(God the) Father's Love
Notes
Transcript
What do I want them to know? God loves them like a Father
Why? We all long for love
What do I want them to do? Accept the Father’s love and spread the Father’s love
Why? We all want to be loved
What do I want them to feel? God’s love
Why? God’s beautiful love changes people
ME/WE
What comes into our minds when we think (or believe) about God is the most important thing about us.
Why!?!
We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God (our belief in God). This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.
Tozer
Tozer says what think about God the most important thing about you, why because you will move toward that mental image of God you created. (dream, believe, create)
What are the mental images of God we create today?
If we asked people who is God we would get 4 different images. What are those 4 images?
Old Fashion/out of date (we see this in the OT and today)
People will do one of 2 things
FORGET GOD
FORGE, FUSE together part of God they like with less gods this is called syncretism
You see this in the OT
We will serve thee high God YHWH and a little Baal, Ashar pools
We see this today with people taking parts of the Christian faith they like, mix it mysticism, hindism, kabala, astrology, and it because a god of their making, that changes from time to time based on whether that view of god offends them.
what you get is not a god at all but a god you created and What you get is a god that cannot lead you to hope, peace, joy, fulfillment, of life.....but instead you get a a god that leads you to destruction and is a god full of demonic power…we see this in the OT and now.
I know this is heavy
I want us to know we are not playing something light, but with fire.
I have seen people oppressed and the root came when they became syncretistic.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(first is we believe God is old fashion, out of date so we either forget God or forge together a new faith, become syncretistic)
2. MTD (Moralist Therapeutic Deism) view of God this is new modern/post-modern view of God
M: God wants you to be moral
T: (Theraputic) God wants you to be happy so do whatever makes you happy, hard things ehh,
D: (Deism) there is a god but he is distant, he is not really involved in your life down here.
Kids play, don’t get in trouble, do good, do what makes you happy....this leads to a god of individualism, just do what you want....Hey god, oh yeah, your too busy and distant, I am going to lie and cheat my way to the top of the company so that when I get a lot of $ I can give you some of it.
Yes, God wants you to do good but His definintion of good
Yes, God wants you to be happy but His definition of happy
And no God is not distant.
3. Boss
You need to obey or else....if you obey God loves you and accepts you, but if you do not obey, you’re fired, you’re out!
This stems from two beliefs
We talked about last week, if the church is a business God is the big boss, He’s the bosses boss
If we obey we are in, if we disobey we are out
This stems from every other religion that says “If you obey you are accepted” “If you disobey god rejects you” It’s works righteousness
But is this what God says? NO
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Here’s another way we can say it: what you have gained not by moral perfection works but by grace and faith you cannot lose by moral imperfection.
God is not Old Fashion, Out of date (He’s timeless), nor is He MTD, nor is God a boss.
When we look at scripture (the 4th view), when look at the Gospels what is God called 189 times?
Father
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
That means we are His children, sons and daughters of God
But what does it mean that God is our Father?
What kind of Father is He?
SO when unpack God our Father…let’s unpack what that means…what does that mean? Which one of the six dad types that are in our world is God.
Is He like my dad?
Many of when we hear God is our Father we do transference. (I did youth ministry so often
We see all that our dad is and when we hear God is our Father think of our dad and put the same label on God.
This is not always good, because in our world we have 6 dad models, 5 are not good, and 1 is good.
Transference
Absent: Dad was not around because of death, divorce, or selfishness.
Abusive: dad was emotionally or physically abusive to us…the name were called was not beloved child but names I cannot share on this stage and he made you feel this small.
Angry: we did not know why, but dad was always angry, therefore when dad was home we made our friends home our home.
Performance dad: dad really loved you when you did well, when you got the A, when you made the team, when you got the job, but when you didn’t you were not approved of and rejected....some of us had this and made this our focus on god.
Passive dad: dad is not invovlved dad, he’s there but not there, he may have said I love you
Loving, empowering, encouaging dad: pick you up when you were down, lifted you up, loved you with actions and words, delighted in you.
What kind of dad is God our Father?
C.S. LEWIS SAYS THIS IS A VITAL QUESTION
I read in a periodical the other day that the fundamental thing is how we think of God.
By God Himself, it is not! What is more important than how we think of God is How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important. Indeed, how we think of Him is of no importance except in so far as it is related to how He thinks of us.
C.S. LEWIS
We are going to read a parable that shows God the Father’s love in parable called the two lost sons What is the Father going to do with these two lost sons?)...
- What is the Father is the Father going to do with these two lost sons..... some of of you know it as the parable of the prodigal son, which misses the point that there are two lost sons in the parable.
It more a story about the Prodigal Father who spends lavishly, recklessly in the worlds eyes on His sons.
This parable is the third parable Jesus gives about lost things....first you have lost sheep, then lost coin, then lost sons.
