OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
MATTHEW 6:5-15
I WANT TO BEGIN BY WISHING ALL THE FATHER’S PRESENT A VERY HAPPY FATHER’S DAY. I HOPE THAT FOR THOSE OF US WHO’S FATHERS ARE NO LONGER WITH US, THAT THIS WILL BE A SPECIAL TIME OF FOND MEMORIES, AND THE SHARING OF PLEASANT STORIES.
MY FATHER DIED IN 1986 AND WAS IN HIS 81ST YEAR. I HAD OVER 30 YEARS WITH HIM AND I’M GRATEFUL FOR THE MANY PLESANT MEMORIES THAT I HAVE.
I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT WE LIVE IN A MUCH DIFFERENT WORLD THAN THE ONE I GREW UP IN. PLEASANT MEMORIES OF PARENTS IN GENERAL, LET ALONE FATHERS MAY BE IN VERY SHORT SUPPLY. THE DEMISE OF THE NUCLEAR FAMILY HAS LEFT MANY YOUNG PEOPLE GROWING UP AS INDIVIDUALS, MUCH SOONER THAN THEY SHOULD HAVE TO.
TODAY I WANT TO START ON A SERIES BASED ON THE LORD’S PRAYER. WHERE BETTER TO START ON FATHER’S DAY THAN WITH JESUS’ WORDS “OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN”
NOW THE CHALLENGE FOR US IS THAT WE DEFINE OUR TERMS BY OUR OWN EXPERIENCE, AND OUR EXPERIENCE OF TODAY CAN BE MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF JESUS’ TIME. AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU THINK OF THE WORD “GAY” NOW, IT ACTUALLY HAS A FAR DIFFERENT MEANING THAN IT DID THIRTY YEARS AGO. YOU MAY ACTUALLY BE THINKING IN OPPOSITE TERMS. WHEN YOUR MEMORY OF YOUR FATHR MAKES YOU ANGRY, OR BRINGS TEARS TO YOUR EYES, IT MAY BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT A GOD WHO IS CALLED FATHER.
WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAD A GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR EARTHLY FATHER, I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE RELATIONSHIP YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER, ALTHOUGH AT TIMES CAN BE CHALLENGING, WILL ALWAYS BE POSITIVE IN NATURE.
CONTEXT:
JESUS IS INSTRUCTING HIS DISCIPLES ON HOW THEY SHOULD PRAY. THEY ARE AWARE OF THE “PROFESSIONAL PRAYERS” OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, WHO PRAYED WITH GREAT ELEQUENCE BUT NOT EFFECTIVENESS.
HE INSTRUCTED THEM TO PRAY IN PRIVATE FOR PETITIONS AND NOT TO MAKE A SHOW OF THEIR PRAYER LIVES. IT DOESN’T MATTER THE LOFTY WORDS YOU USE IN PRAYER AS GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART. IS A LITTLE CHILD’S PRAYER LESS EFFECTIVE THAN AN
ADULTS?
BETTER NOT TELL THE LITTLE BOY WHO WANTED A BROTHER. WHEN HE APPROACHED HIS DAD ABOUT IT, THE DAD ALREADY KNEW THAT HIS WIFE WAS EXPECTING, BUT TOLD THE LITTLE BOY TO PRAY ABOUT IT. THE BOY PRAYED AND PRAYED AND PRAYED, UNTIL HE FINALLY GOT TIRED AND QUIT PRAYING. IT WASN’T LONG AFTER THAT THE LITTLE BOY’S MOTHER GAVE BIRTH TO TWIN BOYS. THE LITTLE BOY APPROACHED HIS FATHER AND CONFIDENTLY TOLD HIM, “GOOD THING I STOPPED PRAYING WHEN I DID, HUH.”
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS THE JEWS MAINTAINED THAT GOD’S NAME WAS TOO HOLY TO USE, AND THAT HE WAS SOME DISTANT DEITY WHO COULD NOT RELATE TO US, AND WE CERTAINLY COULD NOT RELATE TO HIM. CAN YOU IMAGINE THEIR SURPRISE WHEN THE FIRST THING JESUS TEACHES THEM ABOUT PRAYER IS TO REFER TO GOD AS “FATHER.”
