God the Father, Almighty Maker Of Heaven and Earth

16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty."

The Apostle's Creed

THE APOSTLE'S CREED

"I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the virgin Mary;

Suffered under Pontius Pilate,

Was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven; And sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit;

The holy catholic church;

the communion of saints;

The forgiveness of sins;

The resurrection of the body;

And the life everlasting. Amen."

INTRODUCTION

Fathers:

Bad Fathers

Good Fathers

God, Our Father, is NOT like us.

Bible Passage

Hosea 11:8-9 (ESV - English Standard Version)

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils within me;

my compassion grows warm and tender.

9 I will not execute my burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim;

for I am God and not a man,

the Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.

Bible Passage

Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV - English Standard Version)

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

7 let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Our Father is Holy, Holy, Holy.

Bible Passage

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV - English Standard Version)

3And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!"

Bible Passage

Revelation 4:8 (ESV - English Standard Version)

8And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!"

Explanation

Holy, Holy, Holy

What does it mean to be Holy?

Sacred

Separate

Consecrated

Blameless

God is said to be HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

I don't believe we fully grasp this attribute of God

Our God is a consuming fire

Anything unholy that comes into His Presence, is burned up by nature

Illustration

Dry leaves and/or wood near a roaring fire.

The nature of the fire burns what is dry

If we are lost, we are completely and totally UNHOLY

The very nature of Who God is as HOLY, HOLY, HOLY burns the unholy nature of the lost

We, as believers, are in process of being made holy...it is called "sanctification".

Our flesh HATES to be in the presence of God, and at its core, HATES GOD HIMSELF

The only way for us to be in the presence of God's consuming fire, is to be made into FIRE OURSELVES

This is the WORK OF GOD IN US!!

The more we are made into FIRE, the more we can be in His Presence without being BURNED

Are you with me??

Quote

“Holiness provokes hatred. The greater the holiness, the greater the human hostility toward it. It seems insane. No man was ever more loving than Jesus Christ. Yet even His love made people angry. His love was a perfect love, a transcendent and holy love, but HIs very love brought trauma to people. This kind of love is so majestic we can't stand it.”

RC Sproul, The Holiness of God

Bible Passage

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (ESV - English Standard Version)

14Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

15What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

Quote

“Every sin is an act of cosmic treason, a futile attempt to dethrone God in His sovereign authority.”

RC Sproul, The Holiness of God

Bible Passage

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV - English Standard Version)

14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

15but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

16since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Application

GO TO THE FIRE!!

It is totally against our OLD NATURE of being dried out

It IS TOTALLY our NEW NATURE to desire MORE OF THE FIRE

Be consumed IN HIM or be consumed BY HIM...

Be holy because OUR FATHER IS HOLY.

(Children being like dad)

Our Father is Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth

Bible Passage

Revelation 4:8 (ESV - English Standard Version)

8And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!"

Explanation

Almighty

All ruling

Absolute, Universal Sovereign

He who holds sway over all things

Maker of Heaven and Earth

Bible Passage

Genesis 1:1-4 (ESV - English Standard Version)

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

Quote

God of creation

There at the start, before the beginning of time

With no point of reference

You spoke to the dark and fleshed out the wonder of light

And as You speak

A hundred billion galaxies are born

In the vapour of Your breath the planets form

If the stars were made to worship, so will I

I can see Your heart in everything You've made

Every burning star, a signal fire of grace

If creation sings Your praises, so will I

Hillsong, "So Will I"

Application

TRUST in Him being ALMIGHTY and not ourselves. We are NOT.

Be in awe and wonder of His ALMIGHTY POWER and AUTHORITY.

Let that draw you into HIS PRESENCE in WORSHIP

Since God is ALL-Powerful and His love is fully set on His children, what is there to fear??

Bible Passage

Jeremiah 32:26-27 (ESV - English Standard Version)

26The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

27"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

He Is Our Good Father

Bible Passage

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (ESV - English Standard Version)

17 Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty."

Explanation

"I will be a Father to you..."

Generator

The One who gives us our LIFE

Eternal Life comes from Him

Holy FIRE, God Himself, is put into us. We are His dwelling place.

Parent

One who brings up and cares for another

Many folks have had TERRIBLE parents

TERRIBLE FATHERS

NON-EXISTENT FATHERS

Even our "good fathers" are not God, in His Fatherhood

They are just a spec of a glimpse of Who God is, in His Goodness and care for us.

Bible Passage

Psalms 27:10 (KJV - King James Version)

10When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Bible Passage

Psalms 68:6 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

6God provides homes for those who are deserted. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a scorched land.

Application

Even when we haven't seen the perfect examples of fatherhood, we have a PERFECT FATHER whom we can trust.

That isn't always easy, having seen what we've seen wrong with our parents

"Is He quite safe? 'Course he isn't safe, but he is good."

In that, we can TRUST.

Because of Our Father's goodness, we can give up our lives and love Him, because He loved us first.

Because Our Father loves us, we can love others as ourselves.

Conclusion

PRAYER

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