(John 1:10-13) Who is your Father?
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· 4 viewsJohn 1:10-13 describes the process and means for how to become a child of God. Thus, the believer has the divine right to call God His Father. What great hope, joy, and comfort do we have knowing we can depend on God as our Father.
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Last year a remarkable picture was taken of a boy and his father at a baseball game.
In perhaps the classic father-son setting,
the boy and his father went to the Atlanta Braves Spring Training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was the boys first professional baseball game; and to say the least he was pretty excited.
He took a picture of a retired pitcher by the name of Russ Ortiz.
When I was a kid, we didn’t have cell phones. So in my first professional baseball game, I watched the game. But being the modern connected culture, that boy decided to send that picture to his mom.
And he is looking down, concentrating on sending the picture to his mom, the batter takes a swing and looses the grip on his bat, and goes flying into the stadium.
Unknown to the kid, a baseball is flying at him right between the eyes.
To see how close it came, let’s look at the picture taken at the ball game.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>show ppt picture>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If that bat had continued, it would have been a severe injury.
But something stopped that baseball bat from hitting the kid.
The hand of his father.
His father with dad-like instincts reached out and protect his son.
That is an example of what our dad’s have done for us.
From they have taught us, the provision and protection they gave us, the baseball games they shared with us…they are dad
and we owe much to our fathers.
And if you are a father today, I want to thank you on behalf of all the sons and daughters here today,
thanks dad.
Because of the great love that father has for their children,
Often idealized.
The strongest, noblest, smartest people we have ever meet.
As great as dad is, there is one father we all share that is greater.
God the father is:
All-Powerful
All-Present
All-knowing.
He is:
Kind toward us
Patient with us
merciful to us
gracious to us
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
What is a father to a young child?
The father is the super heroe of the family.
It is always fun to watch a little one marvel at the common strenght
The father is the world to a young child.
Now we love our dads and we owe much to them, but I would like to ask a question.
The father is looked at as the provider of the home.
The father is
God the Father is …
Wouldn’t it be blessing to have God as your dad?
Wouldn’t it be blessing to have God as your dad?
Now dads are great,
but they are not always:
strong enough
always
wise enough
can be everywhere. (Probably the greatest realization that came to be me as a father is that I can’t always be there for my children)
Futher, dad’s can often be quite sinful.
We be
angry
bitter
unjust
cruel.
The reality is, every dad ultimately needs to bow before the perfections of God the Father.
So wouldn’t it be great to also be the child of God?
To state it another way, wouldn’t it be great if we could call God the Father our dad?
The great truth is that God has made a way for us to be adopted, born again, as the Children of God.
The great truth is that God has made a way for us to be adopted, born again, as the Children of God.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
How does God become our Father?
Johb 1:8-13
Friends,
Friends,
According to this passage,
PROPOSITION: God can be our Father
PROPOSITION: God can be our Father
and this text tells us how He becomes our Father.
and this text tells us how He becomes our Father.
The first part of becoming the child of God is
1. By Recognizing the Christ.
1. By Recognizing the Christ.
Our first part of the passage this morning declares that Israel did not know or receive Christ.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
It is almost unfathomable to consider that Israel crucified their Messiah.
a. Israel was God’s people.
6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronmy 7:6
Similar from our text last week, God literally purchased Israel out of Egypt through the display of Mighty Power.
So they were supposed to have a love and relationship for God. But they rejected Christ.
Further,
b. God had promised he would send a Messiah to save them from their sins.
God promised David that there would be someone who would establish an everlasting Kingdom.
11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
From that day on, Israel had a messiah that was promised to come. And for the next 1,000 years Israel longed to see the face of that Messiah.
You, see Israel should have recognized who Jesus was.
You, see Israel should have recognized who Jesus was.
We are told by Mark,
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14
Jesus then gave numerous miracles to demonstrate he was truly the promised Messiah.
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
There are so many of them that we could literally all morning just looking at His miracles. And that would be only the ones actually mentioned by the 4 Gospel writers. There are many more that were summarized in passages like .
So the Jews should have known, and recognized, and therefore received thier Messiah.
But because they were more ineterest in temporal blessings and keeping the religious status quo of the day, they crucified him.
We ought to learn from their mistake,
because the nation as whole missed out on the most incredible opportunity in human history. The blessings of the Messiah!!!
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
We ought to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and receive him. Without Christ, we cannot have a relationship with the Father.
EXHORTATION:
We ought to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and receive him.
We ought to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and receive him.
Perhaps you are sitting here and are one of the one’s who have not accepted Christ. I can say much about the incredible sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And that is a very important discussion I would love to have with you. But this morning, I would like you to consider what you are missing out on.
The greatest love and grace known to humanity is before you. Consider the love that you are rejecting by not receiving Christ.
Only with Christ can we have God as our father.
Not only do we need to recognize Christ, but let us also consider what is happens when you receive Christ.
God the father becomes our father
2. By Receiving Christ
2. By Receiving Christ
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
In the introduction of the Gospel John, he points out what is really a driving theme and explanation in the Gospel.
The rest of the book is about why, how, and who you should receive. That you ought to receive Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to receive Christ?
a. Believing in Christ’s name alone.
a. Believing in Christ’s name alone.
“who believed in his name”
What does it mean to believe in the name of Christ?
ILLUSTRATION:
In the Mexican-American war in which Texas gained independence from Mexico,
it was common to hear the battle cry, “remember the Alamo”.
Did that simply mean the place of Alamo?
