‭15‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

Abraham is also a shadow of our father in heaven and was also obedient to God when he was willing to sacrifice His son Isaac, and trusted that God had a plan of salvation.

If you know the story, you know this is a powerful picture of the Father sending Jesus, His one and only Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins and die in our place.

Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.”

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Abraham’s life illustrates the qualities of a Godly father. His unwavering faith and his trust in God’s promises mirror the Unchanging Father. And just as Abraham trusted in God’s unchanging promises, we too can always trust in OUR Unchanging Father, who remains constant and steady through the changing seasons and the storms of life.

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James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change...”

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He never changes, Amen!

Lastly, our God is the

4. He’s the Compassionate Father-

Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‭‭ “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;”

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*(Share about fatherhood to Olivia)

Even though I’ve had the pleasure of being a father for only a few short years, this scripture from the Psalms about compassion is one I get to practice daily with my two year old daughter. She needs my compassion daily in order for me to love and discipline her correctly just as WE need God’s compassion and mercy on US to be disciplined by him and grow in our maturity and character.

Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (says it perfectly)

“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.”

“For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a FATHER corrects a child in whom he delights.”

Our Father loves us beyond our comprehension, and in His compassion He disciplines us in love always for our good.

As sweet and adorable as my daughter is, she’s two and when she wants something she can incessantly nag for it until she gets it. She can repeatedly disobey on purpose, and push to find out where her boundaries are. What is she doing??

She wants to see if her dad is really gonna do what he’s warning he’ll do.

Your kids are the best test to show if you are person of your word or not, and if you aren’t, they will see right through you and take full advantage of it.

Aren’t you SO glad that our Father is Compassionate and His mercies are new every morning?? I don’t know about you, but I know I sure am!

I believe there’s no better picture in all of scripture on the mercy of God than in story of “The Prodigal Son” and you know, for many people including myself, we could easily title this story

“The Compassionate Father”

*Sum up the passage instead of reading for time!

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and (WHAT?) compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

You know, I believe there are many of you here today and you’ve just heard this story again, but today you’ve heard it with fresh ears and truly listening, you’ve heard and seen the heart of the Father’s love for you. If you want to stop going through the motions of just coming to church and leaving the same, today you can!

If you want to experience so much more than what you’ve thought God is all about, today you can!

If you can believe that we have a perfect Father whose love is infinitely greater than all we can imagine, today you can receive His love!

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and THAT is what we are!”

Sum up the 4 Main Points:

Today, I want to remind you that you can put your trust in the heart of the Father who loves you because:

-He’s The Original Father

-He’s The Eternal Father

-He’s The Unchanging Father &

-He’s The Compassionate Father

Conclusion:

I want to close today with a final story from my life that even many of you who know me have never heard.

Closing Story into Altar Time:

-Your first marriage/divorce and the pain of losing my initial fatherhood.

-Share about Father’s Day, 2013 and being in Laredo with Mom and Dad, visiting Pastor Tony’s church, feeling like an utter failure because of my separation and later divorce and no longer being a father to my ex-wife’s son.

-Receiving the book, “Man in the Mirror” by Patrick Morley, and 5 years later going his Men’s Bible study in Orlando, FL. No coincidence!

*God not only restored my desire to be a father, but he outdid my best expectations and gave me the firstborn daughter I had desired and believed for 18 long years! The day Olivia was born changed my life forever and I was so overwhelmed with joy and the promise of God being fulfilled I could not stop weeping as Celeste and I sat together holding her in our arms!

Just over a year later, we found out that Celeste was pregnant again and as we experienced all the feelings of anticipation and even some fear about our quickly-growing family, after 6 or so weeks Celeste experienced some bleeding so went and immediately took some sonogram tests, and then received a call back from our midwife who told us… we were actually pregnant with twins… but unfortunately, we had just lost one of the babies.

After we processed all of this information and dealt with bittersweet feelings of joy and grief, when the time came close for our son to born we had a huge scare. Celeste was not measuring at the size and weight our midwife thought she should be so we took more tests and found out that our son had stopped growing for two weeks prior. We received the news on Friday, November 3 just a few hours before our monthly Friday night service! I thought to myself, “we need to cancel, go home, pray, and figure out what to do.” But, the Lord gave me a peace and a knowing that everything was gonna be okay, so we didn’t say anything to anyone that night and proceeded with our regular service routine. We led worship together while Celeste still played the drums, we were prayed and prophesied over by our guest speaker, and the next evening almost exactly 24 hours later, Celeste gave birth to our beautiful baby boy, Orlando!

Here’s what our midwife said regarding his birth:

Your placenta had a velamentous insertion instead of a normal one.

This means that the umbilical cord stopped several inches before inserting into the placenta, thereby leaving vulnerable, exposed blood vessels to travel from the end of the cord into the placenta without protection. If any one of these had been damaged by him kicking during pregnancy or delivery, he would have bled out and died in a matter of minutes. He had roughly 9 inches of exposed blood vessels.

There were also calcifications and premature aging signs on both the maternal and fetal sides of the placenta as well, which explains why he was so severely growth restricted.

If this had gone Undetected and therefore not delivered, he would likely have been stillborn within a week or so. The reason he is doing well right now is because he does possess the maturity of a 37-week baby, but he is the size of a 34 to 35 week baby.

Definitely had God's hand over him!!!

~Alexandra Wyatt, LM, CPM

Owner / Midwife at Heritage Births

And I’d just like to quickly share a few pics from the births of our kids.(Share Pics)

I’m gonna ask the prayer team to make their way to the altar now and I want everyone in this room to stand with me. Ask congregation to bow their heads, and close their eyes.

Altar Call: “Come Home to Your “Perfect”Father!”

Today, God wants to bring healing to many lives and you have a life-changing decision to make before you leave this place today.

You can decide to leave here exactly the same way you arrived, with a wound from an earthly father or a hole in your heart from having no true relationship with your Heavenly Father.

What will your choice be?

Do you want to know The Perfect Father?

Today you can and I want to pray for you.

The prodigal son had to make a choice to “come to his senses” and come back home to the arms of the father. If you would say, “that’s me, and I need to know the love of The Perfect Father.” Join me down here right now so we can pray for you.

I want to do one more thing in this moment, and that is to pray for all the Father’s and men in the house. Your desire and ability to be a father comes from the Perfect Father. You don’t need to have your own physical children to be a Father. There are spiritual fathers who truly have the heart of a father and there are natural fathers who have no clue what it means to be a father, so do not disqualify yourself from this moment.

God wants to give every man, the heart of a father.

Remember, Jesus Himself had no earthly children but no one had the heart of The Father like He did.

So right now, begin to make your way down here and meet me at the altar.

*Special Song to sing over the church?

“How Deep the Father’s Love For Us?”