Fathers Day- You have Seen the Father
090621 Fathers Day – You have seen the Father
Tim Franklin
Jn 14:6-11
Introduction:
- It is Father’s Day, I really mean, It is the Father’s Day! Today could be Revival Before July!
- In John 14:9 Jesus declares to His disciples, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
- Jesus showed us the Father by fully representing the Father to us.
- Jesus so tightly aligned Himself with the Father that He could make the statement that if you have seen me you have seen the father/
- Where are the sons of God today that represent the father to a lost world?
- In Mt chapters 5-7, the word Father is used 17x in the Sermon on the Mount. It kind of makes you think the Sermon on the Mount is all about the Father, and it kind of is.
- Three things I see in the Sermon on the Mount that if we do them we will enter deeper into revival.
- Charles Finney—revival is nothing more than renewed obedience to God.
- Heidi Baker—the beatitudes are the recipe for revival.
- Let align ourselves this morning with the Sermon on the Mount. After all it is God’s word to us through his Son, Jesus.
1. Be Like Your Father – This Honors Him
A. Glorify Him--Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. NKJV There are two powerful ways we can do this: 1. Be his sons 2 Be perfect like He is. Lets look at the first one.
B. Be His Sons – Mt 5:43-45
i. Love your enemies. This is exactly what God did to us. Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his love in this, that while were yet sinners (enemies of God) Christ died for us.
ii. Loving our enemies is God’s value system.
a. When we love our enemies are becoming like Him.
b. When we become like Him this honors Him greatly because we see that His value system, His way of life is worth much. His way of life has given worth to my life and when I take on his way of living it honors him.
iii. Prov 17:6 And the glory of children is their father . NKJV
C. Be Perfect Like Him 5:48
i. James said, when we can control our tongues we will be perfect. James 3:2
ii. James also said for us to be patient, and endure hard trials so that we could be perfect lacking nothing. James 1:4.
iii. Perfect-teleios Gr. completeness, wholeness, undivided. Perfectly aligned.
a. Jesus was made perfect through suffering. Heb 2:10. In so doing he was perfectly aligned with the Father. It is the same call going out to the church today.
b. The holiness movement was all about perfection. John Wesley’s revival message was Christian Perfection. Legalism perverted it.
c. We Honor God when we choose to be like him.
2. Know Your Fathers Desires – This Delights Him
A. He desires us to delight Him and not ourselves.
i. Give in secret. 6:1-4 When we give God’s way, we are acting according to his desire and it delights him. He does not want to see us attracting attention to ourselves. He wants us to be humble in our giving. When we do it delights him, just as a father is delighted when his son acts according to the way he was taught.
ii. Pray in secret 6:5-9
a. When we pray in secret we are not drawing attention to ourselves. This delights God’s heart. Prayer is not about attracting the attention of others and what they think. Prayer is about encountering God—He is the focus of our attention.
b. We have all been around people when the focus of their conversation was not on communicating with you but making sure others heard what they were saying. Husbands and wives have been know to be guilty of this.
iii. Fast in secret 6:16-18
a. He does not want us to be hypocrites—Gr. actors. He wants us to be real. When we are real, like Father desires, it really cause Him to take great delight in us.
iv. Forgive openly. 6:14,15
a. The way of the Father is forgiveness.
b. We would not be where we are today, in Christ, were it not for the forgiveness of God.
c. So the Father says, “If you want my forgiveness you better learn to forgive others.” When we do we take on Fathers character and that really delights His heart.
v. When we know His desires for us and we do them it really delights God’s heart. Listen:
a. Prov 10:1 wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. NKJV
b. Prov 15:20 A wise son makes a father glad, NKJV
c. Prov 23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. NKJV
B. He desires that He be our reward
i. Gen 15:1 “the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." NKJV
ii. He rewards openly what I do under the cover of His will and desire. Jesus was an example of this: He was always asking people to keep quite about miracles. He did not want to draw attention to himself but wanted people to glorify God.
a. When I give according to His will, I am seeking Him to be my reward.
b. When I pray according to His will, I am seeking Him to be my reward.
3. Trust Your Father – This Pleases Him (Heb 11:6)
A. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV
B. Father Feeds Me 6:26
C. Father Cares for Me, 6:32, therefore do not worry. Ie. He cares about the birds, lilies.
i. Eat
ii. Drink
iii. Wear
iv. Seek the Kingdom first rather than the things (Mt 6:33). When we are seeking the Kingdom it pleases God because the only way you receive from God/the Kingdom is by faith.
D. Father gives me good things. 7:11
i. I don’t have to be afraid to ask.
ii. I do not have to be afraid to seek.
iii. I do not have to be afraid to knock.
iv. The Father likes it when I come to him. David said it this way, Ps. 121 I lift my eye unto the hills where my strength comes from, to the creator of the heavens and the earth.
E. Abraham believed God and it please God so God counted to him for righteousness.
i. James 2:23, Gal 6:3, Rom 4:2-3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." NKJV
ii. God loves it when we trust Him with our lives.
Conclusion:
Prov 4:1 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; NKJV
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