|
Come And See
| |
The Qualities Our Great Father.
INTRODUCTION
1. There are indeed many wonderful examples
in the Bible about many wonderful father figures, but none of them come close to
the Father of all in heaven.
2. Many times we may forget about all of the
wonderful qualities that are found within the characteristics of our Father.
3. Today may we examine these aspects as we
give glory and praise to the Father of all.
I.
What qualities do we find in our God and Father?
A. God is:
1. Great
a. Deuteronomy 5:24
-We see His greatness
demonstrated through His power in the scripture, and indeed our Father is
great.
2. Good
a. Psalm 33:5
-The psalmist without a
doubt understood that God has spread His goodness throughout the earth, and
we can see it all around us, as the Lord cares for His children.
3. Loving
a. John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4-7
-Without question we can
all see the importance of the love of God, that is demonstrated in so many ways, but especially in His Son Jesus Christ.
4. Holy (set apart, consecrated)
a. I Peter 1:16
-We are encouraged to
follow the example of God, and be holy
-He is indeed set apart,
the Supreme being, and there is no other, for our God is Holy.
5. Perfect (Lacking nothing essential, without
defect, flawless)
a. Matthew 5:48
-Again, we see another
encouraging word for us to be like our Father which is perfect.
-We understand that no
man can be without defect as our Father only until they remove their
defects through the blood of Christ.
6. Merciful
a. Dueteronomy 4:31
-God has not changed! He
is still the same merciful God who has a promise and a covenant that
He will NOT break.
-That promise is eternal
life to those that will be obedient to His will and be free from sin through the blood of Christ.
b. Psalm 103:8
- “The Lord is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”
- The Lord’s mercy still
is able to save our souls if we will accept His offering for the
forgiveness of sins.
c. Psalm 117
-We should give our
praise to God for His mercy toward us, because He is an awesome God who is
rich in mercy.
d. Luke 6:36
-We find that again we
are to follow in our Father’s steps and be merciful as our Father is merciful to us, and that, He truly is. I Peter 1:3
---WORD OF PRAYER---
Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. We come before you at this time thanking you for the power
you have demonstrated to us in your word and in our lives. We truly do have a
great Father and you are so good to us each and every day of our lives. We
praise you for the love that you have shown to us in Christ Jesus your Son and
ask that if there is anyone here who has not yet been obedient to your will that
they will see the necessity of serving such an awesome God. We thank you for
showing us how to be holy, perfect, and merciful and we pray that you will help
us to walk in these ways all the days of our life, looking to you who is rich in
mercy and is able to save our souls.
7. Invisible.
-Why would this be a good
quality of the Lord?
-If we had seen or been
with the Father we could have no faith, but the Father gives us something to long for. Hebrews 11:1
a. John 5:37; John 6:46
- God has not revealed
Himself to us, and only the Lord has seen the Father; and we must hope
to see him someday when life on earth is over.
8. Glorious
-Consider the question
that is asked in our Old Testaments...
a. Exodus 15:11
-No one person or being
could ever be compared to our glorious Father in heaven.
- This is a question that
man needs to take into consideration, because one will soon discover
that the Lord is indeed one of a kind.
9. Just (Fair)
- Is God a just God?
-Our God is more than
just, seeing that we all have fallen short of His glory and yet He still
found a way for us to be saved.
a. Romans 3:23-26
-God is just and the
justifier of those that will come to Jesus for their sin.
-Our Father has been more
than fair seeing that He gave His Son for sin, and at a mere confession and obedience to His will we can be saved.
b. I John 1:9
-We must confess our
faults if we want to be forgiven.
-The Lord is definitely
just!
10. Gracious
a. Psalm 84:11
- Those that are obedient
to God’s will and walk uprightly, will receive the grace of God.
-We need to see that this
grace is found in the Lord Jesus Christ as in
Romans
3:24
-Paul Thanked God for the
grace that He freely bestowed on those at Corinth by Jesus Christ.
b.
I
Corinthians 1:4
- Why do we need God’s
grace? Ephesians 2:7-8
11. Righteous
a. Romans 10:3-4
-Some do not know the
righteousness of God and walk blinded in their ignorance according to their own
righteousness.