THE ENTIRETY OF THE LORD’S PRAYER IS DEPENDANT ON THIS REALIZATION, AND HOW WE VIEW THE REST OF THE PRAYER IS DEPENDANT ON HOW WE UNDERSTAND JESUS USE OF “OUR FATHER”. CONSIDER WITH ME SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT “OUR HEAVENLY FATHER”
POINT ONE: HE HAS THE BEST HEAD:
BY THIS I MEAN THAT GOD IS ALL-KNOWING. JESUS TELLS US IN V. 6 THAT GOD SEES WHAT WE DO IN SECRET. CONSIDER WHAT JESUS SAYS IN V. 8.
MATTHEW 6:8: DO NOT BE LIKE THEM, FOR YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM.
CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING THAT IS BEYOND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. SCIENCE SURELY PROVES THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. THE PRECISE WAY HE CREATED THE UNIVERSE AND US TO INHABIT IT. THE WONDERFUL THING THAT WE CALL FALLING IN LOVE, IS NOT BY ACCIDENT, BUT TOTALLY PLANNED OUT BY GOD AND IF WE ARE IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM WILL ALWAYS BE TO OUR BEST INTEREST.
AS RICK CRANDALL STATES:
“HE SEES EVERY TEAR, EVERY FEAR, EVERY PROBLEM, EVERY PAIN, EVERY HOPE AND DREAM, EVERY SUCCESS, EVERY FAILURE. GOD FULLY KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS YOU. HE KNOWS YOU INFINITELY BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YOURSELF. HE KNOWS EVERY NEED. HE KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED, EVEN BEFORE YOU ASK HIM.”
POINT TWO: HE HAS THE BEST HEART
I WANT TO TRY THIS:
GOD IS GOOD:
AND ALL THE TIME:
WHY DO YOU SAY IT LIKE YOU NEED CONVINCING.
BILLY GRAHAM ONCE SAID “HEAVEN IS FULL OF ANSWERS TO PRAYERS FOR WHICH NO ONE HAS BOTHERED TO ASK.”
GOD DOES WANT TO BLESS YOU, BUT SO MANY TIMES WE RELATE BLESSING TO PROSPERITY AND THE ACQUISION OF MATERIAL THINGS WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY A SIGN OF GOD’S BLESSING AT ALL.
LOOK WHAT JESUS SAYS IN V. 6
MATTHEW 6:6: BUT WHEN YOU PRAY, GO INTO YOUR ROOM, CLOSE THE DOOR AND PRAY TO YOUR FATHER, WHO IS UNSEEN. THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU.
JESUS IS VERY SPECIFIC HERE THAT GOD WILL REWARD WHAT YOU DO. BUT BLESSING CAN SOMETIMES COME IN VERY WIERD WAYS. CAN SICKNESS BE A BLESSING? YES. I HAVE FRIENDS WHO UNDERSTAND THEIR SICKNESS AS GOD’S RESOUCE TO TALK TO PEOPLE THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN UNDER ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. THAT’S THE TESTIMONY OF OUR BROTHER HAROLD, AND RONNIE TYLOR.
GOD’S BLESSINGS COME IN THE MIDST OF MISSED PROMOTIONS, FORCED FAMILY MOVES, HEALTH ISSUES, AND MANY OTHER WAYS. IT CAN COME IN THE PURCHASING OF A COFFEE BEFORE A TRIP. THAT FIVE MINUTES TO GET YOUR COFFEE, COULD KEEP YOU FROM BEING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT.
GOD HAS THE BEST HEAD.
GOD HAS THE BEST HEART.
POINT THREE: GOD HAS THE BEST HOME
HEAVEN IS GOD’S HOME. IT WILL EVENTUALLY BE THE HOME OF ANYONE WHO HAS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD.
PAUL TEACHES US IN CORINTHIANS THAT IT IS A HIME NOT BUILT WITH HUMAN HANDS. IT IS BUILT BY GOD HIMSELF. WHAT A WONDERFUL HOME IT IS.
