“The Father Who Created” – I Believe, Help My Unbelief Series
Mark 4:35-41, Psalm 23, Matthew 6:5-10
March 16, 2003
Purpose: Knowing God not only as the ultimate example of a loving Father, but also as the Creator of the world and everything in it, helps us to put our lives and relationships into better perspective.
Introduction
To the congregation…
Even though we’re a couple months from Father’s Day, what do you think makes a good father?
With those ideas in mind, I have two questions that we will hopefully find answers for today.
1. Is God really an Almighty, loving, Father?
2. Did God really create all that we know?
Why these questions? Well, if God isn’t the almighty, loving, Father, and he didn’t create everything around us, then there’s probably no point in continuing this sermon series! Amen?
And, if God is and did, then it should help us in putting our lives and relationships into better perspective. Amen?
Using the name “Father”
OK, first we need to discuss this father-thing. You may or may not have noticed, that I often pray to our “Heavenly Father.” Does this mean that my father was so great that automatically assume that God is like my dad? No. I do this because throughout the Bible, from the historical books, Psalms, and prophets of the Old Testament to the Gospels, historical books, letters and prophecy of the New Testament, God is referred to as God the Father, Heavenly Father, Abba Father, and the list goes on.
And while we talked about what good fathers do, unfortunately, while there are some earthly fathers who don’t care about their children, and still some others who may neglect and even abuse, Please hear me when I say that our heavenly Father is infinitely better than any of these.
Why? Every earthly father is a sinner in need of forgiveness, they have limits. But our heavenly Father has no such limits. When we speak of the God being the Father Almighty, we mean just that. God is the father who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, incapable of sin.
My father is the farthest thing from perfect. Maybe yours was closer to perfect than mine or much farther away, but I do know that my Heavenly Father is perfect. And whether we give him a name that is more politically correct or not, his attributes remain the same.
I. A Loving Father - illus. The Rope
But what are the attributes of a loving father? There’s a story of a father and a young boy getting ready to climb a tall mountain. The father, an experienced climber, wrapped a rope around his more inexperienced son. And when the boy protested, the father – older, wiser, and stronger – reminded the son of the dangers that might face.
There would be times when the boy would not be able to see his father. There would be times when the boy would get into trouble and be able to tug on the rope to get his father’s attention. There would be times when, even though the rope was slack, the boy would need to know that his father cared, that he wouldn’t let anything harm him, and that the father could be depended on.
Does God the Father treat his children like this experienced mountain climber? The world would say no. All one has to do is look at the suffering. All one has to do is look at violence. All one has to do is look at all the death and destruction that humanity produces and say, “NO” there’s nothing loving about this.
But it is at that point, we as Christians respond by saying, even in the midst of our own doubts in the troubling moments of our lives, “We’re attached to the rope.” Where others have doubt, we have faith. Where others can’t see God’s presence and conclude that God is absent, we hold tight to our beliefs that even when God seems so far away, even when we feel that God may be absent, we know that it just takes a tug on the line, and then he is there.
Psalm 23
We’ve read Psalm 23 in many different settings, but I invite you to take another look at it this morning. In it we are not told that God will lead us around the valley of the shadows, but that he will lead us through it.
As Christians, we don’t claim to escape the shadowy places of darkness and doubt. What we do claim is that we believe even in the midst of those unbelieving times of life.
Do we struggle? Yes. Do we wonder? Yes. Do we doubt? Yes. But, like the father who brought his son to Christ to be healed, we have a relationship with Jesus Christ that allows us to say, “I believe, help my unbelief.”
Have you ever read through the Psalms? How about the book of Job? In those books as in other passages, the people of God shout out in all of their pain and agony, in all of their doubts and fears, and lay it on the line with God. Have many of us have ever been there?
But some may ask, is it OK to get angry with God? I certainly hope so! In those times of my life where the world seems to be falling in around me, I am glad that I have a loving Father who says you can say anything to me, anything it all, as long as you keep talking and keep the communication lines open. Why is that OK?
Because when that happens, we begin to realize that its our Almighty Father in control and not us. (Amen?) When we say this creed or read the Scriptures or when we pray the Lord’s Prayer each week saying “Our Father who art in heaven…”, we are recognizing the father-child relationship we have with our creator. Matthew 10:30 says that he even knows the number of hairs upon our heads. There is no one who knows us better than our heavenly father.
Isn’t this what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6? Those who pray with the intention of building their relationship with people will do so…with their babblings and many words they receive their reward in full. Why? They get their praise and glory in the marketplace.
But those who are striving to have that relationship with the loving Father, a personal relationship, pray one-on-one so its not seen by others. It’s different. It’s done in secret. It’s done behind the closed door. It’s personal. When we’re in a true, loving, relationship all the other trappings of glory and self-centeredness fall away!
Is God really an Almighty, loving, Father?
Lavin says, “We are on a journey up a mountain called life. The rope is extended from our heavenly Father to us. We may not always see him, but we believe that if we give a tug on the rope he feels and knows our need. He is out in front of us in this journey, going through what we are about to go through, urging us on and telling us that we can make it. When we say the Apostle’s creed, this is what we affirm.” God is indeed an almighty, loving, Father!
