The Fatherhood Of God

  • 2 days ago
Don't let the evil of your earthly father steal the joy your Heavenly Father wants you to have. Graham Green addresses those abused by their earthly father and family, the disinherited, and the scapegoats and brings a message of hope from our Heavenly Father, who will one day give us Justice and recompense. But first, Graham will look at the relationship between God the Father and Jesus the Son and God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Jews.

Scriptures used: The Gospel of John.

Chartridge Mission Church began in 1844 and is still found in the village of Chartridge, just outside of Chesham in the beautiful Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire, England, UK.

Filmed on Sunday, 1st of September 2024.

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Transcript
00:00So this evening I want us to consider the fatherhood of God and I want us to consider
00:19that subject in three parts. First, the relationship of God the Father and Jesus the Son. Secondly,
00:31the relationship between God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Jews. And thirdly, the relationship
00:42between God the Father and us. So as I said, I've taken most of my thoughts from the Gospel of John
00:53and it was such a joy for me to read through while noticing the constant interaction between God
01:01the Father and Jesus, God the Son. In John chapter 1, verse 1, we find that they were together
01:13right from the beginning. Jesus being referred to as the Word became flesh or took on human form
01:24in the form of Jesus. And John the Baptist knew exactly who Jesus was. Verse 29, he says the Lamb
01:35of God, the sin bearer, the one who would become the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In verse 34,
01:46he says, I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. In chapter 2, verse 16, Jesus refers
02:01to the temple as his Father's house. In chapter 3, verse 34 and 35, Jesus says,
02:12the one who God has sent speaks the words of God. For God gives the Spirit without limit.
02:22The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
02:30When Jesus is discussing where the right place to worship was with the Samaritan woman,
02:37he explained that God is Spirit and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth. Chapter 4, verse 24.
02:52Then in chapter 5, verses 19 and 20, we find this lovely truth about the relationship between God
03:01the Father and Jesus, God the Son. Chapter 5, verse 19, Jesus says, I tell you the truth,
03:12the Son can do nothing by himself. He can only do what he sees the Father doing.
03:20Because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son
03:30and shows him all he does. Again in chapter 6, we see how inseparable is the work of the Father
03:41and the Son. Chapter 6, verse 40, Jesus says, for my Father's will is that everyone who looks
03:51to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last days.
04:02Verse 45, everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
04:12So isn't it wonderful to read how the Father and the Son are inseparable? Of course,
04:21it's because they are, as Jesus was God in flesh and blood while on earth.
04:33Jesus, throughout his ministry, spent so much time trying to get the Jewish people
04:41to understand who he really was. And we'll look at that in part 2. So we'll come back to it later.
04:52But I just want to continue by highlighting chapter 8, verse 45, where Jesus replied,
05:00if I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God,
05:10is the one who glorifies me. Jesus, in chapter 10, is trying to reason with the unbelieving Jews,
05:19which we'll look at later, as I said. But let's just highlight again this relationship of God,
05:26the Father, and God, the Son. Chapter 10, verse 14, Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd.
05:38I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me. And I know the Father,
05:50and I lay down my life for the sheep. You see, Jesus was in constant communication
06:00with God, the Father. And we can see this when Lazarus was raised. Verse 41 of chapter 11,
06:10it says, so they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father,
06:20I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me.
06:28But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you
06:35have sent me. I hope you are appreciating this canter through the Gospel of John. I think it's
06:45important to get the whole picture of God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit, working as one.
06:55Working as one. Jesus is predicting his death in chapter 12, and again, points to the oneness.
07:08Chapter 12, verse 26, whoever serves me, Jesus said, must follow me. And where I am,
07:18my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.
07:28It's so important to understand the relationship of God as Father and Jesus as Son. Sadly,
07:38many people don't. As Jesus' time on earth was coming to its conclusion,
07:45he starts to prepare the disciples. In chapter 13, verses 1 to 3, it tells us more. We read,
07:56it was just before the Passover feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world
08:07and to go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world,
08:15he now showed them the full extent of his love. Verse 2, the evening meal was being served,
08:26and the devil had already prompted Jesus of Scariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Verse 3,
08:35Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God
08:45and was returning to God. What an amazing fact! Jesus came from God and now reigns
08:57with God, as he did in the beginning. I just want to point out that in chapter 14, verse 2,
09:07Jesus is talking about heaven and everlasting life. So this time, when he speaks about his
09:15Father's house, he is talking about heaven and not the earthly temple, as we mentioned previously.
09:24So in order to understand more deeply the unique relationship between God the Father,
09:30Son and Holy Spirit, we should read the whole of John chapter 14, really.
09:38Father is mentioned 23 times in this one chapter alone. But let us just highlight some
09:47of what is being said. Chapter 14 and verse 6, Jesus, the way to the Father. Jesus answered,