REVELATION 21:1-5:
THEN I SAW “A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH,” M FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH HAD PASSED AWAY, AND THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY SEA. 2 I SAW THE HOLY CITY, THE NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD, PREPARED AS A BRIDE BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED FOR HER HUSBAND. 3 AND I HEARD A LOUD VOICE FROM THE THRONE SAYING, “LOOK! GOD’S DWELLING PLACE IS NOW AMONG THE PEOPLE, AND HE WILL DWELL WITH THEM. THEY WILL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND GOD HIMSELF WILL BE WITH THEM AND BE THEIR GOD. 4 ‘HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES. THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH’ U OR MOURNING OR CRYING OR PAIN, FOR THE OLD ORDER OF THINGS HAS PASSED AWAY.” 5 HE WHO WAS SEATED ON THE THRONE SAID, “I AM MAKING EVERYTHING NEW!” THEN HE SAID, “WRITE THIS DOWN, FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUSTWORTHY AND TRUE.”
WHAT WONDERFUL PROMISES, NO MORE MOURNING, CRYING, PAIN , OR DEATH. JESUS IS MAKING EVERYTHING NEW INCLUDING OUR RELATIONSHIPS. THEY WILL BE PERFECT, FAR BETTER THAN ANYTHING ON EARTH.
WE TEND TO THINK ABOUT HEAVEN IN PRESENT TERMS, BUT IT IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH GREATER THAN THAT. I BELIEVE THAT THE HEAVENLY DIET WILL BE VEGETARIAN IN NATURE. THAT HAS TURNED SOME OF YOU OFF. THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT YOU ARE THINKING OF VEGETARIAN AS IT NOW STANDS, NOT THE WAY THAT IT WILL BE IN HEAVEN. OUR ATTITUDES AND MINDS ARE GOING TO BE SO TRANSFORMED THAT A VEGETARIAN DIET WILL BE THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD. WHO KNOWS WHAT JOYS AWAIT US IN HEAVEN? PERHAPS THERE WILL BE LETTUCE THERE THAT TASTES LIKE ROAST BEEF?
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9-10:
HOWEVER, AS IT IS WRITTEN: “WHAT NO EYE HAS SEEN, WHAT NO EAR HAS HEARD, AND WHAT NO HUMAN MIND HAS CONCEIVED”— THE THINGS GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM— 10 THESE ARE THE THINGS GOD HAS REVEALED TO US BY HIS SPIRIT.
JESUS SAID IN MARK CHAPTER 12, IN REFERENCE TO AN ATTEMPT TO TRICK HIM BY THE SADUCESS, THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MARRIAGE IN HEAVEN. NOW IF YOU HAVE A GREAT MARRIAGE THIS MAY SEEM DISAPPOINTING TO YOU, BUT WHAT JESUS IS SAYING HERE, AND YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IT, IS THE FACT THAT IN HEAVEN, YOU WILL BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARTNER THAT WILL BE FAR GREATER THAN ANYTHING YOU HAVE ON EARTH INCLUDING MARRIAGE.
GOD HAS THE BEST HEAD.
GOD HAS THE BEST HEART.
GOD HAS THE BEST HOME.
POINT FOUR: GOD HAS THE BEST RELATIONSHIP
THE LORD’S PRAYER DEALS WITH WHERE WE COME FROM. ARE WE A PRODUCT OF CHANCE, OR A SPECIAL CREATION OF GOD? WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THE FIRST LINE OF THIS PRAYER IS “OUR FATHER”, IT KIND OF ANSWERS THAT QUESTION.
A LITTLE BOY CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL ONE DAY AND FOUND HIS MOM IN THE KITCHEN. HE ASKED HER “MOM, WHERE DID I COME FROM?” HIS MOTHER WAS TAKEN ABACK AND AFTER A FEW FALSE ATTEMPTS AND SEVERELY BLUSHING STARTED THE DREADED “BIRDS AND BEES” TALK WITH HER SEVEN YEAR OLD. HE STOOD
THERE WIDE-EYED AND SOAKING IN EVERY WORD. WHEN SHE FINISHED SHE ASKED IF HE HAD ANY QUESTIONS.
THE BOY SAID “THAT’S ALL VERY INTERESTING. BUT THERE’S A NEW BOY IN MY CLASS WHO SAID HE WAS FROM CLEVLAND. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHERE I CAME FROM?”
