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Luke 12:29-32 THE MOST WONDERFUL FATHER OF THEM ALL Intro: Well, here it is
Father’s Day again. It is another of the
holidays created by the greeting card companies to increase our guilt and their
income. I am always amazed at how we
treat Father’s Day. On Mother’s Day we
often hear sermons exalting the role of the mother in the family. Mothers are encouraged, praised and lifted up
as the most important person in the home.
And, we should thank the Lord for godly mothers. Then
there’s Father’s Day. Dad comes to
church and hears a sermon on how he does not measure up as a father. He is told about some biblical father and the
perfect life he lived, and dad leaves feeling like a failure who will never
measure up as a dad. Well dad, I have
two pieces of news for you today. First,
you are a special person too! You are
just as important in the home as mom and I thank the Lord for every one of
you. Second, you do not have to listen
to a sermon on this Father’s Day telling you how you could do a better job as a
father.
Today, I want to preach about The Most Wonderful Father Of Them All. I want to preach about the One Jesus referred
to as “My Father fifty-three
times in the Gospels. But,
when Jesus talked about the Father, He did not just call Him “My Father.” He also called God “Our Father some twenty-one times in the Gospels.
Thus, Jesus clearly shows us that those who believe on Jesus share
the same relationship with God in Heaven that He Himself shares. But, if you do the research, you will find that
it gets even better than that! Jesus
calls God “your Father twenty-one times in the Gospels as well! I
am interested in the matter of God being called our Father. I would like to examine these verses together
today. As we do I would like to point
some aspects of our connection to our Heavenly Father. I want to encourage you today and help you to
rejoice in your relationship with God.
If you are not saved, I would like to help you to come to know Jesus as
your personal Savior as well. I want to
preach on the subject: The Most Wonderful Father Of Them All.
(
A. It
Is A Personal Relationship The title your Father speaks of a
very personal relationship. When
an unbeliever comes to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that
person is “born
again.” At that
instant, that person is brought into a very personal relationship
with the God of the universe. In
fact, the newly redeemed sinner is actually “adopted into the family of B.
It Is A Profound Relationship
This is a remarkable thing when you stop to consider what a person is before
God saved them by His grace. According
to the Bible, the lost sinner is God’s enemy, Rom. 8:7. He or she is also
a slave to the world, the flesh and the devil, Eph. 2:1-3. In fact, the
lost sinner is doomed and condemned to an eternity in Hell, John 3:18; 36; Eph. 2:3. The sad fact is this: every person in the
entire world who has not been saved is in this horrible, lost condition, Gal. 3:22; Rom. 3:10-23. When
you stop to consider the truth that a lost, hell-bound, hell-deserving sinner could
even be saved by the grace of God; it is a profound and amazing thing! But, when you consider that same sinner also
becomes a child of God, well, that is amazing beyond words! You
see, the Jews had no concept of God as a “Father.” They saw Him as Jehovah, the transcendent
God. They could never have thought of
God in so intimate of terms. So, when
Jesus arrived calling God “Father, it was a totally new
concept and it even angered many of them. (
1. If they had a need
in their life, they would call on "Jehovah-jireh", Gen.
22:14, which means, "The
Lord will provide."
2. If they were anxious, they would call on "Jehovah-shalom",
Judges 6:24, which means "The Lord our peace."
3. If they were lonely,
or afraid, they might call on "Jehovah-shammah", Eze.
48:35, which means "The
Lord is there."
4. If they need leadership, they would call on "Jehovah-rohi", Psalm
23:1, which means "The Lord our Shepherd."
5. If they were sick, they would call on "Jehovah-rapha", Exodus 15:26, which means "The Lord our healer." There
are literally dozens more, but you get the picture. When these people needed to
get a hold of God, they referred to Him by these various names. However, for
those who are in Jesus, there is a different name that we can use to speak to
God. This name was revealed to the Disciples in Luke 11:1-4 in what is known as "The Lord's Prayer",
but is more correctly "The Disciple's Prayer." Here,
the disciples, who have witnessed the amazing prayer life of Jesus and who want
the same access to God what to know how to pray. I can imagine them waiting to
hear which name He would give them to use in their prayers. Imagine their
surprise when Jesus spoke the word "Father." In this passage, the
Aramaic word “abba is used, which translates to the English word daddy.[1] When
I think of what I was when He found me and what He did when He me; I stand
amazed in the presence of such love, power and grace.) C. It
is A Permanent Relationship When God adopted us into His family, He
did not do it for just a while. He did
it for all eternity! You see, adoption,
as it was practiced in biblical times, could not be undone. A man had the right to disown his natural
children; but an adopted child was a child for life. He or she could never be disowned by the
father. This is the same guarantee that
we have today, John 10:28; John 6:37-40;
1 Pet. 1:5. What God does when He
saves a soul is a forever work! II. v. 30-32
A
DISCUSSION OF GOD’S RESPONSIBILITIES ( A.
v. 30 He Has The Responsibility Of Awareness The Bible says that
He knoweth
that ye have need of these things.
The verb “have need is in a tense that means our needs are many
and they are constant. That
sounds like my life how about you? We
are a needy people! Even
though we all have needs and we all have them all the time; God is well aware
of every single one of them! You see,
the word “knoweth means to be aware of something. The tense of this verb means that “He is
always aware of everything that affects His children. Sometimes we human parents just do not know
what the needs of our children are. We
may not always know, but our Heavenly Father always knows. What a blessed truth! Nothing
happens in your life or mine that goes unnoticed by our Father, verses 24, 26-28. I will go even farther and say that nothing
happens in your life or mine that is not part of his plan for us, Rom. 8:28. Thank God, He is aware of everything that is
going on, and that is going wrong, in our lives, Job 23:10; Psa. 139:1-12! ( B.
v. 31 He Has The Responsibility Of Ability It isnt enough for
the Lord just to know about what His children need; He must possess the ability
to meet those needs, or His knowledge does us no good. According to this passage, God does have the
power to take care of us as well as to know about us. Verse
32, for instance, tells us that it is “The Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. The word “kingdom
refers to all that pertains to His rule.
