The Heart of the Father

[00:00:00] God bless all of you tonight. I wish all of you the mercy, the peace, and the favor of God. It's good to be here together with friends and co-laborers. And I suppose it's with somewhat mixed feelings that we are here. Some of us are here for the first time. Perhaps you're feeling a little overwhelmed. Some of us are here and we know all the form. [00:00:33] God bless you. And we know to smile. And we do that, but inside there are things that we're carrying. Some of us are here with things on our minds. And we're thinking about the meetings and making sure that everything gets done right. And if you are like me, normally at a time like this, it's just a little hard to concentrate. Because where else, when else do you have a meeting with so many ministers just like this? [00:01:10] And after all, we can get a set of the tapes and listen to it at home. Well, though all those things may be true, I hope that all of us here are conscious of a greater presence. And tonight, in this subject, I invite you to turn your attention to the heart of the Father. Let me tell you, there's no one like Him. [00:01:42] No one like Him. I'm attempting to answer in a small way, in a feeble way, what his heart is like. But this certainly will not be in any comprehensive manner. In fact, that isn't even possible. I'd like to say right here at the beginning that knowing the Father is the best thing that ever happened to my life. There's never been anything better. I'd like to turn to Jeremiah chapter 9 and read verses 23 and 24 as a text. [00:02:27] Now in this chapter, the Lord has been grieving. And I think Jeremiah has been grieving. But in verse 23, here's what the Lord says. Here's what the Father says. Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. [00:02:59] But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Now first we're going to be looking at who is this Father? This is really a supreme question. I'm reading now from A.W. Tozer, the book, The Knowledge of the Holy. [00:03:37] What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, what comes into your mind when you think about God, we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. [00:04:14] Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders, or I could say beachy preachers, think of God today, Today we might be able, with some precision, to foretell where the church will stand tomorrow. Think of that. If we could somehow sum up what this group here thinks about God, it's likely we can tell what our churches will be like in the future. [00:04:46] Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God. So now, who is the Father? Where do we begin to seek the answer for this question? Now, in order to end up right, we must start and go right. And one thing's sure, in answering this question, we don't begin with ourselves. [00:05:21] I'd like now to read a portion of an article from Scott McKnight in the latest edition of Christianity Today. Today, on the opening day of my class on Jesus of Nazareth, I give a standardized psychological test divided into two parts. The results are nothing short of astounding. The first part is about Jesus. It asks students to imagine Jesus' personality with questions such as, [00:05:57] Does he prefer to go his own way rather than act by the rules? And, is he a warrior? Somebody have worries? It asks. The second part asks the same question of the students, but instead of, is he a warrior? It asks, are you a warrior? The test is not about right or wrong answers, nor is it designed to help students understand Jesus. Instead, if given to enough people, the test will reveal that we all think Jesus is like us. [00:06:28] Introverts think that Jesus is introverted, for example. And on the basis of the same question, extroverts think that Jesus is extroverted. Spiritual formation experts would love to hear that students in my Jesus class are becoming like Jesus, but the test actually reveals the reverse. Students are fashioning Jesus to be more like themselves. So when we ask this question, who is the Father, for sure we don't begin with us. Amen? [00:07:06] Now we learn something of God by observing creation. Jeremiah 32 verse 17, O Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power, and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee. Now, we all know, we believe, that God's fingerprints are all over creation. We see order, design, wisdom, and infinity. But nature, for all its splendor and powerful witness, can never teach us all that we need to know about the Father. [00:07:39] For that, there is another source. And that larger source we use to answer this question, it is this book. It is this book which is authoritative and true on every subject that it addresses It is the written word of God God breathed without error and absolutely relevant to our time Amen Now, are we together here tonight? I think we are, but I'd like to see some expression [00:08:11] Are we together that this word is without error? Hold your Bibles up Look at that. Praise God. That's important. That's tremendously important as we answer some of these questions or seek answers for them. He is the self-existent one, the I Am in Exodus 3.14. He is. The opening words of Scripture give no explanation of how or where he came from, but simply the statement in the beginning, God. [00:08:43] The assumption is that God is. Now such implications are uncomfortable to man because we prefer to be able to understand and control. God has no beginning nor ending, nor has he his equal. And like Tozer says, he's not exactly like anything or anybody. I like that. He's not responsible or accountable to anyone. He is powerful, all powerful. He has no difficulty, had no difficulty that day to cause a bush to burn without being consumed. And though he tolerates the opposition of Pharaohs, he is not in the least frustrated by them. Because you see, he is God. He is God, hallelujah. [00:09:35] Hallelujah, he's the self-existent one, fully self-sufficient and self-dependent. He doesn't need any outside support to exist, and though he is a stranger to many people, yet none are a stranger to him. No place is unfamiliar to him. Just last week I was driving down a