II. Did God Really Create?
Which brings us to the second question, “Did God really create all that we know?”
Think up some creative person in your mind. Think about their creations and their abilities. Then ask yourself this question, “Did they create or did they discover and rearrange.”
Do you remember “Biosphere” and its successive attempts? This was supposed to be the first totally enclosed natural, environment. Some creative people went together and created this huge dome and supposedly put everything in it that they would need for one year. At least that was the original plan. Did it work? No. Eventually, because some became sick and others were unable to continue for other reasons, the project was scrapped. Why? Humans weren’t meant to create!
Think about it. The greatest creative minds of our time…Einstein, Bach, Michelandgelo, and others didn’t create anything, they just rearranged or discovered some things in brilliant ways. And if we attribute brilliance to them for discovering or rearranging, how much more should we attribute the One who did the creating in the first place?
Mark 4:35-41
I get the greatest chuckle when I think about those disciples in the boat. The winds and waves were raging and they thought that the original three-hour-tour on the Sea of Galilee was going to end in their destruction. And these were accomplished fisherman. They had seen many storms before, a little water and wind was nothing new. But this time was different. Everything was out of control, the boat began to break apart, they were totally disoriented. That is, until someone decided to wake up Jesus by shouting at him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
Have you ever felt that way? Here is Jesus, the son of the Creator, fast asleep while we’re trying to make some sense of our dilemmas? When we says, “why did this happen to me?” we’re experiencing the same kind of disorientation that the apostle felt.
But Jesus, son of Creator, had it under control. He woke up…stretched out his hands…calmed the wind and the rain…and then asked… “where is your faith?” Don’t you know who my daddy is? Don’t you know that the same authority he has from above I have this very moment. “Why were you afraid?” And while Jesus curled back to finish his nap, the disciples wondered whose this man was that even the wind and rains obey.
Lavin says, “When we confess ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth’ we assert that God the creator is in control, and that we trust him, even though at times it seems that he is sleeping or just doesn’t care.”
“Genesis” the book of beginnings, tells us that not only did God the Father create all that we know and still have yet to discover, but that he also created us in his image. There is something of God in each of us so that when God comes to us, we fit.
I was watching a program the other day which showed how the tanker jet refuels the fighter jets in mid-flight. It was interesting in that the mechanism on the end of the feeder hose that attaches itself to the filling hose…knows exactly when to close because it fits so tightly. In fact, there is only a three inch differential that the pilot of both air-crafts have to work with. Design is everything.
But even that system pales in comparison to the human body. The next time you look in the mirror…try not to blink. Think about the miracle of sight, of sound, of touch. And just think, since we were made in the image of God, we’re actually incomplete and unfulfilled until we return to our creator. Paul says when that happens, “our perishable bodies will put on imperishability, our mortal bodies will put on immortality…we will all be changed!” (I Cor. 15) Praise God he’s not finished with us yet.
Evolution vs. Creationism
And while the evolutionists continue the search for the answers of their “how” questions, the Judeo-Christian faith has already answered the “why.” Lavin says, “The biblical account of creation is not a textbook on how things were created, but the revealed word of God about the ultimate question of meaning. We were created to be in a living relationship with God. Disobedience results in the breaking of that relationship. Faith in Jesus Christ and repentance results in that relationship’s restoration.”
When we think of creation, we can join the Psalmist when he said, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor…” (8:3-5).
When we say in the creed that “God is the creator of earth and of heaven…” we confess our ultimate dependence upon this one who is the omnipotent, all-knowing, all-experiencing, creator and ruler of the universe.
Is God really an Almighty, loving, Father?
Did God really create all that we know?
I hope that if you didn’t have answers to these questions, you do now. But the question remains…so what? If he is the almighty, loving father and the creator of all that we know and will know, what does actually mean for me?
To answer that question, I want to close with the last stanza of the song we are about to sing together…
This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget that through the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world, why should my heart be said? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns let the earth be glad!
We’re not in this alone. We are not in this alone. In fact, there isn’t one person here who has it all together. But, with Christ, all of us together, have it all.
God is a loving Almighty Father. He is the creator of all we know and will continue to discover. I personally thank that loving Father who created, for the hope that we share, for the direction we’ve been given, for the grace and mercy he has shown. Praise be to God.
Will you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father,
For your love…For your father-child relationship that you share with us…For the abundance found in your creation, we give you thanks.
In the darkest times of our lives…Help us to remove the shadow of doubt…Help us to move past our fears and into your loving arms…Help us to see that even in the most out-of-control situations, you are still in control.
Lord, forgive us when our faith becomes weak. Forgive us when, instead of following your direction, we try to strike out on the journey of life by our own path.
Help us to follow you and your will in all things. Help us show your gift to us in how we treat others. Help us to be the people that you have created us to be. In the name of Savior, Jesus Christ we pray…Amen.
#144 – This Is My Father’s World
Closing Blessing – As we leave this place…Know that God as a loving Father and creator goes with us. That through Jesus, our teacher and redeemer, he walks beside us and that through the Spirit, our convicter and sustainer, he guides us every step of the way. May we go, knowing his presence with us. Amen
NOTE: If you did not find this sermon helpful, please contact me (gb@clergy.net) and tell me why. I appreciate everyone’s advice. Thanks.