JESUS TAUGHT US TO REFER TO GOD AS “OUR FATHER”, NOT “MY FATHER” OR “YOUR FATHER”. THIS MEANS THAT WE ARE TO BE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AND WITH EACH OTHER AS FAMILY.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD INVOLVES A RETURN TO THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD COMMANDMENTS.
EXODUS 20:3-4, 7
3 YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. 4 “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IMAGE IN THE FORM OF ANYTHING IN HEAVEN ABOVE OR ON THE EARTH BENEATH OR IN THE WATERS BELOW. 7 “YOU SHALL NOT MISUSE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, FOR THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD ANYONE GUILTLESS WHO MISUSES HIS NAME.
OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD INVOLVES HONORING HIM IN ALL WE DO AND SAY. IT INVOLVES MAKING HIM LORD OF OUR LIVES AND PUTTING HIS DESIRES FIRST.
JEREMIAH 3:19: “I MYSELF SAID, “ ‘HOW GLADLY WOULD I TREAT YOU LIKE MY CHILDREN AND GIVE YOU A PLEASANT LAND, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL INHERITANCE OF ANY NATION.’ I THOUGHT YOU WOULD CALL ME ‘FATHER’ AND NOT TURN AWAY FROM FOLLOWING ME.
OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD INVOLVES OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OTHERS.
ROMANS 12:3-5:
3 FOR BY THE GRACE GIVEN ME I SAY TO EVERY ONE OF YOU: DO NOT THINK OF YOURSELF MORE HIGHLY THAN YOU OUGHT, BUT RATHER THINK OF YOURSELF WITH SOBER JUDGMENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FAITH GOD HAS DISTRIBUTED TO EACH OF YOU. 4 FOR JUST AS EACH OF US HAS ONE BODY WITH MANY MEMBERS, AND THESE MEMBERS DO NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME FUNCTION, 5 SO IN CHRIST WE, THOUGH MANY, FORM ONE BODY, AND EACH MEMBER BELONGS TO ALL THE OTHERS.
YOU, THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO YOU, THE PERSON YOU SIT NEXT TO AT TIM HORTONS, OR MR. DONUT, ALL HAVE THE SAME HEAVENLY FATHER. YOU CAN ALL BE PART OF THE SAME FAMILY OF GOD.
CONCLUSION:
A FAMILY WENT TO A LAKE FOR A VACATION ALONG A LAKE. DAD WAS WORKING BY THE BOAT HOUSE WHILE HIS 12 YEAR OLD AND 3 YEAR OLD WERE PLAYING ON THE DOCK. OLDER BROTHER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING YOUNGER BROTHER BUT GOT DISTRACTED SO LITTLE BILLY DECIDED TO CHECK OUT THE FISHING BOAT AT THE END OF THE DOCK.
BILLY PUT HIS FOOT IN THE BOAT BUT THE BOAT SHIFTED AND HE FELL IN. THE OLDER BROTHER SCREAMED AND DAD CAME RUNNING. HE JUMPED IN BUT COULDN’T FIND HIS SON. DAD TOOK ANOTHER GULP OF AIR AND WENT UNDER AGAIN FEELING EVERYWHERE FOR HIS SON.
ON HIS WAY UP FOR ANOTHER GULP OF AIR, BILLY’S FATHER FELT BILLY WITH HIS ARMS CLINGING TIGHTLY TO THE POSTS UNDER THE DOCK. HE PRYED BILLY LOOSE AND TOOK HIM UP FOR AIR.
WHEN EVERYONE HAD CALMED DOWN BILLY’S DAD ASKED HIM, WHAT HE WAS DOING CLINGING TO THE POST UNDERWATER. BILLY REPLIED, “I WAS JUST WAITING FOR YOU DAD, I WAS JUST WAITING FOR YOU.”
THAT LITTLE BOY TRUSTED HIS DAD, THE SAME WAY WE CAN TRUST OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. WHY? BECAUSE
GOD IS GOOD:
AND ALL THE TIME:
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS THE BEST HEAD.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS THE BEST HEART.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS THE BEST HOME.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS THE BEST RELATIONSHIP
ISN’T IT TIME TO PUT YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHO WILL NEVER FAIL YOU.
