Knowing the Father
God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel (Psalms
103:7). The Bible says that God is not a respecter of persons, He wanted to
have a close relationship with the nation of Israel, but they were afraid and stood
afar off; and told Moses to speak to God and then tell them what He said and
that they would obey Him. But because they never drew near, they didn’t get to
love Him with their whole heart. Obedience doesn’t spring from second hand
relationships.
Moses knew God so well that he was able to go to God and ask Him to repent
from the harm He would do to Israel. This was after the Israelites made
themselves gods and worshipped them (Exodus 32:9-14) “and the Lord Yahweh
said to Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff necked people.
Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I
may consume them and I will make of you a great nation. And Moses besought
the Lord Yahweh his God, and said, Lord Yahweh why does Your people, which
You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a
mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, for mischief did
He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the
face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against
Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom
You swear by Your Own Self, and said to them. I will multiply your seed as the
stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed,
and they shall inherit it for ever. And the Lord Yahweh repented of the evil which
He thought to do to His people”.
God wants us to stand in the gap for His people (Ezekiel 22:29-31) says “the
people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have
vexed the poor and needy, yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand
in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them
with the fire of My anger, their own way have I recompensed upon their heads,
says the Lord Yahweh God”.
Abraham knew the character of God and was able to plead for the righteous of
Sodom (Genesis 18:23-26) “and Abraham drew near and said, will You also
destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps there be fifty righteous inside
the city, will You also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that
are therein? That be far from You to do after this manner to slay the righteous
with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from
You. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord Yahweh said, if I
find in Sodom fifty righteous inside the city then, I will spare all the place for their
sakes”. Abraham continued to negotiate with God down to 10 righteous, but
there were not 10 righteous found in Sodom and it was destroyed.
David knew God in such a way, as you read the Psalms he wrote to God, he
pours out his heart to God (Psalms 42:1-2) “as a deer pants after the water
brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God. my soul thirsts for God, for the living
God, when shall I come and appear before God”? David was known as a man
after God’s own heart.
All of these Old Testament men knew their God and when you consider that they
didn’t have the Spirit living in them, but we have a new and better covenant
through the blood of Jesus.
Jesus came to show us the Father (John 1:12, 18, and 14:23) the Bible says “but
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe in His name. No man has seen God at any time, the
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Jesus said, if a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him”.
You that have been reconciled to the Father (II Corinthians 5) Jesus’ death burial
and resurrection paid the price in full for our sins and made us the righteousness
of God in Christ and now you can know God as your heavenly Father. We have
been adopted (Romans 8:14-17) “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again
to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba
Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children
of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so
be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together”.
Father is described as the male parent of a household in Bible times, charged
with the responsibility of providing for the family and giving religious instruction to
the children. The father was expected to assume certain responsibilities that can
be classified into three categories; spiritual, social, and economics. First of all,
the father was responsible for the spiritual well being of the family. This involves
the training of the children. Socially the father’s responsibility was to see that no
one took advantage of any member of the family. Economically, the father was
to provide for the needs of the members of his family.
Many people do not understand God being their Father because the devil have
been breaking up so many families, and many people do not have a loving
relationship with their natural father. But the Bible says “when my father and my
mother forsake me, then the Lord Yahweh will take me up” (Psalms 27:10).
God wants us to know who we are, Psalms 82 God says “I have said that all of
you are gods, and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die hike
men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O god, judge the earth for you shall
inherit all nations”. The heavens, even the heavens are the Lord Yahweh’s, but
He has given the earth to the sons of men.
He also wants us to know that we can now have that personal relationship with
Him as our heavenly Father. The same relationship that Adam had with God
before the fall, is available to us now. Let us not be like the Israelites, and stand
afar off from Him, but let us draw near to Him and see Him draw near to us.
We are made in His image and likeness, and Jesus said “verily, verily, I say to
you, he that believes on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and greater
works than these shall he do because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).
He wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Remember that greater is He
that is in us than he that is in the world.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: February 6, 2009
God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel (Psalms
103:7). The Bible says that God is not a respecter of persons, He wanted to
have a close relationship with the nation of Israel, but they were afraid and stood
afar off; and told Moses to speak to God and then tell them what He said and
that they would obey Him. But because they never drew near, they didn’t get to
love Him with their whole heart. Obedience doesn’t spring from second hand
relationships.
Moses knew God so well that he was able to go to God and ask Him to repent
from the harm He would do to Israel. This was after the Israelites made
themselves gods and worshipped them (Exodus 32:9-14) “and the Lord Yahweh
said to Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff necked people.
Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I
may consume them and I will make of you a great nation. And Moses besought
the Lord Yahweh his God, and said, Lord Yahweh why does Your people, which
You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a
mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, for mischief did
He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the
face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against
Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom
You swear by Your Own Self, and said to them. I will multiply your seed as the
stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed,
and they shall inherit it for ever. And the Lord Yahweh repented of the evil which
He thought to do to His people”.
God wants us to stand in the gap for His people (Ezekiel 22:29-31) says “the
people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have
vexed the poor and needy, yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand
in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them
with the fire of My anger, their own way have I recompensed upon their heads,
says the Lord Yahweh God”.
Abraham knew the character of God and was able to plead for the righteous of
Sodom (Genesis 18:23-26) “and Abraham drew near and said, will You also
destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps there be fifty righteous inside
the city, will You also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that
are therein? That be far from You to do after this manner to slay the righteous
with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from
You. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord Yahweh said, if I
find in Sodom fifty righteous inside the city then, I will spare all the place for their
sakes”. Abraham continued to negotiate with God down to 10 righteous, but
there were not 10 righteous found in Sodom and it was destroyed.
David knew God in such a way, as you read the Psalms he wrote to God, he
pours out his heart to God (Psalms 42:1-2) “as a deer pants after the water
brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God. my soul thirsts for God, for the living
God, when shall I come and appear before God”? David was known as a man
after God’s own heart.
All of these Old Testament men knew their God and when you consider that they
didn’t have the Spirit living in them, but we have a new and better covenant
through the blood of Jesus.
Jesus came to show us the Father (John 1:12, 18, and 14:23) the Bible says “but
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe in His name. No man has seen God at any time, the
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Jesus said, if a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him”.
You that have been reconciled to the Father (II Corinthians 5) Jesus’ death burial
and resurrection paid the price in full for our sins and made us the righteousness
of God in Christ and now you can know God as your heavenly Father. We have
been adopted (Romans 8:14-17) “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again
to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba
Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children
of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so
be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together”.
Father is described as the male parent of a household in Bible times, charged
with the responsibility of providing for the family and giving religious instruction to
the children. The father was expected to assume certain responsibilities that can
be classified into three categories; spiritual, social, and economics. First of all,
the father was responsible for the spiritual well being of the family. This involves
the training of the children. Socially the father’s responsibility was to see that no
one took advantage of any member of the family. Economically, the father was
to provide for the needs of the members of his family.
Many people do not understand God being their Father because the devil have
been breaking up so many families, and many people do not have a loving
relationship with their natural father. But the Bible says “when my father and my
mother forsake me, then the Lord Yahweh will take me up” (Psalms 27:10).
God wants us to know who we are, Psalms 82 God says “I have said that all of
you are gods, and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die hike
men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O god, judge the earth for you shall
inherit all nations”. The heavens, even the heavens are the Lord Yahweh’s, but
He has given the earth to the sons of men.
He also wants us to know that we can now have that personal relationship with
Him as our heavenly Father. The same relationship that Adam had with God
before the fall, is available to us now. Let us not be like the Israelites, and stand
afar off from Him, but let us draw near to Him and see Him draw near to us.
We are made in His image and likeness, and Jesus said “verily, verily, I say to
you, he that believes on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and greater
works than these shall he do because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).
He wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Remember that greater is He
that is in us than he that is in the world.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: February 6, 2009
