GETTING TO KNOW GOD AS FATHER

Transcription

1 GETTING TO KNOW GOD AS FATHER Responsive Reading # 721: INTRO Jesus gave us the Lord s Prayer as a model ~ a pattern ~ an example o He was teaching the basic principles to use in our prayers The exact words may differ from those used by Jesus but When we use the principles Jesus teaches in this model ~~ then we ll be praying with power Last week we looked at the principle of getting comfortable with God o Jesus wants us to come to Him as Abba Today want to continue looking at what Jesus was teaching about our Heavenly Father when He told us to use the term: Abba o Jesus wants us to know 5 wonderful attributes of Our Father FIRST ~ GOD IS A LOVING FATHER Ever wonder how a Perfect Holy God could love flawed sinners like us o When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord we re adopted into God s family o 1 John 3:1 a God loves his adopted children with the same love He has for His only begotten Son ~ Jesus When we re in Christ ~ we re an affectionate object of God s Love As a member of God s family He always sees us through our older brother: Jesus o Romans 8:1 The phrase in Christ occurs more than 80 times in the NT Because we re in Christ Jesus is our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption o That s how a Perfect Holy God can love flawed sinners like us God becomes a loving Heavenly Father to all those who are in Christ SECOND ~ GOD IS A CORRECTING FATHER 1

2 Because God loves us He wants what s Best for us therefore, He Corrects us o When I played team sports ~ was only ejected from 1 game my dad was ref He didn t do it to be mean or to show that he had power rather he wanted to teach me a better way That s what discipline is correcting ~ teaching to improve o Let me be blunt here ~~ many children today are messed they don t get the discipline correction they need Westberg Hunting tradition 2 yrs carrying firearm w/o any ammo o Being a parent isn t a popularity contest with your child Can t count the number of times we left shopping cart in the middle of the store to take our child to the car to finish her temper tantrum God loves -- so He sets limits and when we choose to violate them He corrects us o God is like a HOT Stove Heb 12:5 b ~ 6 [Scourges] = God gives disciple as required for the formation of correct character ~ or He permits experiences that will do the same thing MB, pg 11 ~ The Lord will work for all who put their trust in Him. Precious victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned. Precious experienced will be realized. When we re honest w/ ourselves we ll admit we fail to live like God s children at times o We let peer pressure ~ culture ~ our selfish desires lead us astray into sin At such times we ll experience divine correction because our Heavenly Father ~ out of His boundless love ~ disciplines His children Job 5:17 o Divine Discipline is a blessing from God ~ it s the vehicle thru which all the benefits described in MB, pg 11 come When God disciplines us it s a reminder He loves us o Getting to know God means understanding He isn t only a loving and correcting Father ~~ but also: 2

3 THIRD ~ GOD IS A CARING FATHER God disciples His children because He cares what kind of people we become o We can t get to Heaven without being both justified and sanctified God wants us to grow up into an approximation of Jesus Christ Our Heavenly Father cares about every facet of our lives He cares ~~ this is why He wants us to pray to Him and share all our issues w/ Him o 1 Pet 5:6/7 God wants us to exercise self-forgetfulness and trust Him o Notice how King David expressed this idea in Psm 55:22 We can confidently put all our troubles into God s Hands knowing that He ll deal with them in His time and in His way o One of the most powerful promises we have as God s Children is that our Father will sustain us and never let us down ~ 1 Corth 10:13 Getting to know God means understanding He s a loving, corrective, caring Father FOURTH ~ GOD IS A COMFORTING FATHER A hurting child one who s usually also afraid not only wants someone who cares; but also wants someone who can comfort them o Our Heavenly Father can comfort as no one else can: 2 Corth 1:3 4 a God comforts His Children in four primary ways: o He comforts us with His Promises Some experts assert there are more than 7,000 promises in the Bible and God hasn t broken one of them yet o Seems like there is a promise perfectly matched for every problem we have Psm 119:50 ~ 52 o He comforts us with His Presence This one is straight forward and obvious: Deut 31:8 3

4 o He comforts us with His People Cessna 172 ~ solo in the wilderness of Montana ~ w/ engine trouble Sure wish the instructor pilot was still sitting next to me o One of the most difficult things in life is to have serious problems and feel no one is there For Christians ~ God is always nearby {Jam 4:7/8} Let s be careful here ~~ God doesn t comfort us just to make us feel better ~ or get us through the challenge 2 Corth 1:4 Greek implies the comfort continuously comes thru the Holy Spirit Our Heavenly Father wants us to be good stewards And God wants us to be good stewards of the pain He allows o Tribulation plays a key role in the perfection of our character Let s be good stewards & allow our painful experiences complete their sanctification process in our lives o Tribulations prepare us to be able to console others w/ the same comfort we ve received from God o He comforts us with His Purpose God has a Divine purpose for every problem He allows us to have Rom 8:28 o This means God uses our problems and pain to develop us according to His purpose o God never wastes a problem we face or a hurt we experience He has a Divine purpose for allowing each one of them What is that Divine purpose: V 29 God is the Potter ~~ we are His clay He uses our problems to shape us and make us more like Jesus We should get to know God as Father for He comforts us with o His Promises, Presence, People, & Purpose 4

5 Getting to know God as Father requires we understand He is a loving, correcting, caring, and comforting Father o Yet ~ there is one more thing we need to know FIFTH ~ GOD IS A FATHER WE MUST EMULATE Getting to know God as Father means we understand what He expect of us o God wants to see a family likeness ~ a resemblance ~ to Him in our lives o 1 Peter 1:16 The Greek Word we translate as Holy does not mean perfect.. it means set apart ~ sacred o Coun Stewd/143: Holiness was the great characteristic of the Redeemer s life on earth (Jesus), and it is His will that this shall characterize the lives of His followers (us). His workers are to labor with unselfishness and faithfulness, and with reference to the usefulness and influence of every other worker. o 5T/743: God has commanded us, Be ye holy; for I am holy; and an inspired apostle declares that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Holiness is agreement with God. By sin the image of God in man has been marred. It is the work of the gospel to restore that which has been lost; and we are to cooperate with the divine agency in this work. And how can we come into harmony with God, how shall we receive His likeness, unless we obtain a knowledge of Him? It is this knowledge that Christ came into the world to reveal unto us. o So it s the idea of being different from the world influenced by Satan When we model yourself on our Heavenly Father our morals ~ language ~ attitudes ~ and actions are different from this sin-sick world Eph 5:1 instructs us to be imitators of God as dear children When people look at our lives ~~ God wants them to see what He s like o That s why we re to emulate Him ~~ 1 John 4:17 CONCLUSION To have a powerful prayer life ~~ we need to get to know God as Father o We need to know Him as a loving, correcting, caring, and comforting Father with this knowledge we ll then want to pattern ourselves after Him 5 Closing Hymn: # 100 ~ Great is Thy Faithfulness