God, Our Heavenly Father
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Three young fathers were in the waiting room. The first was told that his wife gave birth to twins. He was amazed and said, “I play ball for the Minnesota Twins.”
Later, the nurse came out and told the second man, “Congratulations, you are the father of triplets.” He said, “That is amazing! I work for 3M.”
The man next to him fainted. When he woke up they asked, “What’s wrong.” He said, “I work for 7Up.”
Previously this year we saw the Mothering Nature of God and today I want to look at something more familiar, God as our Heavenly Father.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
1. The Meaning of Father in the Bible
1. The Meaning of Father in the Bible
A. Origin
A. Origin
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
This is the primary reason that God is called Father and not Mother. He is the Life-giver - the originator - the Creator of all things.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
God is the life-giver to all of creation and to the family or household of heaven.
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
B. Authority
B. Authority
He is God and you are not. He is running the show and you are not. He is a father; you are his child.
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We must not use the fact of God’s love as an excuse to reject his right to rule over us. Because he is our Father “in heaven,” he has the right to do as he pleases even if his ways do not always sense to us.
Authority is attributed to God the Father - it’s in His very nature.
Illustration
‘Wait till your father gets home.’
C. One Who Cares
C. One Who Cares
Father speaks of origin and authority but also of one who cares. We should trust in his goodness toward us at all times.
There’s a Hebrew word in the Old Testament-hesed-which is translated a number of different ways. In the King James, hesed is usually translated as lovingkindness. As in “thy lovingkindness is better than life”.
22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
This word speaks of God’s loyal love to all His children. It is the love that keeping on loving no matter what we do or how badly we blow it or how many dumb mistakes we make. He is a God who never lets his children go. He loves his children with an everlasting love that is faithful and loyal no matter what happens.
When we turned our back on him, he loved us.
When we were far from him, he loved us. When we rebelled against him, he loved us. When we broke his law, he loved us. And when we ran, he followed. When we hid, he found us.
That’s what loyal love is all about. That’s the Father’s love for his children. He is always near us whether we see Him or feel Him or even whether we believe He is there or not.
2. Our Relationship To Him
2. Our Relationship To Him
We’ve seen a bit of the meaning of Father in the Bible, now lets examine our relationship to Him.
A. It Must be Personal
A. It Must be Personal
The title “your Father” speaks of a very personal relationship. When an unbeliever comes to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that person is “born again.” At that instant, that person is brought into a very personal relationship with the God of the universe. In fact, the newly redeemed sinner is actually “adopted” into the family of God
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The word “adoption” literally means “to place as a son.” That person instantly becomes a child of God in heaven
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
You see, in adoption a son is brought into a family and is given the same rights as a child who is born into that family. Hallelujah!
B. It Is Permanent
B. It Is Permanent
When God adopted us into His family, He did not do it for just a while. He did it for all eternity! You see, adoption, as it was practiced in biblical times, could not be undone. A man had the right to disown his natural children; but an adopted child was a child for life. He or she could never be disowned by the father.
The Roman historian William M. Ramsay writes:
“The Roman-Syrian Law-Book—well illustrates this passage of the Epistle. It actually lays down the principle that a man can never put away an adopted son, and that he cannot put away a real son without good ground. It is remarkable that the adopted son should have a stronger position than the son by birth, yet it was so.”
This is the same guarantee that we have today
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Once we’ve been placed in His family we can never be removed. You cannot lose your salvation.
C. It Is Fulfilling
C. It Is Fulfilling
Our relationship to God as our Father fulfills our needs in every way. We learn this regarding the names of God in the Old Testament.
1. If we have a need in our life, we can call on
"Jehovah-jireh" Gen. 22:14 "The Lord will provide."
