What Kind Of Father Is God?
Topical
Intro – So, today is Father’s Day – a day dedicated to acknowledging, honoring and being thankful for our earthly fathers. Considering that this is the purpose of the day – I would like for you to take a minute and think about your dad.
A. What kind of father was or is your dad?
B. Was and is your experience with him mainly positive or negative?
a. And if it was or is negative, why?
C. Now I want you to think about this question also: What do you think a father should be like?
a. What are the qualities and attributes that would have made your father a better father?
Now, let me give you a few things to think about regarding your own thoughts about your father.
A. Firstly, where did you get your expectations of what your father should be like – was it some movie or book, or are you comparing your dad to somebody else’s dad?
a. Also, are your expectations for your dad realistic?
B. Secondly, remember that nobody is perfect, and I’m sure your dad has regrets – I know that I do as a dad!
a. Think about it -- very, very few are the fathers who would purposefully seek to harm or hurt their children in any way!
C. Thirdly, you need to understand that it’s not easy being a father or a mother for that matter – if you have not yet fulfilled either of these roles yourself, maybe one day you will get an opportunity to see how hard it is to be a dad or for that matter -- a mom.
Now, if your experience with your dad was mostly negative -- the danger is in letting that effect your view of God as Father, and your interaction with Him as Father, and your ability to love and trust Him as a Father!!
Listen carefully to me now – God, as a heavenly Father, is all that you hoped your father would be, and infinitely more!
A. Unlike human fathers, God the Father has no sin problem, nor any weaknesses or limitations that hinder Him from being the perfect Father.
a. Look at Matthew 5:48. (Screen)
b. So, when your earthly father disappoints you and let’s you down -- and he will, because he is an imperfect creature, just like you are – know that you have a Father in heaven who is perfect and who will never disappoint you or let you down. (Qualify)
To help us with this, I would like for us to now look at what kind of Father the bible describes God as being. And my hope is that this study will accomplish four things:
1. Firstly, that this study will help us to not allow any negative experiences that we had with our earthly father to hinder our relationship with God -- our heavenly Father.
2. Secondly, that we will see God as the perfect heavenly father.
3. Thirdly, that we will be encouraged to forgive our earthly fathers for their imperfections, and that we will be challenged to acknowledge them, to honor them and to thank them for being our earthly fathers.
4. Fourthly, that we who are fathers will be encouraged to improve our fathering.
Now, it’s interesting that God is only called “Father” 7x in the whole O.T. but that Jesus called God “father” 7x just in Matthew chapter 6 alone.
A. As a matter of fact -- Jesus called God His father and talked about Him as such 150x in the 4 gospel accounts.
B. In His earthly life and ministry Jesus experienced the perfect fatherhood of God.
So, let me pick just 3 areas where Jesus experienced the “perfect Fatherhood of God” to show you what kind of father God is -- with the idea that , even when your earthly father is not perfect and falls short, we must not allow that to reflect on our heavenly Father -- because He is perfect and never falls short in His fathering of each one of us!! And let it also be a challenge to us who are fathers to be better fathers ourselves.
I. God the Father is “Caring”!
The first characteristic of God that makes Him the perfect father is that “He is caring”!
A. A father should care about his children – don’t you think? Of course he should!
B. But what do we mean when we say that a father should “Care” – well, when we use this term with regard to people a good definition would be – to feel concern for and to act toward the welfare and interests of another.
a. If a father cares, he will be concerned with the welfare and interests of his children.
i. I’m sure your father was not perfect at caring – but I can assure you he does or did care – even if he sometimes had difficulty showing it.
C. And because sometimes it seemed as if our earthly father didn’t care – the danger is to sometimes wonder if our Heavenly Father cares!
a. I can assure you that He does – He cares for us and loves us beyond what words are able to express.
i. Look at Romans 8:32. (Screen)
b. Jesus experienced the “care” of His heavenly Father in His earthly ministry. Because of His self-limitation of Himself – Jesus had needs that needed to be met, and God the Father met them. (Explain)
i. As an example look at Matthew 4:11. (Screen)
1. Set the context and remind them that “caring” means doing what is best for those we love, not what they would always want.
ii. Also look at John 16:32. (Screen)
1. In His earthly ministry Jesus had a felt sense of God the Fathers presence, which communicated that He cared – even when it appeared that others did not. (Set the context)
iii. Also look at Matthew 26:53. (Screen)
1. Here we see Jesus’ confidence that His Father cared and would honor His request for help if He wanted it.
D. So we clearly see in Jesus’ earthly life and ministry the care of His heavenly Father -- and that has been the experience of the saints down through the ages – even when our earthly fathers have had difficulty showing that they care – our heavenly Father is always caring for us and showing His care in His provision for us -- and His protection of us!