Then Jesus launches into three parables about lost things that shows how God our Father goes after the lost things in this World
God leaves the 99 found sheep to save the one lost sheep
God finds the one lost coin, treasure, people are God’s treasure and God goes after the lost treasures.
Who was Jesus sharing this parable with? Two opposite groups of people. The tax collectors (extorinonist) and sinners and Pharisees and scribes.
Tax collectors and sinners they are the license group who “find there way to god” through self discovery
Pharisees and scribes who find their way to God through legalism
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Why do they say this? They are trying to discredit Jesus....because in that day those who were self-righteous did not associate with the “unrighteous”.....especially to eat with them , eating is a sign of intimacy and acceptance.
Those people
But what does scripture say? Who does Jesus come for the righteous? or the sinners?
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
3rd parable
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.
What is going on here?
A man has two sons
The younger one says I am want my inheritance now and how it worked in that day was that when the Father died the elder son would received 2/3 and the younger son would receive 1/3
but what’s the huge problem and offense with the son’s request?
WHO’S STILL ALIVE? DAD
When do you typically get your inheritance? When someone passes away
but the younger son is saying I want it now and in effect he is saying I am done with you, and you are dead to me!
What does the Father do?
Does he scream at him, lambast him, through him out??
You could probably feel the anger of the religious leaders hearing this parable, their blood is boiling, thinking if their son did something like that, their
He gives the son the inhertiance
WHAT!?! WHY!?!
Then what does the younger son do with the inheritance, put it in an investment, start a new business, build a huge house???
No
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
What does the son do with the money?
He goes to Vegas and spends on debauchary, wild living, He lived it up
Seeking to satisfy every desire of the flesh
But then what happened? What always happens when you spend money without making money.
Then a famine comes into the land....a double whamy for him...
I have to find a job, I have to find a job and the only job he could get was working with pigs, this is not good because to Jewish people at the time pigs were unclean animals, Jewish people did not work with pigs and they view anyone who did as less than.
Not only that he is so hungry that he would have eaten pig food, but no one gave him any.
Can you imagine that? Just a short time early your bank account was full, on top of the world, have these fleshly desires met, and boom just like that you are working with pigs and starving.
The sinners in this story probably could relate at this moment.
The religious people are thinking....that’s right he is getting what he deserves.
What is going to happen now?
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
The younger son, says I cannot live like this.
What I am I to do?
I am sure every option was on the table except the option for going back to dad, because the last time they were together he told his dad that He was dead to him.
We have all been in the younger son shoes before when we have offend someone and we need that persons help who we offended....we try every other option before going back to that person.
Eventually the son realizes it is either go back to dad or die
but he also knows by cultural standards that an apology was not going to be enough, he needed to make restitution. This is what the rabbis taught. You had to earn your back.
o I am going to start at the entry level and earn my way back to being my dad’s son
What happens when the son meets his dad?
Is his dad going to say oh no you are dead to me too!
You offended me there is no second chance in?
Religious group is saying ya give it to them!
Sinners are saying I really hope there is hope for him to become a son again.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
(Father’s did not run in that day, they were stocis and put together)
Do you see what happens there?
The Father comes running toward his son.
The Father restores the son to full sonship
Throws a huge party a fatten calf is killed
What God is saying to us this is how I treat those who are lost far from God....I throw a party when they come home.
What God is saying to some of us in this room who have wondered away, come home to the Father, you do not need to earn your way back.....
What God is saying to Renew and to the church…welcome the younger brothers and sisters home.
Jesus came for the sinner, sick
How does the elder brother respond?
Is he overjoyed just like his dad
First one at the party? NO
He’s angry
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,
but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
The Father comes out to the lost elder brother.
Son of yours, notice he doesn’t say my brother
How dare you?
Do you have any sense of justice?
Do you have any sense of what’s right and wrong?
At this moment we see the elder son is more concerned about the things his dad can give him than to than having a heart for his dad or like his dad.
His dad has spend day after day wonder if he will see his son again
He was looking and saw his son a long way off
While dad’s heart was breaking over his younger son the elder son was just concerned about the things dad could give him if he obeyed.
The elder son did not have a heart for dad or like dad’s…it was not breaking…instead selflessness grew.
What we discover is the elder son was lost too, lost close to dad, he had not relationship with dad, he wanted more of dads things too.
What else is so heart wrenching is in that culture is that who else responsibility was if for the younger son to come home?
The elder brother
We are our brothers keeper
We are family
What does the elder brother do? He just lets his younger brother go.....Says fine he can go so I can get more.
GOSPEL
Good news of the Gospel is we a have true elder named Jesus who has a heart like dad’s, His heart breaks for lost people.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The person who is prodigal in the story is the Father....he is reckless, and lavished, by spending love on someone who does not deserve it
Younger brother: come home “don’t clean up, let God do that”
Elder brother: God wants you, he wants your heart....works are good but not if there is not heart
True elder brothers: Go find the the lost people of this world and bring them home