09:58I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
10:08Verse 9, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
10:16show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?
10:27All through the teaching of Jesus, we find this somewhat hard to understand theme,
10:34that God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one.
10:43In chapter 14, verse 25 and 26, it shows this very well. Jesus says,
10:51all this I have spoken while still with you. But the counsellor, the Holy Spirit,
11:00whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything
11:10I have said to you. And again in John chapter 15, verse 26, we see that God is Father,
11:21Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus says in chapter 15, verse 26, when the counsellor comes,
11:31whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father,
11:41he will testify about me.
11:48As I've tried to show through the Gospel of John, the relationship between God the Father
11:55and Jesus God the Son and also God the Holy Spirit. I hope it might encourage you
12:03to read the Gospel of John again, or even for the first time. Read it through in one sitting,
12:11if you can, and you too will be blessed as I have been to see the Godhead at work.
12:20In John chapter 16, Father is mentioned a further 11 times. But I'll just highlight verse 28
12:31because it speaks clearly of how God came down to earth in the form of Jesus and has now returned.
12:40Chapter 16, verse 28. Jesus said, I came from the Father and entered the world.
12:50Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.
12:57I would like to conclude our thoughts about the relationship of God the Father and Jesus the Son
13:05with a comment about how Jesus left earth after being crucified, buried and resurrected from the
13:15dead. You see, by the time that the disciples and other followers of Jesus had been with him,
13:24listening to him and watching his every move, those that believed in him had no doubt whatsoever
13:36that Jesus was the Son of God and was indeed God in flesh as a man. And they must have been
13:46totally convinced that he would therefore go back to heaven. Now so convinced were they
13:56that he would be going back to heaven that neither John nor Matthew even write about it.
14:08And Mark and Luke simply tell it as it was.
14:12I'll read how Luke says it, from Luke chapter 24 and verse 50 and 51. And it simply says this,
14:23when he, Jesus, had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
14:37And blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up
14:48into heaven. That's it. That's it. You would imagine there would be chapters written on it.
14:55But no, that was what they expected to happen. They expected that Jesus would be taken back
15:05to be with Father in heaven. So how can we be sure of a future in heaven? Well,
15:18Jesus makes it very clear in John chapter 3, verse 16, when he said,
15:24For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
15:37shall not perish, but have eternal life. My prayer is that for everyone listening,
15:48God, the Holy Spirit, will convince you that the only way of being right with God the Father
15:56is through faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God the Son.
16:06Now for part two. I said earlier that in part two, we would consider the relationship between
16:14between God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Jews, or more specifically, the Jewish religious
16:25leaders. Even though we have in this short time been able to see clearly that Jesus at all times
16:37while on earth showed and taught that he was indeed one with God, sent, directed, and received
16:48again as part of the Godhead, which is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, they, the religious
16:59leaders, just didn't want to accept him. You see, they had done what so many do today.
17:09They had made up their minds what God should look like, how he would, or even should,
17:18praise them up for keeping the laws. And as they look down on others,
17:25they thought of themselves as the real deal. They thought they got their religion sorted out.
17:35They thought they knew the scriptures, but had no idea what God's Messiah might be like.
17:45The one thing they were sure of, and had made up their minds about, was what they wouldn't accept
17:55this person, Jesus. So eventually, they killed him.
18:04Of course, I need to point out at this point, at this stage, that they were only able to do that
18:14because he, Jesus, was God's planned sacrifice for the sins of mankind. So in John chapter 7,
18:24we'll see the hostility and disbelief of the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders.
18:33And we're going to read John chapter 7, verses 25 to 49. At that point, some of the people of
18:42Jerusalem began to ask, isn't this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly,
18:52and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?
19:00But we know where this man is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.
19:07Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out,
19:13Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true.
19:25You do not know him, but I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.
19:33And he sent me. At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,
19:40because his time had not yet come. Still many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said,
19:49When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?
19:55The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and
20:02the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. Jesus said, I am with you for only a short time,
20:13and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me,
20:21and where I am, you cannot come. The Jews said to one another,
20:29Where does this man intend to go, that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live,
20:36scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said,
20:42You will look for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come.
20:50On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice,
20:56If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said,
21:05streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit,