a. Remember Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare…… (Quote)
b. Also remember Philippians 4:19 – And my God, shall supply…… (Quote)
c. Look at Matthew 7:11. (Screen)
d. Look at I Peter 5:7. (Screen)
E. Now what about us fathers who are here today – are we striving to be “caring” as fathers? We should be – because we are called to be like our heavenly Father who cares deeply for all of His children!! (Elaborate)
II. God the Father is “Consistent”!
So, now that we have seen that God the Father is “Caring”, let’s look at a second characteristic that makes God’s fathering perfect and it’s this – God the Father is “Consistent”!
A. A father should be consistent as he deals with his children – don’t you think! Of course he should!
B. Now, what do we mean when we say “consistent”?
a. Perhaps the best way to define it would be to use some synonyms –to be “consistent” is to be steady, stable, unchanging, undeviating and dependable.
C. Does that describe your father?
a. Did he always do what he said he would do? Did he keep his promises? Was he fair and consistent in his expectations and discipline? Was he consistent and fair in how he treated you and your siblings?
b. If not, its most likely not because he did not want to be.
i. Talk about how we are made and how it’s easier for some fathers to be this way than others. (Explain)
D. Now, even if your dad was not “consistent” and dependable, there is a Father in heaven who is!
a. Jesus experienced Him as such in His earthly life and ministry:
i. Look at John 8:29. (Screen)
1. God the Father was consistently there for Jesus throughout His earthly life and ministry.
b. And He is consistently there for us as well. This has been the testimony of the saints down through the ages – Look at Lamentations 3:23b. (Screen)
i. Listen to James 1:17. (Quote)
c. Now, what about us fathers here this morning – are we striving to be “consistent” in our fathering? -- steady, stable, unchanging, undeviating and dependable.
i. We should strive to be these things, because we are called to be like our heavenly Father, and He is all of these things.
III. God the Father is “Competent”!
So, now that we have seen that God the Father is “Caring” and “Consistent”, let’s look at our third and last characteristic that makes Him the perfect Father – He is “Competent”!
A. A father should be “competent” as he deals with his children – shouldn’t he?
Of course he should.
B. But what do we mean by “competent”?
a. I would suggest this – having the necessary knowledge, ability and skill to do something well.
b. A father should have the necessary knowledge, ability and skill to do well at being a father.
i. What about your dad – was he and/or is he “competent” in his fathering?
ii. If not, it’s not all his fault (Explain why).
iii. But most dads could and should work at improving their competency in being a father.
1. Talk about how to do this – seeking a better understanding of what the bible says about being a father, trying to imitate God as a father, reading good books on fathering, talking to older men who have fathered well, having a mentor who has fathered well.
iv. But remember that when we think about the “competency” of our fathers in their parenting – we need to remember that they are sinful imperfect creatures just like we are, and that like us, they are never going to do all that they should or could this side of heaven.
C. But also remember that you have a Father in heaven who is completely “competent” all of the time and in every way!
a. Look at Luke 1:37. (Screen)
i. Talk about God’s omniscience and omnipotence. (Elaborate)
b. Jesus experienced His Father’s “competency” in His earthy life and ministry.
i. In His earthly life and ministry Jesus was completely dependent on the “competency” of His Father to meet His needs and to see that His perfect plan for Jesus would come to pass.
1. Jesus was dependent on the “competency” of his father in life (look at John 3:35 -- screen) and even in death (look at Luke 23:46 – screen).
D. And the saints of God down through the ages have always found God the Father to be “competent” – having the necessary, knowledge, ability and skill to be the perfect Father to them.
E. So, what are we who are fathers, going to do to increase our “competency” in our fathering?
a. Are we going to try to understand better what the bible says about being a father? Are we going to try to imitate how we see God the Father acting as father? Are we going to read good books on fathering? Are we going to talk to older men who have fathered well and see what we can learn from them? Are we going to seek out a mentor who can model good fathering for us?
So, this morning we have looked at 3 things about being the perfect father and they are just 3 of a number of necessary attributes to being the perfect father – a father should be caring, consistent and competent. And we applied these 3 things to our own fathers, to ourselves and to God the Father.
A. Apply again to our fathers – forgive them, acknowledge them, honor them and thank them.
B. Apply to ourselves: how can we grow to be more caring, consistent and competent fathers?
a. Look at Matthew 19:26 -- But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
C. Apply to God the Father – He is always all three of these things perfectly, for me and for you!
FathersDay2016
