DAY #172: Happy Father's Day!

Good Morning! Hey Dads, happy father’s day! Hey this is your day. Kick back, loosen the belt and enjoy this morning. I’d like to start this morning by reading a fathers day story. I thought it was a good fathers day story. Sounds like something I would do.

“As ham sandwiches go, it was perfection. A thick slab of ham, a fresh bun, crisp lettuce and plenty of expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard. The corners of my jaw aching in anticipation, I carried it to the picnic table in our backyard, picked it up with both hands but was stopped by my wife suddenly at my side.

"Hold Johnny, (our six-week-old son), while I get my sandwich," she said. I had him balanced between my left elbow and shoulder and was reaching again for the ham sandwich when I noticed a streak of mustard on my fingers. I love mustard. And I had no napkin.I licked it off. It was NOT mustard. No man ever put a baby down faster. It was the first and only time I have sprinted with my tongue protruding. With a washcloth in each hand I did the sort of routine shoeshine guys do, only I did it on my tongue. Later my wife said, "Now you know why they call that mustard 'Poupon.” You’ll never look at mustard the same again.

Because it’s Father’s Day, I thought it would be good if we could look at the characteristics of a good father. I want to be a good father and I know every one of you here want the same. Al you future fathers – you need to hear this. All you wives and future wives – you need to know how to pray for your man. This morning, let’s look at what the Bible say God is really like.

What kind of Father is God?
1. The Bible Says that GOD IS A CARING FATHER.

He is compassionate, loving, gracious and He cares about you. In fact He loves you more than you will ever know. He loves you more than you will be able to experience. You can’t even understand how much God loves you because your brain isn’t big enough to handle it. But compassion is God’s number one characteristic and attribute. The Bible tells us in Psalms 104 “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who honor Him.” God is caring. God is compassionate.

I know that one of the most profound questions in human existence is “Does God care about my problems?” Does God care about my hurts? The things I’m going through? The stresses I’m feeling? The worries I’m experiencing? Does God really care about what happens to me? The answer is a resounding YES!

He says it many, many times in the Bible. One place is in 1 Peter 5:7 – It says, “Cast all [circle that] your anxiety on Him, [that means every kind of anxiety you have – financial, physical, social, spiritual, mental, relational] because He cares for you.” Does God care about your house payments? Yes. Does God care about the fact that your kids need braces on their teeth? Yes. Does God care about the grades you get at school? Yes. Does God care about whether you have a boyfriend or not? Yes. Does God care about your dreams and hopes and ambitions? Absolutely. He is a caring Father.

You have a heavenly Father that cares about all the details of your life. In fact, He knows every detail of your life. The Bible says He knows every hair on your head. He knows how many you have. They’re numbered. For some of you that isn’t too hard. But I guarantee you, there’s not a person in here today that knows how many hairs you have. God knows every hair on your head and He knows their original color!

2. The second thing the Bible tells us about God is GOD IS A CONSISTENT FATHER.

You can count on Him, every time. He never lets you down. He’s always dependable, entirely consistent in who He is. God is worthy of our trust. James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from the Father who does not change like shifting shadows.” I know some teenagers who feel like, “I never know what to expect from my dad. It changes so much from one day to the other depending entirely on the mood he’s in. One day he’s silent and the next day he’s violent. One day he’s a good guy and the next day he’s a tough guy. I don’t know what to expect.” GUYS, inconsistent fathers produce insecure kids.

The good news? God is a consistent Father. God is not moody. God never has a bad day. That’s good news for us. What if God woke up and said, “I feel a little grouchy today. Who can I zap today?” What kind of world would that be? The good news is God is always consistent. And the great news is His consistency and dependability does not depend on my consistency and dependability.

2 Timothy 2:13 says “Even if we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot disown Himself.” I’m so glad that even on the days that I’m down, God is still up. Even on the days when I’m struggling, God is still victorious. He’s always consistent.

This Father’s Day I encourage you: Trust God. Trust God as the Father you never had. He is consistent and deserving of your trust.


Not only is he caring and consistent, but… 3. GOD IS A CLOSE FATHER.

That means He’s available all the time. He’s there when you need Him. He’s not distant. He’s not far off. He’s available. The Bible tells us in Acts 17:27 “God did this so that people would reach out for Him and find Him since He is not far from each of us.” God wants you to find him. God wants you to know Him. God wants you to have a relationship with Him, so He is not far off. He is a close Father. What does that mean for us? Three things:

1. God is never too busy for me. Your parents may be too busy for you. You may be too busy for your kids. But God is never too busy for you. When you pray, God does not say, “Not now. I’ll see you later.” No, God is never too busy for you. He never turns away. He’s with you every single day.

2. God loves to meet my needs. Matthew 7:11 says this, “You know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him. God says, “If you being an imperfect parent love to give good gifts to your kids what do you think a perfect parent like your heavenly Father wants to do?” I am selfish a lot of the times. I’m self-centered. I think of my needs. But I still, as a parent, love to give to my kids. I love to meet their needs. I really do. And if I with my own mixed motives love to do that, how much more does God want to meet your needs. He’s a perfect Father and He’s waiting to meet your needs.