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
2. If we are anxious, we can call on “Jehovah-shalom", Judges 6:24, which means "The Lord our peace."
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
3. If we are lonely, or afraid, we can call on "Jehovah-shammah", Eze. 48:35, which means "The Lord is there."
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
4. If we need leadership, we should call on "Jehovah-rohi", Psalm 23:1, which means "The Lord our Shepherd."
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
5. If we are sick, we should call on "Jehovah-rapha", Exodus 15:26, which means "The Lord our healer."
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
We’ve seen the meaning of Father in the Bible, and our relationship to Him, now let’s see
3. God’s Provision for Us
3. God’s Provision for Us
A. God Knows Our Needs
A. God Knows Our Needs
The Bible says that He “knoweth that ye have need of these things.” The verb “have need” is in a tense that means our needs are “many and they are constant.” That sounds like my life how about you? We are a needy people!
Even though we all have needs and we all have them all the time; God is well aware of every single one of them! You see, the word “knoweth” means “to be aware of something.”
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
The tense of this verb means that “He is always aware of everything that affects His children.” Sometimes we human parents just do not know what the needs of our children are. We may not always know, but our Heavenly Father always knows. What a blessed truth!
B. God Provides Guidance
B. God Provides Guidance
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Having God as our Father gives us access to something we desperately need as human beings…and that is, guidance…whether we always recognize it or not…or act like we know this to be true – people like you and me really need to be led.
God’s Guidance is often counter to what we would naturally think.
The story is told about the father of a vacationing family who came across a large sign that read, “Road Closed. Do Not Enter.” The man proceeded around the sign because he was confident it would save them time. His wife was resistant to the adventure, but there was no turning back for this persistent road warrior. After a few miles of successful navigation, he began to boast about his gift of discernment. His proud smile was quickly replaced with humility when the road led to a washed-out bridge. He turned the car around and retraced his tracks to the main road. When they arrived at the original warning sign he was greeted by large letters on the back of the sign “Welcome back, stupid!”
Sometimes we can have utmost confidence in ourselves to figure out issues or fix problems, but we let ourselves down. Confidence is only as good as the object it’s placed in. When going through life, the wise person places their confidence in an unchanging, all-powerful God.
The best way to destroy your life, your family, or your church is to make decisions in a way you would naturally think. We think that road would lead to life and in fact it led to death…
that’s why we need guidance…that’s why we need leadership…that’s why we need fathers…
C. God is Able to Provide
C. God is Able to Provide
It isn’t enough for the Lord just to know about what His children need; He must possess the ability to meet those needs, or His knowledge does us no good.
According to this passage, God does have the power to take care of us as well as to know about us. Verse 32, for instance, tells us that it is “The Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” The word “kingdom” refers to “all that pertains to His rule.” It speaks of “the power of the ruling One.” Like a wealthy, benevolent king, God has the wherewithal to meet every need that arises in the lives of each of His children. Therefore, when He says “all these things shall be added unto you”, verse 31; He has the ability to back up that promise.
Many people live in doubt of God’s great ability to care for His people; but I would like to remind you that if God can speak this universe into existence, He can take care of you.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
We human parents may not always be able to meet the needs of our children; but God will never fail. He is eternally able to perfectly care for His children!
D. God is Always Ready to Provide
D. God is Always Ready to Provide
God’s awareness of our needs and His power to help us is a wonderful truth; but if He is a God Who is far removed from His children, then His power does us no good! He must be available.
Praise God, He is! Notice verse 32. We are told that it is the “Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” The words “good pleasure” means “to choose, to determine, to be ready, to be well pleased with to do that which seems good.”
God has determined to be ready to do that which is good for His children. This implies that He has made Himself available to us. He is available to each of His children,
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
There are times when we human parents are not as available as we should be to our children. Sometimes we are busy. Sometimes we are estranged from them. Sometimes one problem or the other gets in the way. But, the same is not true with God! He is always near and He is always available, day or night!
CONCLUSION
So how’s your relationship with your Father this morning? Do you even have a relationship with Him to begin with?
Do you realize that God is ready and willing to provide for everything you need - you don’t need to go anywhere else or to anyone else!