road seeing customers and I think I never in all my life had driven down that road before. [00:10:07] And I'm looking around to see how this is. And I was looking for a potential customer. It was the first time I forgot he knew all about it. And you can't go to any foreign... There's no foreign place to God. He's there. He's familiar. He's at home. God does not discover anything. He is not taken by surprise. He doesn't become more mature or more knowledgeable or wiser or more experienced or even older. [00:10:40] As man discovers and unveils secrets and understands and gains in knowledge, should he look carefully, he would discover that God's already been there. Now, such a being, like I've described thus far, is really unacceptable. He's a terrifying threat, unspeakably dangerous. And perhaps we can understand why people would want to shake their fist at him out of a terror-stricken heart. [00:11:10] That idea that he knows everything, he's all-powerful. Not that it would help, of course. Some of us are old enough to remember when concern was expressed about some large computer over there in Belgium that was collecting information on common people like you and I. Some of you don't remember that, but some of us do. And concern was expressed, they're going to be able to keep track of us. And there are many Americans with a rightful sense of unease [00:11:46] as we think about health care, Big Brother, and such things with the gut feeling that it's going to result in loss of our liberty but let me tell you, Big Brother doesn't even compare with the Father who knows how many hair we have on our head And he knows exactly what you're thinking and what you're carrying in your heart. He is the only one. There's none like him. If there were someone like him, he wouldn't be God. [00:12:19] Because God is, that place is only for one. Isaiah 43, 10, verses 10 and 11. You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. Deuteronomy 4, verse 39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven, above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else. [00:12:56] Now, from our perspective, it's very obvious that we are in a conflict. There is a warfare that's going on between good and evil. But as one writer has well put it, though there is a conflict, there is no real competition. There's no real competition. The one leader was created, the other one was the creator. [00:13:28] One has a kingdom with limits prescribed by the other, and even in that kingdom does not rule as a final authority. Can't do just anything. One rules for a time in his kingdom, the other rules for eternity. And in the large picture, it's probably true that Satan is just a small blip on the screen of eternity. Now, let's look a little closer at the Father's heart. [00:14:07] He's a personal Father. It is abundantly clear in the pages of the scripture that the attention that we receive is coming from one who enjoys our attention. He is not some remote first cause of all things, not just an impersonal designer nor a mere influence, and he is not well described as the man upstairs. He experiences joy, love, grief, anger, and for some reason which I don't fully understand, [00:14:44] he has a great desire for us, to be together with us. Now note again these qualities in the scripture I read at the beginning. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Lovingkindness refers to goodness, faithfulness, or perhaps mercy, faithful love, steadfast love, judgment, speaks of justice and right, righteousness, doing right, doing what is right. [00:15:27] In these things I delight, saith the Lord. Now I hope, I'm sure we could turn to the Scriptures here and we could say in this verse, it says the Lord is merciful. And this verse, it says that He's faithful. But I hope that every one of us can give a living expression of what the written Word says. That He has been merciful and faithful to us. Oh, my experience has been [00:16:02] that there are no negatives in knowing God. There's no negatives in knowing God. There are no downsides or unpleasant side effects. You know how medication is? You've got to take this to counteract that and then do that and then all down the line? But with God, fellowship with God, there are no downsides. Now, having said that, I want to focus on his obvious attention to man. [00:16:39] At creation, though he created most of it by spoken word, yet noticed the intimate way that Adam and Eve were created. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. Now this word form refers to fashion or frame. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly how it's done, but I think it's right to think that he, well he formed us with his hands. [00:17:13] It doesn't say his hands, but you know he used what he had. I don't know just how the body of the Lord is, or how his hands are. And that says breathe into his nostrils. Breathe means to blow upon, to cause air to pass into an area. Now I'm sure it would be very possible for our God to have stood a thousand miles away from Adam and breathed into his nostrils, but I kind of doubt that's the way it was. I think it's probably more accurate to think of it as being a close, intimate breathing into his nostrils. [00:17:52] and then there is the interest that he showed in providing a companion for Adam and so there was togetherness in the garden. Certainly God had something special in mind for Adam and Eve above the rest of his creation. Well, that's a bit general and I want to make it a little more personal. When God called Moses at the bush he did not address him by saying, Hey you! But by his name, Moses, Moses [00:18:26] In Exodus 3, verse 4 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham In Genesis 22, verse 11 Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? In Acts 9, verse 4 When Mary was weeping outside the tomb and thinking it was the gardener who was speaking Jesus said, what? Mary In John 20 verse 16 [00:18:57] What dost thou hear, Elijah? Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. Even the stars, which are all numbered, are called by names according to the scripture. Now how many names is that? How many stars are there in the universe? Well, it seems like the wise men that I consulted are somewhat saying the actual numbers are great unknown. [00:19:30] Here's what one person wrote. Some star enumerators offer numbers ranging from more than 200 billion stars in our galaxy to 3,000 million billion, that is three, followed by 16 zeros, that are in the universe. And furthermore, he says, NASA alleges there are zillions of uncountable stars. I don't know how many the zillion is. But according to the scripture, he calls them by name. [00:20:05] Now, I believe we are worth more than the stars. Amen? God was giving us attention even before we were born. Jeremiah was known of God before he was actually conceived in his mother's womb and he was appointed to be a prophet. There was a day, when I woke up that morning, I had no idea what was going to follow this day. It was a Sunday morning, March 22nd, 1964. [00:20:41] I reached into a cupboard or a bookcase that was looking for something to read and I found a gospel tract. I can't remember ever seeing it before. I don't know where my parents got it. I pulled it out and looked at it. It said religious but lost. Written by a John R. Rice. I had no idea who John R. Rice was. I had no idea what I was going to be reading, and so I began to read in there, and something happened. I began to hear a call. The writer was saying, it's not good enough to be good. [00:21:32] There's even preachers that go to church, and they're religious, but they're not saved. I was trying to be good. I was trying to take care of things like filthy jokes on the school bus ride home. And I had maybe a bit of success. But here I was reading that I need something more. You weren't there. No one was there. That night, as I went to bed to my room, I knelt down alongside my bed and I asked the Lord to save my soul. [00:22:11] I didn't talk with anybody about it. No one knew it. The next night, I did the same thing. Nobody told me about a formula. Nobody said, now be careful, remember these things so you can say it at times like this. I just heard something and I knew I needed to do it and it must have been that the Lord gave me peace inside after that second night and later that week I told my mom that I'd been saved. [00:22:44] I think she was a bit surprised and there'd be more that I could say but there was a day that the written word became alive in my heart. I'm not saying that I hadn't heard the same message before I suppose I did but somehow it came real I didn't know what was taking place I didn't know that the spirit was drawing me but I thank him that he was and so even as we are together here [00:23:17] we're with friends we enjoy seeing each other God bless you brother, sister and we have so many things to give attention to. I wonder how these meetings would be impacted if every one of us would take deliberate time during this time to make contact with the living word. I know if it's like for you, like it is for me, I'm not on my regular schedule. [00:23:49] I can't take my prayer walk down along the river. You know, this is, it's all different and people want to talk when we go home and, you know, there's a lot of things to see after. We're not, it's not normal. And it's harder. It's harder for me to keep up that connection. But I encourage you and I want to encourage myself to do that during this time. Now, the first scripture said, let him that glorieth glory in this, that he knoweth and understandeth me. [00:24:23] I want to look at some glorious scriptures, and there's many of them. I'm going to look first at Psalm 86. These are scriptures that give us cause to glory in the Lord. So, and let me be clear here, in the things that follow hereafter in this topic, and as I talk about God's desire for us, let it be clear that this connection that we have with God takes place only when we bow to Him, only when we submit. [00:25:06] But reading now in Psalm 86 verse 8 through 10 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things. Thou art God alone. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, Lord, as our Father is, not only in power and authority, but in character as well. [00:25:47] His mercy in dealing with us, His goodness and the blessing that He is, and compare that with the many who fear the spirits, the wrath of the gods. There's no God like our God. Yes, in power and His greatness, but also in character. There's none like Him. Neither are there any works like unto Thy works. I've already referred to creation. This is a fascinating subject, the vastness of space. [00:26:20] They tell us that light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second and at that rate one can travel around the world seven times in one second. Past the moon in two seconds, Mars in four minutes, and past Pluto in five hours. The nearest star is 4.3 light years away, that's over 25 trillion miles away. Crossing the Milky Way galaxy would take 100,000 light years. [00:26:56] There are 100,000 million galaxies. Now, please understand I didn't count them all. They are in clusters and superclusters. And in our cluster there are 20 galaxies and thousands in our supercluster. Now, I'm getting this information from the book The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross. But it's absolutely mind-boggling. But now, let me just say this. If you want to have just a little bit more of an impression of some of these things, [00:27:28] visit Creation Museum. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. And if we turn to Revelation 7, 9, and 10, we see an uncountable multitude From all corners of the earth, from all backgrounds, there is diversity yet perfect unity And they're saying salvation belongs to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb [00:27:59] I'm saying here tonight that this Word of God, this Gospel that we have here saves souls all over the world There isn't a culture that it is not able to touch For Thou art great and doest wondrous things, Thou art God alone. Turning now to another glory scripture. This one found in Philippians chapter 2. Speaking of Jesus. [00:28:42] In verse 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, things in the earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father What a passage of scripture. [00:29:14] God has highly exalted him. That means he's raised him to supreme majesty, to exalt him to the highest rank and power. He's been given a name above. And this is an actual position. Not only a name, but it's an actual position. and when it talks about others bowing that's obvious that the lesser bows to the greater giving recognition, respect and honor of things in heaven well the abode of God, the angels [00:29:45] or perhaps the region of the stars in the earth, those that are existing on the earth and under the earth, those who have died departed souls According to this passage, every knee, every knee, not one, is going to be stiff. But every knee should bow. That means all the saved. It means all the unsaved. Amen? It means the Muslims. [00:30:20] It means even Muhammad himself. Think of it. The rich, the powerful, men like Karl Marx, Adolf Hitler, Charles Darwin, Michael Jackson, the apostles, the prophets, the martyrs, the persecutors, even the physically handicapped. The common people, all of them. The angels, Gabriel and Michael and yea, even Lucifer himself. Think of it. Lucifer bowing to Jesus. [00:31:03] Every tongue confess. That means to acknowledge openly, to honor, to give praise to. At that day, the reality of who Jesus is will be known. and there's not going to be any, get your, come on, get down, get on your knees there. Everyone is going to bow instinctively. I'm saying here tonight that this one that we're talking about is my hero. [00:31:35] He's my Lord and my hero. And it's going to be done to the glory of God, not reluctantly or unwillingly, but instinctively. All resistance is now passed, though not all will be saved. Now lastly, as I talk about these scriptures and the heart of the Father and who the Father is, I'd like to look at one aspect of His desire. As I read the scriptures, there is a message that comes through from the heart of God [00:32:08] that He is greatly interested in togetherness. Togetherness now and forever We've been created for His purpose, His pleasure In Revelation 4.11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power For Thou hast created all things And for Thy pleasure or for Thy will They are and were created We were created from the start For fellowship with God We were created for togetherness [00:32:39] and we can never find rest or satisfaction till we find our place which is bowing our hearts a surrender that he is the master and we are the servant. Now I also perceive that God is a lover in fact he is an intense lover. He sought Adam, where art thou? He grieved over his wayward children. He delighted in those who responded to him. The scriptures tell us that Enoch and Noah walked with God. Abraham was called the friend of God. Elisha is frequently called the man of God. And there are parallels in the New Testament between his desire for relationship and husband-wife. [00:33:29] Isn't this something? I hope there is still some intensity in your marriage. I hope so. Thank you. But there has been intensity. I hope there still is today. I don't think it's an accident. I think it's by design that God says this parallels what the relationship ought to be with me. [00:34:09] The scriptures also tell us we are privileged to be joint heirs with Christ. But the greatest, I think the greatest expression of his desire for togetherness is sending his only son called Emmanuel, God with us. Now, I just want you to meditate on these scriptures as I read. John 14, verse 2 and 3 I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. [00:34:52] Listen to this one. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him. For he dwelleth with you, and in you, shall be in you. In the same chapter, if a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. [00:35:32] Now, I think we often emphasize that the Holy Spirit lives within, and that's right. But it looks to me, according to this scripture, we get the whole package of the Trinity. Listen to this one, John 17, verse 24 Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me [00:36:04] for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Revelation 3, 20 and 21 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup or dine with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne. Sit with me in my throne. [00:36:35] even as I overcame and am set down with the Father in His throne. Matthew 28, 19 and 20 Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. [00:37:09] Listen to this one. 1 Thessalonians 4, 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now, Revelation 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away [00:37:41] and there was no more seed. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for a husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. [00:38:15] It's repeated numbers of times in that verse. You understand what I mean? It seems like it's the heart desire of the Father for togetherness with us. Now, I know that some of these things we're talking about the future, but now I'm going to give you this last one for the present. Here's what Jesus said. For where two or three are gathered together in my name [00:38:45] What? There am I in the midst of them In the midst He's not out there in some corner He's not down Oh, it doesn't have a basement You know, he's not out in the kitchen But in the midst Where two or three are gathered together in his name Jesus just can't stay away Praise God for that that's the Father that we serve he who has seen Jesus has seen the Father [00:39:17] and so my brothers and sisters what a tremendous privilege is ours tonight to serve the Lord to be His servant and whatever may have been enkindled in your heart a desire for togetherness know this that the desire that's in his heart is greater than ours let's pray Father we come to you in the name of Jesus [00:39:51] oh Lord we praise you and thank you for such a great privilege to be created in your image I pray Heavenly Father that as we are together here in the name of Jesus that you would just be free to do your work in these next days. [00:40:22] We praise you and thank you for your love for us and we bow before you and we confess that you are the Lord and we are asking let your will be done In the name of Christ, Amen.