3. God is sympathetic to my hurts. He is never too busy, He loves to meet my needs and He’s sympathetic to my hurts. When I come to God with my pain, God doesn’t say, “Oh, come on! Get over it! Put a smile on your face. That’s an easy little thing. Get a Band-Aid!” If you’ve had a tough week, God understands. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” I have no doubt that in a crowd this size here today somebody’s got a broken heart. Somebody had their heart broken this week. Some of you feel crushed in spirit. What do you do? Turn to God. He is sympathetic to your hurt. He loves to meet your needs. He is never too busy for you. He wants to help you out! He’s your heavenly Father.

The word that Jesus used for “father” in the Bible is Aramaic, and it is the word “abba”. (Abba is not a Swedish rock group.) Abba is the first word that every Middle Eastern child learns. It means “daddy”. It is a term of endearment and closeness.

Folks, God desires to have you call him daddy. He longs for a close relationship like that with you. You know I have four kids - my three older kids are teenagers. My oldest, Kelsey is going to turn 18 this year. Still today nothing is sweeter to my ears than when I open the door to my house and walk in and my four kids say, “DADDY!” That still turns my crank!! I still get excited when my kids go, “It’s Daddy!” It’s a term of endearment.

I want to tell you, this was a tough week for me. Kelsey graduated from high school. Sad and glad times. I cried – I was depressed. Man, I can’t even imagine what it will be like when se leaves to college in September.

I found myself longing to be able to pick up a phone and call a dad to get some advice on how to get through this time – but no one. So guess what? Friday morning, I got up very early and just wept and cried out to my heavenly daddy. I just poured out my heart and my hurt – my uncertainty. God is a close father!

Finally, God is close, consistent and caring father, also…
4. GOD IS A COMPETENT FATHER

He can handle any problem you give Him. Nothing is beyond His ability. Nothing is beyond His resources. We have an epidemic of fathers today who are good at a lot of other thing but pretty lousy as fathers. Especially on TV, all the fathers are duffuses. Think about it, Homer Simpson there’s a real winner huh? I heard this joke recently “two school kids bragging on the schoolyard. One said, “My daddy can beat your daddy.” And the other kid goes, “Big deal! So can my Mom.”

But nobody can beat up your heavenly Father. Nobody! The Bible says in Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God.” Nothing is impossible. He can handle it all because He is competent.

I love the family circus sketch that is in your bulletin – you know why? When you’re growing up, you think your dad is Superman. As a little kid you think, “My daddy can do anything!” But as you grow older, you realize that your father had limits to his resources when it came to allowance and there were limits to his wisdom when it came to advice. Sometimes he was just guessing, giving it the best guess.

But your heavenly Father really can do anything. He can do anything! Nothing is impossible with God. Ephesians 3:20 in the Living Bible says “God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers or desires or thoughts or hopes.” God says, “Think of the biggest dream for your life. I can top that. Think of the biggest goal for your life. I can top that. Think of the biggest problem you think you can ever come up against. I can solve it.
We have come to that point in thew message where we ask THE question – what is it?

SO WHAT? (what will you do with what you have read today?)

What are you thinking? Let me tell you what I was thinking as I put this message together - the bottom line is God can take care of His children. He’s caring, He’s consistent, He’s close and He’s competent. He takes care of His children.

The obvious logical question then is - is everybody a child of God? Will God take care of everybody’s needs? Is God the Father of everyone? The answer is Yes and No. If you mean, Did God create everybody? YES! If you mean, Does God love everybody? Absolutely. If you mean, Does God have a plan and purpose for every person on the face of this planet? With out a doubt –YES! God is the Father of everyone in that sense.

But it takes more than birth to be a father. It takes a relationship. Some of you were probably birthed by men you never met. They are your father by creation but they are not your father by relationship and you miss it. You long for it and you wish you had that relationship. God says, “I have created everyone but not everyone is My child unless they have a relationship with Me.” You are not in the family of God – you were created by God but you are not in the family of God until you choose to become a part of it. That’s a choice you can make today.

How do I become a part of the family of God? How do I become a child of God? How do I get God to be my heavenly Father? Some of you say, “I believe in Jesus. I believe in God and Jesus. I believe He was who He said He was.” I say, “Congratulations! You’re half way there.” It takes more than believing in Jesus Christ to get into God’s family.

You must believe and receive. I must believe Jesus was who He said He was. And I must receive Him into my life and say, “God, You call the shots now. You be my Savior. You be the manager of my life. I’m putting on a sign that says, ‘Under new management.’ God, You’re in charge now from here on out.” When you put your faith in Christ, you believe and you receive Him, then you get into God’s family.

If you haven’t done this, what are you waiting on? I don’t care if you’re Catholic or Protestant or Jewish or no religious background. No religion will get you into the kingdom of God. No religion will get you into God’s family. No religion will get you to heaven. There’s not one verse in the Bible that says religion is the way. Not one. It says a relationship to your Father is the way, through Jesus Christ. I hope you make that decision today

Psalm 119:33 (LB) says “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey.”

Prayer:

Would you pray this prayer in your heart? “Dear God, I want You to be my heavenly Father and I want to be Your child. I ask You to adopt me into Your home. I want to be spiritually born into Your family through Jesus Christ. Jesus, I don’t understand it all but I accept You as the way to the Father. I want You to be in charge of my life to guide me and direct me. Thank You that You are a loving Father. Thank You that You are a caring Father. Thank you that You are consistent. Thank You that You are competent and that You can handle all the problems that I give to You. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”