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[0:00] People would know it's Father's Day of course today. Father's Day. And we think of our fathers,! some that might have passed away or fathers that are present or your own father. Everyone's got a father.

[0:12] So just some questions just to lead off if I can. And you can help me here. Thank you. You can help me here with what makes a good father? What would you say? Help me here with any things that you can think of. What is a good father? What is a good model father?

[0:33] Tell me about your father. The things that you appreciate about your father. Guidance. I missed that one. Sorry. Provider. Provider. Yeah. Provision. Yeah. Love. Now after the second.

[0:56] Family. Features. Yeah. Values. Not right.

[1:06] Love. Very good. Caring. Yeah. Yeah. Being there. Yeah. Present. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Looks after you. Yeah.

[1:22] Yeah. What else? Long suffering. Yeah. I know my dad's long suffering. I'm long suffering with him. Haha.

[1:32] protective yeah protection yeah there's lots of things isn't there we could what's that powerful helpful helpful yeah good you go to when you need something done need some wisdom hopefully i'm sure we could add so many more things to that little list there understanding yeah tolerance!

[2:06] all right i think we'll um we'll hold it there because i run out of space here many many more plus plus plus yeah so we can think of fathers and we think what makes a good father who is the best father who could we'll get to that so you know the think of the what is the the best father we can know and what what it means for us to have a good father and of course we know fathers can be human of course they are human and fathers can not always live up to the best or being the best father but i'd like to tell you this father's day of the very best father the very best father who we can know and what he means for us many suffer in this nation as we know there's a lot of fatherlessness isn't there there's a generation of fatherlessness there's a sense where there's a certain loss where dad is missing at times from the family at times earthly fathers can fail us or they can walk away for whatever reason families can know a great heartache and loss and we know that's a reality for many of course fathers pass away as we know i know my dad his father passed away i think he was wasn't even a teenager so i never saw that grandfather on that side of my family so you know sometimes we can have a father that we only have for a few short years and then they're gone being a father is an important role as we can see many reasons why a father is an important role and these big shoes we can uh can be hard to fill and as a dad myself i know that i have not always delivered my best for our children we can look back and wonder how we could have done things better you have wisdom in hindsight uh how we could have how can we do better in the present and how can we do better for the future as a father we can all think of that and now as a as a grandfather also being a father is a great privilege and but it's a responsibility too isn't it and as the saying goes like father like son sometimes we can follow our father in our father's footsteps and it may not always be the right way too we know only too well that as i say at times fathers can fail earthly fathers can fail us um they can set a not so good example the bible tells of such fathers for example we see if you'd like to turn to 2 chronicles 29 verse 6 2 chronicles 29 verse 6 and i've got the words here we can see also uh to to watch uh on the overhead 2 chronicles 29 a father who is a not so good example 2 chronicles 29 and hezekiah is saying for our fathers have trespassed they've sinned they've done that which was evil in the sight of the lord our god and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the lord and turn their backs they turn their backs on god they turn their backs on worship fathers that have trespassed they've sinned they've done evil in the eyes of our lord our god so said king hezekiah of the fathers of the time that they had of that time and situation on behalf of the nation of israel these fathers had failed their generation hezekiah himself had such a father named ahaz ahaz a king who had led the nation away from god and turned from him turned his back a nation misled by ahaz the king of that time led away from god and truth into darkness and hezekiah

[6:10] then began to reign and as a king he was 25 years old when he took the rulership and of hezekiah it says that he did that which was right in the eyes of the lord he didn't follow in his father's footsteps he did that which was right in the eyes of the lord according to all that david his father had done which is um no that's okay i didn't write that one down but um hezekiah did that which was right in the eyes of this lord and according to all that his forefather david had done which is 2 chronicles 29 verses 1 and 2 so hezekiah determined not to follow his earthly father but rather not his immediate father who was a bad example but hezekiah decided to follow his spiritual forefather and his kingly ancestor david hezekiah decided he would not follow his immediate earthly father ahaz but his forefather david now no david was a godly man and he had a heart after god while david himself was not always a perfect role model of course we know david also had his failings but the point is that as fathers we have a vital role because children look up to us don't they well that's what they're supposed to do they they uh fathers uh have got a vital role and and children tend to follow their fathers so hopefully we that are fathers we adopt we we display good qualities and character and choose not to follow our faulty ones hopefully our children will adopt our good qualities and when hezekiah could not imitate his dad he found he found a faithful man of god worthy of imitation so likewise for us too king hezekiah did not follow the poor example of his father he caught upon his nation that as a people they were determined to turn back to follow the lord we see that here in this next verse here 2 chronicles 30 verse 8 and hezekiah says now being not stiff-necked you know kind of it's a bit painful having a stiff neck isn't it you know that sort of stubbornness that not yielding don't be stiff necked as your fathers were but rather yield yourselves unto the lord and enter into his sanctuary which he hath sanctified forever and serve the lord your god that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you today we often have what you could say are absent fathers sometimes or there are fathers that can sometimes fail but thankfully there are fathers we would do well to look up to and follow some of these things we talked about here the good things that fathers ought to and do display and for all their frailties they show care and love to their children and they are a good godly example they live up to their responsibilities and they provide for their families and god helping us let us as fathers here today aspire to be such men such men men of character and quality and that we all of us can reflect on our own fathers what we can learn from them the good things we can learn whether they've lived in a godly example and they've done righteously they've done the good thing and we can learn how to better ourselves so i want to show you today together how we can know that there is an ultimate role model for a father of course we know who that is i tell you today of the very best father and he is the one

