Page Three: “Blessed Be the Father …” 06/17/2012
Here’s the Apostle Pau in II Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;…”
Here’s Paul’s opening words to the Ephesians. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:…”
And here’s the Apostle Peter. I Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,…”
You see, this is how the LORD is presented in the NT.
Now, let me turn your attention back to what Jesus says. I’d like to read again a word from “The LORD’s Prayer.” Matthew six and verse nine. (9) “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
There are a couple of lessons I’d like to share with you today. The first lesson I want to share with you men about the gift of fatherhood is this: “the LORD is a Father.” Did you know that this is the only time Jesus ever used these two words? “Our Father.” And, this tremendous prayer is the only prayer found in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, notwithstanding the fact that Jesus could not pray this particular prayer simply because He had no sins to ask forgiveness for; yet, Jesus, both then and now is always turning the hearts of the people to His Father.
Folks, here is what God is. He has a Father Nature. He’s a Father. Fathers, He’s your Namesake and your Example. The LORD is a Father. Now a father is not a father until he has a son. But God always had a son. Jesus, as you know, always existed. He’s always been a Father. Jesus has always been the Son. So, even when He spoke the universe into existence, He did it as a Father. The Father said, “Let there be light” because He is the “Father of Lights.”
And as a Father to His Only Begotten son, He has always had a loving relationship with Him. His love, His provision, His fellowship, His purposes, His gladness in having a Son was always His to enjoy. There has never been a time when God was not a Father.
This first sermon Jesus preached must have been an eye-opener to the Jews who initially heard it. Up till now they had only known Abraham as “our father” or “our father Jacob,” or “our father Isaac” or “our father David.” But it isn’t until Jesus comes on the scene that we hear so much about God as “our Father.” Now Jesus, His only begotten Son, has arrived on earth. Now you could see your Creator in His essential nature as your father.
So, Jesus, in His first words on the subject of prayer tells us to pray, saying “Our Father.”
The second lesson here is this. When you see God as the kind of father you need, you discover one of the most wonderful things in the entire world. You can almost see what kind of father the LORD is when you hear these words as Jesus preached them that day.
Men, He’s personally interested in your life. He’s got His eye on just you. Yes, it’s true that He has His eye on everyone else on the planet – all of us at the very same moment. Yet, He sees and He knows you. After all, He created you. He even knows the most intimate details of your prayer life – from a Father’s viewpoint. Besides that, He knows exactly what all your needs are. You are a special treasure to Him.
I don’t think that I could have even been a true father to my children if I had looked only to my own father in order to see what one was. My dad died when I was just. But up till then, all I ever knew was a man who was consumed with alcohol. Today I see the Perfect Father. And the more I live in the light of a Creator Who is quote “my Heavenly Father,” the more I live in truth. He’s the One Who can meet my deepest needs because He’s a Father.
Here’s Paul’s opening words to the Ephesians. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:…”
And here’s the Apostle Peter. I Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,…”
You see, this is how the LORD is presented in the NT.
Now, let me turn your attention back to what Jesus says. I’d like to read again a word from “The LORD’s Prayer.” Matthew six and verse nine. (9) “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
There are a couple of lessons I’d like to share with you today. The first lesson I want to share with you men about the gift of fatherhood is this: “the LORD is a Father.” Did you know that this is the only time Jesus ever used these two words? “Our Father.” And, this tremendous prayer is the only prayer found in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, notwithstanding the fact that Jesus could not pray this particular prayer simply because He had no sins to ask forgiveness for; yet, Jesus, both then and now is always turning the hearts of the people to His Father.
Folks, here is what God is. He has a Father Nature. He’s a Father. Fathers, He’s your Namesake and your Example. The LORD is a Father. Now a father is not a father until he has a son. But God always had a son. Jesus, as you know, always existed. He’s always been a Father. Jesus has always been the Son. So, even when He spoke the universe into existence, He did it as a Father. The Father said, “Let there be light” because He is the “Father of Lights.”
And as a Father to His Only Begotten son, He has always had a loving relationship with Him. His love, His provision, His fellowship, His purposes, His gladness in having a Son was always His to enjoy. There has never been a time when God was not a Father.
This first sermon Jesus preached must have been an eye-opener to the Jews who initially heard it. Up till now they had only known Abraham as “our father” or “our father Jacob,” or “our father Isaac” or “our father David.” But it isn’t until Jesus comes on the scene that we hear so much about God as “our Father.” Now Jesus, His only begotten Son, has arrived on earth. Now you could see your Creator in His essential nature as your father.
So, Jesus, in His first words on the subject of prayer tells us to pray, saying “Our Father.”
The second lesson here is this. When you see God as the kind of father you need, you discover one of the most wonderful things in the entire world. You can almost see what kind of father the LORD is when you hear these words as Jesus preached them that day.
Men, He’s personally interested in your life. He’s got His eye on just you. Yes, it’s true that He has His eye on everyone else on the planet – all of us at the very same moment. Yet, He sees and He knows you. After all, He created you. He even knows the most intimate details of your prayer life – from a Father’s viewpoint. Besides that, He knows exactly what all your needs are. You are a special treasure to Him.
I don’t think that I could have even been a true father to my children if I had looked only to my own father in order to see what one was. My dad died when I was just. But up till then, all I ever knew was a man who was consumed with alcohol. Today I see the Perfect Father. And the more I live in the light of a Creator Who is quote “my Heavenly Father,” the more I live in truth. He’s the One Who can meet my deepest needs because He’s a Father.