It speaks of “the power of the ruling One. Like a wealthy, benevolent king, God has the
wherewithal to meet every need that arises in the lives of each of His
children. Therefore, when He says “all
these things shall be added unto you, verse 31; He has the ability to back up that promise. Many
people live in doubt of God’s great ability to care for His people; but I would
like to remind you that if God can speak this universe into existence, He can
take care of you. If He can keep Noah
safe through that flood; feed Elijah with the ravens; put meal in the barrel,
oil in the cruse and life in the boy for the widow; keep the three Hebrew boys
safe in the furnace; secure Daniel in the lion’s den; feed Israel manna and
quail in the wilderness for forty years; slay Goliath for David; take care of
those disciples in that storm; part the Red Sea for Moses; raise Lazarus from
the dead; walk on the water; feed the five thousand, and countless other things
too numerous to mentions; I think He is able to take care of you! He is able, Eph. 3:20; Matt. 28:18; Jer. 32:17, 27; Rom. 4:21! ( We
human parents may not always be able to meet the needs of our children; but God
will never fail. He is eternally able to
perfectly care for His children! C.
v. 32 He Has The Responsibility Of Availability Gods awareness
of our needs and His power to help us is a wonderful truth; but if He is a God
Who is far removed from His children, then His power does us no good! He must be available. Praise God, He is! Notice verse
32. We are told that it is the “Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
The words “good pleasure” means “to choose, to determine, to be ready, to be well
pleased with to do that which seems good. God has determined to be ready to do that
which is good for His children. This
implies that He has made Himself available to us. He is available to each of His children, Matt. 11:28; Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20. He is as close to us as a simple prayer of
faith! There
are times when we human parents are not as available as we should be to our
children. Sometimes we are busy. Sometimes we are estranged from them. Sometimes one problem or the other gets in
the way. But, the same is not true with
God! He is always near and He is always
available, day or night! ( III.
v. 29-32 A DISCUSSION OF OUR ROLE ( A.
v. 29, 32 We Must Have Faith Notice what the Bible says in verse 29. We are commanded “neither be ye of doubtful mind. This phrase means “to be agitated or harassed with
cares. It is a term that was used to describe a ship that was being
tossed about upon a stormy sea. Here, it
is used a metaphor for worry. Jesus is
saying, “Child of God, do not allow your mind to be tossed up and down by the
waves of worry, doubt and fear. In
verses 32, we are told to “fear
not.” That phrase means “to be
out to flight, to be seized with fear.
This may not mean much to you, but that command is in the “middle
voice. It could be read this
way, “Do not allow yourself to be seized with fear. Jesus
is challenging us to learn to trust the Lord; regardless of what circumstances
may look like. There are times when it
may appear that there is no solution; never count God out! Learn to look away to Him and to trust in His
power in ever single circumstance, Mark
11:22-23; Mark 9:23; Psa. 62:8.
Always remember that we serve a God Who is Sovereign. That is, He is in absolute control, even when
things look impossible, they are not, if God is in control of them! Trust in the Lord and He will never allow you
to be put to shame, B.
v. 31 We Must Be Faithful If we will experience the awesome
power of God in our lives day by day; we must learn to be faithful to the
Lord. In other words, He must come
first! The word “seek in verse 31 means “to crave something.” We are to crave, or desire the things of God
ahead of all other things in our lives. When
we put Him first; God will put us first! However, when our desires are misplaced; we
miss out on the Lord’s best for our lives.
When we pursue the spiritual, God will always see to the material! When He is first, you never have to worry
about the rest.
Now, don’t misunderstand me, God remains faithful even
when we fail Him and ignore Him, 2
Tim. 2:13. But, even though He may go on being our Father;
we miss out His best when we fail to put the Lord first in our lives.
Let me encourage you to examine your life and your priorities today. If God, His Word, time with Him, His house,
etc, are not the priorities of your life; then please take whatever
steps are necessary to get that straightened out.
Remember, when you put Him first on your priority list, He
will keep you at the very top of His. Conc: God truly is the most wonderful
Father of all! The fact that He would
love the unworthy, save them by His grace and adopt them into His family proves
this. Add to this the fact that He looks
out for His children and takes care of them in spectacular fashion. I am glad that He is my Father today! How
about you? Can you honestly say, “Preacher,
I am saved by the grace of God? I know
that He is my Father and I am His child. If you can’t say that, then I want to invite
you to come to Him right now and call on Him.
If you will, He will save you!
If you are saved, can you honestly say that God and His business
are the first priorities of your life?
If not, I invite you to come to Him today so that He can help
you get all your priorities in their proper order.
If you are a child of God who has needs in your life and you
need help; there is no better place to bring those needs than to the
Father Himself. I invite you to come before Him and get the
help you need right now. If
you know the Father and know how wonderful He is, I invite you to bow at His
feet and tell Him just how you feel about Him.
I have a sneaking suspicion that He might like that! Whatever
the needs may be, this altar is open. [1] From Precious Words To A Precious People, another sermon by Alan Carr. http://www.sermonnotebook.org/new%20testament/Luke%2012_32.htm |
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