21:11whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time,
21:18the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
21:23On hearing his words, some of the people said, Surely this man is a prophet. Others said,
21:32He is the Christ. Still others asked, How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the scripture
21:40say that the Christ will come from David's family, and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?
21:47Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
22:01Verse 45 headed, Unbelief of the Jewish leaders. Finally the temple guards went back to the chief
22:09priests and Pharisees, who asked them, Why didn't you bring him in? No one ever spoke the way
22:17this man does, the guards declared. You mean he's deceived you also, the Pharisees retorted.
22:26Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No, but this mob,
22:34that knows nothing of the law, there is a curse on them.
22:42A long reading, but I wanted to give you a flavor of the hostility
22:48so we've seen how Jesus was teaching and so clearly that the Godhead, but the hostility
22:58that he was getting from the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders,
23:04was because they had not wanted to accept him and couldn't accept him as their Messiah.
23:11And I want you to bear with me because I want to read now another quite long reading because
23:16the only way I could get it in in proper perspective was from chapter 10. You see,
23:22we need to read chapter 10 to be able to further see that whatever great and amazing things Jesus
23:31said and did, there will always be those who refuse to accept and believe in him.
23:42Chapter 10, verse 22. Chapter 10, verse 22. Headed, the unbelief of the Jews.
23:56Then came the feast of dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was in the temple area
24:04walking in Solomon's colonnade. The Jews gathered around him saying,
24:11how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.
24:19Jesus answered, I tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my father's name
24:28speak for me. But you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice.
24:38I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.
24:46No one can snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all.
24:54No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. I and the father are one.
25:04Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him. But Jesus said to them, I have shown you many
25:11great miracles from the father. For which of these do you stone me? We're not stoning you for any of
25:18these, replied the Jews, but for blasphemy because you, a mere man, claim to be God.
25:27Jesus answered them, it is, is it not written in your law? I have said you are gods. If he called
25:38them gods to whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken, what about the one
25:45whom the father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?
25:52Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy? Because I said I am God's son.
26:00Do not believe me unless I do what my father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me,
26:09believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the father is in me and I
26:18am in the father. Again, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
26:26Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early
26:32days. Here he stayed and many people came to him and they said, through John, though John never
26:40performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true. And in that place,
26:50many believed. I just want to finish part two of this talk with both a challenge
26:57and an encouragement. The challenge for everyone who is listening and does not believe yet that
27:05Jesus is the Messiah, the chosen one of God, who came to be the saviour of mankind.
27:13My challenge is, will you, with an open mind, prayerfully read the Gospel of John for yourself?
27:23I say for yourself, because many are being influenced incorrectly by teachers and others
27:33who don't want to believe. And the encouragement. Well, the last verse we read was chapter 10,
27:41verse 42. And it shows us that even with all the hostility and disbelief of the religious leaders,
27:53the Holy Spirit will help you if you will come to Christ and believe. Verse 42 says,
28:03and in that place, many believed. Now for the last few minutes, I would like to like us to
28:13in part three, consider the relationship between God the Father and us.
28:25I think this is very important because you see, I'm very aware that for many who are listening
28:33to me talking about God as a loving Father, it's very hard for you to take.
28:40The relationship between you and your Father, sadly, may well have been awful.
28:49Many suffer abuse at the hands of their Father. Many have been deserted by them.
28:59And even some of you could be living with the fear that when he comes out of jail,
29:06the torment, or even worse, may start all over again.
29:15I would like to encourage you to see that God the Father is our heavenly Father.
29:25His love and kindness goes beyond that of the best earthly Father ever.
29:33Don't let the evil of your earthly Father steal the joy that a heavenly Father wants you to have.
29:45In John chapter 15, verse 8, Jesus says, this is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit,
29:56that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
30:04By putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and following his ways,
30:10God the Father will help us to have fruitful lives for his glory.
30:18Verses 9 to 11 tells us that our heavenly Father, Father's love and the joy he will give.
30:27Chapter 15, verses 9 to 11, Jesus says, as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
30:38Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.
30:47Just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
30:54Verse 11, I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
31:11Followers of Jesus Christ have a wonderful heavenly Father whose mercy, love, is beyond
31:20anything that we can ever imagine. He will never clear off and abandon us because he is faithful
31:30and never breaks his promises. I trust that we will all find much peace and joy.
31:40In following him. Amen.