[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Trinity Sunday morning, Father's Day, the 16th of June, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church. Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Today is Trinity Sunday, when we recognize and celebrate the three persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's also Father's Day. Last week we talked about God's Holy Spirit and how He first came to us at Pentecost, and comes still today to dwell in all believers. We talk about Jesus on a regular basis. So since today is Father's Day, I thought we'd put a little extra emphasis on God our heavenly Father.
Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 1 through 17, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 1 through 17, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.--Romans 8:1-17 (NKJV)
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Let us pray… Father God, we marvel at the three persons of You, and that all three love us so very much. Thank You, Lord, for sharing these three loving aspects of Yourself with us. And thank You especially for adopting us into Your family because of our belief in Your Son Jesus. Please help us to always remain faithful to You, our heavenly Father, and to Your Son Jesus, and to Your Holy Spirit within us. Help us to be good and obedient children. Now speak to us this morning, Father, that we may hear and heed Your message this day. This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.
Paul Harvey once answered the question, "What are Fathers Made Of?"
A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.
A father is a thing that growls when it feels good, and laughs very loud when it's scared half to death.
A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him sometimes. So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.
Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.
I don't know where fathers go when they die. But I've an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't be happy unless there's work to do. He won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.
That’s a pretty good description of what most of us know and remember of our earthly fathers. Fathers never truly seem to be happy unless there’s work to do, because in that they can feel needed. We never feel entirely worthy of the worship or love we see in our children’s eyes, never feel to be quite the hero or man they think us to be.
All of this makes us think back to our own childhoods, and it gives us a better insight into, and more respect for, our own fathers. After all, we all have at one time had a father, ever since Adam sired Cain and Abel. Even the folks who never knew who their father was still had one, for it is a matter of the flesh in this earthly life that we be born of man and woman. We all have or had a father and a mother. We are born of the flesh because we are flesh.
But Paul tells us we can be born of the Spirit, too. We can be reborn of God’s Holy Spirit by our belief in and surrender to Christ Jesus God’s Son. And when we are born of the Spirit, it is by a spiritual Father, our Father God in heaven. God’s Spirit Himself, within us, gives evidence that we are children of God. And if we are God’s children, then we are also His heirs, along with Christ Jesus, if we do indeed take up our crosses and follow Him.
Paul was not the only one to emphasize that God is our Father. The Apostle John clearly understood the Triune nature of God. He viewed Jesus as being God, even while acknowledging Him to be the Son of God.
John also knew the importance and consequences of being born of God, of the Spirit. In the opening chapter of his Gospel account, verses 10 through 13, John wrote this about Jesus…
Jesus came into the world He created, yet His own people, God’s chosen people, failed to receive Him. But we who do receive Jesus, who recognize and accept Him as God, as our Lord and Master, we are given the right to become the children of God. We are given that right through our adoption by God, our Father in heaven. This is not due to our earthly birth, of the will of flesh, but by our rebirth of God’s Spirit.
In his 1st letter to the early church, chapter 3 verses 1 through 3, John goes on to explain a little of what all this means to us…
Ask any kid who has ever been abandoned, who has been without mother and father, who was all alone, what that experience is like. And then ask them what it means to be adopted.
My friends, there was a time when, in a sense, we were all alone. We were alone because we were completely separated from God due to our sin and disobedience. We had no one we could turn to except others of mortal flesh, who could offer only so much help, only so much comfort. But then, when we surrendered ourselves to Jesus as Lord, we were adopted by God. He became our Father and we became His children.
Right now, we don’t know exactly how everything will turn out in this life, but we can be assured that when everything is finally revealed, when Jesus returns to call His family home, when we are given our new bodies, we will see Jesus as He truly is, and we shall be like Him. This is what it means to be an heir of God.
Let’s take time today to honor our fathers, and our Dad, those with us still and those who have gone on to their eternal home. And let’s be sure not to forget our Father in heaven. Worship Him and give Him thanks. He doesn’t need a new necktie, He doesn’t want the latest gadget or gizmo. Just like any other father, He only wants us to spend a little time with Him. He only wants our love.
