Sermon Tone Analysis

The last time I shared with you, I told you a little of my testimony and how God had prepared me for the test that was coming—an accident where my first wife and my 18 year old son died.

I explained what Dr R.T. Kendall calls the Betrayal Barrier—that 100% of all Christians go through a time when they feel like God has abandoned them.

I also told you that he and Dr James Dobson feel that more than 90% of Christians are hurt as a result of this feeling of abandonment.

It was this revelation that helped me to go through my time of grief with the knowledge that God had not abandoned me.

Tonight, I’d like to share more about the revelation that was given to me as I went through this time.

I want to talk about my *Father*, my Abba-Dad.

Ø     We’ll start in Exodus 6:1-3:

Prior to this in chapter 5, the Jewish elders have come complaining to Moses about going to Pharaoh and telling him to let God’s people go.

They basically told Moses to leave Pharaoh alone because every time he talked to Pharaoh, Pharaoh made it harder on them.

So Moses in vs. 22-23 complained to God that He said He would deliver them and He had not done so.

In essence he is shaking his finger in God’s face.

Now God comes on the scene in chapter 6 and shares with Moses an amazing statement.

Note in vs. 2, God clearly tells Moses who He is*--“I am athe Lord.*”

That would have been enough by itself.

God was not backing down to Moses’ crying—*He is God and always will be God* no matter how much His children complain to Him.

But if we look carefully in vs. 3 we will see a different side of God.

God told Moses that He had revealed Himself to Moses’ ancestors as “God Almighty,” but He said, “to you Moses, I’m going to reveal myself as *Lord.*”

Instead of God chastising Moses for his harsh criticism of God’s failure to deliver the children of Israel, He turned around and declared to Moses that He was going to show Himself to Moses in a way that no one had ever known Him before.

This shows me that God wanted Moses to learn something new about Him and He was willing to share that truth with Moses—even in his stubbornness and rebellion.

That is God’s mercy and is still true today in our lives.

Amen!

It was while I was going through my time of grief that I realized from this verse that God wanted me to see something about Him that I did not know.

How many know that we do not have everything figured out about God? 

Now, I had walked with God for over 20 years and had learned much about Him and had taught much about Him and His Word.

But there was something that I needed to know about God that I could learn only by going through this dark time.

That is what God was saying to me.

As I went through my time of grief, there were times that I hurt so bad, all I could do was cry.

Sometimes I would cry for hours—I am not ashamed to admit it because the pain was so much that I couldn’t stand it.

If you have ever lost someone who is close to you, then you can understand what I mean.

It was during these times of crying my heart out before the Lord that I began to sense God’s presence in a very real way.

I literally felt Him hold me in His lap and wrap His loving arms around me.

He would hold me for as long as I needed until His peace would come.

He could have scolded me for not being strong in my faith, but all He ever said was “It’s OK My son.”

I would look up in His eyes and see nothing but love and compassion for me.

I found a new relationship with God as my Father—the One who loves me intimately.

A friend at church gave me a wonderful book that I fed on daily and that helped me to learn to walk in this intimate relationship with my Father.

It is called /From the Father’s Heart/ by Charles Slagle—G.G. and I have given away many copies of this book and I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

It is letters from God that were given to Charles by the Holy Spirit when his father died.

I’d like to share a couple of readings with you so you can see better what I mean.

(pg.33 & 91).

As I came to really know God as my Abba Dad, not just as my Father.

I also came to understand more of what it meant to be His *son*.

I imagine this was true for Moses as well.

Moses grew in his relationship with the Lord in such a way that God talked to him face to face.

Go with me to Exodus 33:7-11:   

Ø     11a  Thus athe Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.

Do you see the intimacy that Moses had with God.

No one prior to him—even Abraham—was described as speaking face to face with God!

Many Christians think that God as Father is a New Testament idea, but the truth is that God revealed Himself as *Father* in the Old Testament.

Some see God as a judge or disciplinarian in the Bible and Jesus as the loving one in the New Testament.

Yet, if we will carefully study the Bible, we will see that *God has always been Father* and He loves and cares for His people.

The verse that everyone learns—John 3:16 is a statement of the love of the *Father*—not of the love of Jesus.

“For *God* (*Father*) so loved the world that *He* (*Father*) gave His only Son . .

.”

Do you know what the first word is in the Hebrew dictionary?

Is it God, Elohim, Lord?  No, it is “*ab*”—*Father*.

This is not true in the Greek dictionary.

How many fathers are here tonight?

Help me to list the duties or responsibilities of a father:

Protect             Discipline~/Correct           Love~/Comfort

Provide            Train~/Guide                    Be a Role Model

 

In Naves Topical Bible there are 16 references in the Old Testament that deal with God as Father or talk about the relationship of God with His sons.

In the Gospels there are 88 references and in the rest of the New Testament there are 54 references.

You do realize that the Gospels are under the Old Covenant, since the New Covenant was not cut until after Jesus died on the cross?

Therefore there are almost twice as many references to God as Father under the Old Covenant as there are in the New Covenant.

So let’s look at some of these scriptures:

The very first reference is found in Exodus 4:22-23

Ø     22 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is *My son*, *My firstborn*.

*23* “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go.

Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”

’ ”

If God referred to Israel as His son—then, He must be Israel’s *Father*.

Ø     Deut 1:30-31 *30*  ‘The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, *31* and in the wilderness where you saw how *the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son*, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’

Moses is telling the people about the wonderful relationship that they had with God.

I love how this verse shows how the *Father* picked up His son and carried him.

Just like any human father would—that speaks of an intimacy and concern that is characteristic of Fathers who love their children.

Ø     Deut 32:6  “Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people?

Is not He your *Father* who has bought you?

He has made you and established you.

This is from what is called the Song of Moses and was given just before Moses went to be with the Lord.

There can be no doubt that Moses saw God as the *Father* of Israel.

Ø     2 Sam 7:12-15 *14* “I will be a *father* to him and he will be a *son* to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, *15* *but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him*, as I took /it /away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.”

David wanted to build a temple for God, but God would not allow him to do so.

Instead he is told by Nathan the prophet that God will use David’s son, Solomon, to build the temple.

But more amazing then that is the fact that God said He would love Solomon as a *Father* loves His own *son*.

He would adopt Solomon as His own *son*!

Ø     1 Chron 29:10* *So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord *God of Israel our Father*, forever and ever.

David blessed the Lord when the offering was taken for the temple and in his prayer  clearly said that God was the *Father* of Israel forever.

David also knew God as *Father* and expresses it very clearly in the Psalms:

Ø     Psalm 68:4-5 *4* Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up /a song /for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him.

*5* *A father of the fatherless* and a judge (defender) for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

Here we have the witness of 2 of the greatest people in the Old Testament—Moses and David—agreeing to the truth that God was their *Father*.

Isaiah was the greatest prophet of the Old Covenant and he also testifies to the same truth.

Ø     Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks, “*Sons* I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.

Ø     Isaiah 63:16 For You are our *Father*, though Abraham does not know us And Israel does not recognize us.

You, O Lord, are our *Father*, Our Redeemer from of old is Your name.

Ø     Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, You are our *Father*, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.

Other prophets like Jeremiah and Hosea also testified to this truth.

In fact the very last words of the Old Testament reveal the heart of *Father* God to restore sons to their fathers.

He desired this so much that He promised He would send Elijah (John the Baptist) to do it.

Ø     Malachi 4:6 “He will restore the hearts of the *fathers* to /their /children and the hearts of the children to their *fathers*, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Now we come to the Gospels—remember this is Old Covenant although the books are placed in the New Testament.