06-16-2019 - What was my Father REALLY LIKE?

Those of us who had the privilege of growing up with a father in the house, will often think of, or refer to our Dad/Father through the lens of our experience or what we witnessed from our Dad.

Sometimes, our view of our Father’s can be radically different than the reality of the man himself.

I once had a neighbor who reminded us that all to often we do this with our Heavenly Father - instead of being the creation created in His image, we are busy creating God in our image...

It has also been said that if you want to know the Father, look at the Son…

John 10 NLT

1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” 6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” 19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” 33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” 39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. 41 And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.

The Story of the Good Shepherd indicates 3 Things:

Others Tried to Shepherd the Flock but they were either thieves or hirelings. Thieves try to steal and make the flock their own, hirelings don’t stand up under pressure

Jesus is the Gate - He is the WAY to Salvation (Security, Significance, Community & Provision)

The TRUE SHEPHERD Sacrifices His own Life for HIs Sheep…

Further, Jesus Sets the Stage for the Great Statement on Equality that is Coming

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.

Then, in verse 24, THE QUESTION: Are You the Messiah

The Great Statement on Equality:

30 The Father and I are one.” 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” 33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” 39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them

Later, at the Last Supper, Even the Disciples Had Forgotten, or Did not Understand...

New Living Translation Chapter 14

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

What Does This Mean?

Those who Claim Jesus was only Saying He and the Father are only one in PURPOSE Have missed the Point...

Jesus makes the CLEAR CASE That He and the Father are ONE IN NATURE (ESSENCE) - Thus They (Distinct Persons) are ONE GOD

Jesus PURPOSELY POSITS that the ONLY Way to the FATHER and ETERNAL LIFE is THROUGH HIM - He IS the GATEWAY.

Jesus FIXES FAITH as the Requirement… FAITH in HIS DEITY, FAITH in His NATURE/ESSENCE, FAITH in HIS WORKS

When You Compare John 10, particularly verses 30-39 with John 14:8-11 You see a striking correlation.

First, Jesus Uses the Story of the Good Shepherd to Announce His Purpose and Intent (Obedience to the Father’s Will, Salvation of the Sheep)

Second, Jesus Asserts not only His Alignment with the Purpose/Work of the Heavenly Father, But His ETERNAL ESSENCE which is that He IS THE SAVIOR/GOD - The Clear Declaration that the Messiah was No Mere Mortal...

Third, Jesus Pleads with them to BELIEVE Because His PURPOSE is Aligned to His Father,

They Should have been able to CLEARLY SEE The SAMENESS, the ONENESS of the FATHER AND SON… The SON Never POINTED AWAY FROM or DIVERTED FROM HIS NATURE - He IS GOD, ONE in NATURE and PURPOSE with the FATHER

and If they cannot see that, to AT LEAST BELIEVE because of the Works/Miracles (Once again, Jesus steps down to the level of belief, the measure of faith)

Put Picture of Me and Dad back up

You have never met my earthly father. But I can tell you this, if you have met me, you have met that part of him instilled in me.. that part of me that reflects his purpose, goals, attitude and direction in life...

You have never met the Heavenly Father Face to Face, but as You open and gaze upon the words of the Holy Scriptures, as You look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith - AS You witness the Love, Compassion, Mercy and Grace of Jesus - You see and know the Father in Heaven...