Happy Father’s Day, Fathers everywhere! In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You wanted us to have someone that would watch over us in this earthly life, someone who would protect us and provide for our needs. Thank You, Father, for loving us and caring so much about us. Thank you for our fathers. Please forgive us when we fail to honor and respect them as we should. Forgive us when we forget to let them know how much of a blessing they are to us. Please help us to honor them, or to honor their memory. And help us to always honor and praise You, our Father in heaven.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…
Lord Jesus, as the true Son of God, You called Him Father. And You told us – those who believe in You and follow You faithfully – that we too should call God our Father, for He has adopted us into His great family so that we may be heirs with You. Thank You for this beautiful gift, to know Your Father as our own. Please help us always honor Him and praise His holy name.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior, our Brother. Amen.
Paul Harvey once answered the question, "What are Fathers Made Of?"
A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.
A father is a thing that growls when it feels good, and laughs very loud when it's scared half to death.
A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him sometimes. So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.
Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.
I don't know where fathers go when they die. But I've an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't be happy unless there's work to do. He won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.
That’s a pretty good description of what most of us know and remember of our earthly fathers. Fathers never truly seem to be happy unless there’s work to do, because in that they can feel needed. We never feel entirely worthy of the worship or love we see in our children’s eyes, never feel to be quite the hero or man they think us to be.
All of this makes us think back to our own childhoods, and it gives us a better insight into, and more respect for, our own fathers. After all, we all have at one time had a father, ever since Adam sired Cain and Abel. Even the folks who never knew who their father was still had one, for it is a matter of the flesh in this earthly life that we be born of man and woman. We all have or had a father and a mother. We are born of the flesh because we are flesh.
But Paul tells us we can be born of the Spirit, too. We can be reborn of God’s Holy Spirit by our belief in and surrender to Christ Jesus God’s Son. And when we are born of the Spirit, it is by a spiritual Father, our Father God in heaven. God’s Spirit Himself, within us, gives evidence that we are children of God. And if we are God’s children, then we are also His heirs, along with Christ Jesus, if we do indeed take up our crosses and follow Him.
Paul was not the only one to emphasize that God is our Father. The Apostle John clearly understood the Triune nature of God. He viewed Jesus as being God, even while acknowledging Him to be the Son of God.
John also knew the importance and consequences of being born of God, of the Spirit. In the opening chapter of his Gospel account, verses 10 through 13, John wrote this about Jesus…
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
--John 1:10-13 (NKJV)
In his 1st letter to the early church, chapter 3 verses 1 through 3, John goes on to explain a little of what all this means to us…
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
--1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)
My friends, there was a time when, in a sense, we were all alone. We were alone because we were completely separated from God due to our sin and disobedience. We had no one we could turn to except others of mortal flesh, who could offer only so much help, only so much comfort. But then, when we surrendered ourselves to Jesus as Lord, we were adopted by God. He became our Father and we became His children.
Right now, we don’t know exactly how everything will turn out in this life, but we can be assured that when everything is finally revealed, when Jesus returns to call His family home, when we are given our new bodies, we will see Jesus as He truly is, and we shall be like Him. This is what it means to be an heir of God.
Let’s take time today to honor our fathers, and our Dad, those with us still and those who have gone on to their eternal home. And let’s be sure not to forget our Father in heaven. Worship Him and give Him thanks. He doesn’t need a new necktie, He doesn’t want the latest gadget or gizmo. Just like any other father, He only wants us to spend a little time with Him. He only wants our love.
Happy Father’s Day, Fathers everywhere! In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You wanted us to have someone that would watch over us in this earthly life, someone who would protect us and provide for our needs. Thank You, Father, for loving us and caring so much about us. Thank you for our fathers. Please forgive us when we fail to honor and respect them as we should. Forgive us when we forget to let them know how much of a blessing they are to us. Please help us to honor them, or to honor their memory. And help us to always honor and praise You, our Father in heaven.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…
Lord Jesus, as the true Son of God, You called Him Father. And You told us – those who believe in You and follow You faithfully – that we too should call God our Father, for He has adopted us into His great family so that we may be heirs with You. Thank You for this beautiful gift, to know Your Father as our own. Please help us always honor Him and praise His holy name.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior, our Brother. Amen.
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