-Peter tells us in his
salutation, that those who he was writing to had known the righteousness of God. 2 Peter 1:1
12. Long-suffering
-In
Romans 15:5, God is proclaimed to a“God
of patience”; and rightly so, because He is very patient toward
sinful man.
- The Lord will bring all
of His promises to pass including that of a judgment day, but understand that the Lord is long-suffering and patient toward those that need
the salvation that is available in Christ. 2
Peter 3:9
-How should we view this
long-suffering? 2 Peter 3:15
- If we have not accepted
the word of God as truth and been obedient to His every command, He is
patiently waiting, before it is to late.
---WORD OF PRAYER---
Father, although we cannot see you, we
know that you are there. We see your glory throughout the earth, and we thank
you for it. We understand that faith is the evidence of things not seen, and we
put our trust in you. We praise you for being a just God, and giving us an
opportunity to live with you when our life is over. We thank you for Jesus who
grants us that opportunity in your righteousness. We pray for those that have
not yet obeyed your word, that they will understand that you are patiently
waiting for them in your long-suffering that they too might have a hope of glory
with you.
13. Majestic
-Several times in
scripture do we find our God positioned on a throne deserving of praise.
-Even as we see that
Christ died for our sin, it tells us that he was seated next to the right
hand of the “majesty” on high.
Hebrews 1:3 ;
Hebrews 8:1
- This majesty signifies
signifies giving God supreme authority and power speaking of His
greatness and dignity. Jude 25
14. Generous
a. Romans 8:32
- Our Father gave His Son
on our behalf, even when we were at enmity (separation, apart from) with Him and
made it possible for us to be redeemed or bought back once again.
-I doesn’t get any more
generous than this.
-Through God’s generosity
he gave the greatest form of love man could ever know.
John
15:13
15. Kind and Compassionate.
- God was without a doubt
compassionate toward us when he saved us from sin rather than destroy
us in sin.
a. Psalm 78:38-39
-God has never changed
because He has always tried to save man from sin and deliver them from
unrighteousness.
-We indeed have a very
compassionate God and Father, but there will be a day when wrath comes
upon those that do not obey the gospel of Christ.
-Our Father’s wrath will
be stirred up someday, are you ready for that day?
16. Faithful
a. I Corinthians 1:9
“God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of Jesus Christ the Lord.
- God is faithful in all
things (promises, covenant, etc.)
- The Lord has promised
eternal life to those that do His will, and eternal damnation to those that choose not to do His will. COUNT THESE PROMISES AS FAITHFUL!
- The Lord made a
covenant with us the blood of Christ now cleanses us of our sins and nothing else. COUNT ON THAT COVENANT AS FAITHFUL!
---WORD OF PRAYER---
Our Father and
Majesty, we come before the throne of grace once again where you are enthroned
thanking you for the generous gift of your Son Jesus Christ. You are so
compassionate to us your people and we thank you for all of your kindness. Help
us to show our appreciation for all that you do for us, that we might live the
rest of our life for you. Help us Father to see your faithfulness in all that
you do, and guide us to follow in that same faithful example as we live our
life. Finally Father we plead with you to open our minds and our hearts at this
time... and if there is any one person in this place today that is not living a
faithful life to you, that we would turn to you our Maker, Defender, Redeemer,
and Friend.
Thank you for being our
Father!!!
CONCLUSION
1. No Matter where you look, you will never
find a Father Like this one.
2. No other Father has the
ability to give to an obedient soul a hope of heaven
3. No other Father is able
to love and care for us in this way.
4. No other Father is so
forgiving and has the ability to remove our sin.
5. Are you able to say that
this is your Father?
6. Have you been obedient
to the commands of God that you might be forgiven of your sins?
7. Why would you not want
to serve an awesome God like this?
-Would you like to start a new life with a Great, Good, Loving, Holy,
Perfect, Merciful, Invisible, Glorious, Just , Gracious, Righteous,
Long-suffering, Majestic, Generous, Compassionate, Kind, and Faithful...and
one that is ready to forgive you if you will come to Him.
Hear (Romans 10:17)
Believe (John 3:16)
Repent (Luke 13:3,5)
Confess (Matthew 10:32-33)
Baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38)
|