Gtcotr/ss061613
The
best picture of a father is the picture God gives us of Himself. All God ever wanted to be was a father. And, once a
father, always a father – nothing can change it … ever!
The
last word God spoke in the Old Testament is recorded in Malachi 4. God knew it
would be 400 years before the earth would hear from Him again. The words He
chose to leave with His children were very calculated and very important. What
did He say? He spoke about fathers.
Malachi 4
5 “Behold, I will send you
Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Some imagine these to be two days.)
6 And he will turn The hearts
of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their
fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Dysfunctional families bring a curse in the earth.)
After
Malachi, the next time anyone on heard from heaven is recorded in Luke 1. It
was an old priest named Zacharias who was in the Temple in Jerusalem
interceding for Israel. The angel Gabriel suddenly appeared to Zacharias with a
message from God. Guess what the message was about? Gabriel’s message contained
the same words from Malachi about fathers.
Luke 1
17 "He will also go
before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ’to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
If
fathers were in the heart and on the mind of God as the last thing He said in
the Old Testament and the first thing He points to in the New Testament, I
believe we can safely conclude God sees fathers as vitally important to His
plan. And, the hearts of children towards fathers as well.
In
fact, in both of these passages reveal the heart of God concerning family
relationships, specifically the relationship between father and child. The 10
Commandments also speaks to this critical issue. (Ephesians 6:2)
You
see, if planet earth is to be any reflection of God’s Will or heaven’s pattern,
healthy father-child relationships must be intact. There are many passages in
the Bible that give parental direction and instruction but the weight of maintaining
healthy relationship throughout life is yet placed on children. This is a
reflection of each individual’s responsibility towards God.
This
morning however, I want to share 4 characteristics of a father we gain from
looking at our Father God. Fathers, we represent our Father God:
A Father Is Aware
He cares enough to know what is going on
(Genesis 1:1&2)
A Father Is Involved
He plans and works to make things better
(Genesis 1)
Not distant but gets closer to those
things which need to change
Pays the price and accepts the cost
without complaint (John 3:16)
A Father Is Forgiving
Stays ready to receive the repentant and
returning child
Like the father of the prodigal son
(Luke 15:20)
It’s a matter of the heart (Psalms
103:13)
A Father Is Forever
When it’s all said and done, all God
will have left is family.
Family is forever. (Exodus 3:6; John
14:16; Ephesians 3:14&15)
“Let
the Revolution Begin!” Revolve means to come back around. Perhaps one the
greatest challenge we face in this world is to humble ourselves and become
responsible to fix something we didn’t break. Many times it will mean we have
to come back around … revolt … revolve and return.
As
we age, much of the burden of continued relationship falls on children. Sure,
it is a parent’s responsibility in the beginning but as life continues, more and
more the burden shifts and relationship becomes the burden of the child. It’s
the same with the relationship we have with God. He came to us in Christ first,
now we must come to Him. This is the simple truth. God is our Father, we are
His children, and we are to honor Him.
God’s
Word has not changed. Fathers – we must be aware, be involved, be forgiving
because just like God, we will be fathers forever!
