Father Heart Overview. Series

Father heart of God sermon 2.

5 Sundays –

Sunday 1

Father heart of God – Overview.

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A gray-haired old lady, long a member of her community and church, shook hands with the minister after the service one Sunday morning. “That was a wonderful sermon,” she told him, “just wonderful. Everything you said applies to someone I know.”

The reason there is so little dynamic personal growth in the church today is because so few ever made the transition to knowing God as Lord to knowing him as Father.

Ralph Hale.

When a Christian may want to share the gospel with someone who is inquiring about God they may well use the illustration of a bridge.

There is a huge gap, caused by sin, between the individual and God, what Jesus does is bridges the gap between us and God.

When the cross is in place then we are free to receive the gift of eternal life by crossing over from death caused by sin to eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The reason so few make that journey is that they have such a poor conception of what God is like.

There is an old childrens story called the Billy goats gruff. There are three billy goats who run out of grass on their side of the bridge are afraid to cross the bridge because of the big bad troll who lives under the bridge.

But in the end, the sight of the lucious green grass on the other side of the bridge, lures the goats over.

The little one goes first and bargains with the Troll and tells him that he wouldn’t want him as the goat that followed was far more of a meal – the second goat does the same and the third goat is the Billy goat with large horns and butts that old troll off the bridge and they get the green grass.

In a sense that has a Christian parallel for us because Jesus – our big brother has dealt with sin and the devil and allowed us to cross over to God’s side.

But have we explored very carefully the nature of God so that we can clearly understand the green grass on the other side?

We might know that we need forgiveness for sins and need to be in a right relationship with God but if we do not know about the nature and character of what our relationship with God is to be then we will struggle to get it right.

LK 10:22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Jesus chooses to reveal God to us as our loving heavenly Father.

Last Sunday I mentioned about the unpopularity of the image of a Father due to abuses by many men who are Fathers and also perhaps by some over reactions by some feminists.

I was reminded this week though when I was reading Floyd McClung’s book that it is important to emphasize that the Bible says “in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.”

In other words, both maleness and femaleness are part of God’s nature and character, and full revelation of God’s love (is not possible without considering what that means.)

Floyd McClung.

But you see misconceptions about God as our Father may arise because of our historic experience with our earthly Fathers and a natural transference where we transfer our earthly experience on to our heavenly Father.

This morning I would like to look at seven different areas of misconception about God and his love for us. Again I have to say I have relied heavily on Floyd McClung’s book the Father heart of God.

These catagories may be helpful to you as you look back into your personal past and see if your relationship with God has been hindered in any way because of a failure, or absence of tender loving care from one or both of your parents in any of these areas.

If you can’t relate to any of this then let it lead you to a place of great celebration for a loving and tender God.

If you realise the inadequacies of the parenting of your own children remember to avail yourself of God’s forgiveness.

The bible says RO 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Pray for you children – ask for their forgiveness where you have messed things up and get on with life.