No, it was meant to rally the troops to remember the slaughter of Americans at the Fort in Alamo by the Mexican Army.
“Remember the Alamo” had meaning well beyond the place name.
May I suggest to believe in the name of Christ means more than a name.
It means to to believe in his teachings and trust in his ultimate sacrifice.
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
To receive is also to
b. Recognize the grace of God.
b. Recognize the grace of God.
What grace is bestowed upon someone who receives Christ?
CONCLUSION:
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
The word translated “right” means we have both the power and legal authority to become the children of God.
Power in that we have the ability to do what we could not do before Christ, be the children of God.
Legal authority meaning we have all the legal rights and privileges of being a child of God.
By the Grace of God,
When we receive Christ we become the adopted sons and daughters of God.
ILLUSTRATION:
Isn’t that a blessed truth!
We knew a family in Hawaii who had a little boy.
But because of some confessed sin, there was a 5 year old who was not the son of the Husband.
While we were there, the actual father gave up his legal rights so that husband could become the adopted father of that 5 year old.
Well that mom realized that she had to explain to a 5 year old that her now husband was going to adopt him. Become his legal father.
So she sat him down, and said, her husband was going to adopt him.
She expected this to be a confusing moment for him,
but instead he stood up, and began sing a song.
“I am adopted, hallelujah, I finally belong”.
And that boy rejoiced at the idea because he had heard that song the day before.
This boy rejoiced in being adopted to human father.
How much more should be singing that song when we are adopted as the son’s of God.
If you receive Christ, that is you believe that he came to die for your sins, then you can call God the father, your father.
Now I want to emphasize that this is by grace alone.
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The beginning of this verse says, those who received were born.
This is one of those places where we get the idea of a “born again Christian”.
When we receive Christ, we are born a spiritual birth into the family of God.
By this birth, we now receive new lives that are transformed by the Gospel.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
It also is statement about who is our true father. For the one who received Christ, we are now Spiritually born into God’s family with the full rights of His children.
Note who accomplished this work. I claim it is by grace, but how do I know?
Because our text says it is not:
a. Not of blood
Blood often referred to physical human birth. It was not by a women that we are born into the family of God.
b. not born of the will of the flesh.
In other words, there was no human desire that caused this birth.
ILLUSTRATION:
A natural progression of marriage is often the desire to have children. We desire to have children. This text declare that no human desire brought about our birth into the family of God. I didn’t will it to happen, my parents didn’t will it happen.
c. not the will of man.
“Man” here likely refers to a husband. The word behind “man” can refer to a male person or to a husband. The NIV picks up this idea.
The context speaks well of it.
No husband willed this birth happen.
Understand, what John is saying.
The birth of a Christian into God’s family was not accomplished by:
A women
Human desire or planning
a husband.
John has made it clear that our birth was not brought about by a human person.
EXHORTATION:
May I suggest that we do not receive the right to be the children of God by our own works.
No amount of righteous living could have accomplished a spiritual birth. Not even our own desire could have accomplished this.
Then who brought this about?
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
God and his grace is what caused and willed our birth into God’s family.
ILLUSTRATION:
I remember, hearing the testimony of man who was a member of our church in Hawaii.
Early in his young adult life he begin to get involved in drugs. Over the course of several years, his life was driven by his dependency for those drugs. Satisfying himself with them was all that mattered. He become homeless, spent some time in jail.
He had no desire to be a child of God.
He certainly had did not have the ability to become the child of God.
Yet, today he stands as a believer who received Christ and now sings the song, “I am adopted”.
We might look at his case and say, drugs that will do that to you.
But may I suggest,
Is pride, selfishness, anger, malice any different?
Sin makes it where:
We also have no desire to be a child of God.
We certainly have no ability to become the child of God.
For each one of us,
we are born into God’s family by His grace.
God is the one who accomplishes our birth into the family of God.
We ought to receive Christ through grace, so that God can be our father.
CONCLUSION:
Therefore,
How can God the Father become our Father?
Foremost,
We must recognize and receive Christ humbly admitting it is by His grace alone.
Our fathers have done much for us.
We ought to receive Christ through grace, so that God can be our father.
Often we as children and even as young adults do not realize all the sacrifices are dad’s made for us.
How much you are the person you are, because of your father?
As great as Dad is, there is a father all of us need.
God the father
It is the privilege of the Christian to be born into the family of God.
Being a child of God means we have a Heavenly father who:
- Loves us
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Ps (Provides for us
have a Heavenly father
- Provides for us
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
- Trains us
5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.
4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
Now, If you have not received Christ as your savior, remember what I asked you to do.
If you have not received Christ as your savior, remember what I asked you to do
Think about what great mercy and grace you are missing out on?
You are missing out on the greatest opportunity one could ever have, God being your father.
If you are a Christian, let us rejoice and rest in a simple truth. God is your father.
Are there times you are afraid? Run to your the almighty father who loves you.
Are there times where you don’t know how you are going to make ends meet? Run to your father, the creator and sustainer of this world.
Are there times where don’t know what to do? Run to your all-wise father.
ILLUSTRATION:
Just as a young, child, run to your father when you are in need.
Whether you are simply a son of an earthly father or also a father to an earthly son, realize that you do not have to solve the worlds problems.
You just need to humbly recognize your child like state in this world, and run to your infinite father.
Are you sensing here on what it means to have the privilege to call God your father.
Are you sensing here on what it means to have the privilege to call God your father.
Sing: I am adopted.