[10:11] the bible calls him father he is the one who promises to be a father to the fatherless you know the son that are orphaned or they're taken from their natural parents and our lord god is called a father to the fatherless and a judge of the widows god and his holy habitation psalm 68 verse 5 now just think how the lord jesus referred to the lord god the lord jesus referred to god as my father 53 times in the gospels 53 my father when jesus talked about the father he did not just call him my father he also called him our father our father our father some 21 times in the gospels my father 53 times our father 21 times in the gospels but you who believe in the lord jesus are privileged to know that here's this greatest and highest relationship with god our father that's kind of mind-blowing isn't it that we can call the god the creator of the world and the universe our father our father don't you think it's wonderful isn't it and what's more the lord jesus calls god your father your father 21 times in the gospels as well 21 times your father it's a bit slow this morning this oh here we go your father and how wonderful that you can enter into this personally that you can that he is your father your father amen 21 times in the gospels so how wonderful you can enter into this wonderful relationship with the lord god that privilege that precious privilege that you can have that close relationship with god and it tells um as our lord prayed in that familiar prayer that people can often repeat our father which art in heaven our father which art in heaven it tells of that personal relationship with the highest and best father god himself amen that that precious relationship there's nothing that beats that nothing that compares with that our father which art in heaven and when you look at this there's kind of a double relationship too there is sonship our father and there is brotherhood because it's saying our father we're brothers and sisters together when i say sonship i'm meaning sons and daughters and and that sense of brotherhood we're brothers and sisters that we're a family of god aren't we unto our father and he has bestowed his love upon us it tells us in 1 john 3 verse 1 behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of god the children of god we should be called that therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not what manner of love it's just astonishing love isn't it wonderful love incomparable love unconditional love unconditional love undeserved love that he would bestow it upon us the great love of god what love what joy behold it's just astonishing that we can be called members of the family of god brothers and sisters together children of the king of kings and the lord of lords and this privilege that we know it's it's an adoption it's it's by god's granting it to us and he wants you in his family if you're not in his family he wants you in his family today he wants you to be part of his family and the bible tells how god adopts his children you know we know that's that's a wonderful beautiful

[14:11] thing too isn't it to be adopted is just precious isn't it because you're actually chosen when when the parents already know you and that's what god does for you for us isn't it it's just even more precious that we are adopted that as a son as a daughter he's brought us right into his family brought us under his roof and into his home into that that loving relationship such that we are counted children of god with all the rights and the privileges and it's a permanent relationship too paul tells us how god adopts us to be his very own children that we were once held as captives to the spirit of the world now set free by god's liberating setting free soul-saving power and his holy spirit fills our hearts with joy and blessing just to know we belong we're part of the family behold what manner of love and romans 8 14 it says for as many as are led by the spirit of god they are the sons of god amen romans 8 14 it tells about the spirit of sonship as many as are led by the spirit of god they are the sons of god the children of god and it says for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but you've received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry abba father the spirit of adoption we've adopted into the family of god and it says we cry abba father it's got that sense of uh it's a very um tender word abba the very tender like daddy or dad or a papa or such abba is a very close and intimate term and we're adopted into the family of god such that we have that closeness of relationship that we can call him abba father we can cry tenderly out to him that he is our father sorry that the uh it's not showing the right things up there at the moment but that's romans 8 verse 15 romans 8 verse 15 that's the one there and then the next one we see um we cry abba father think of god the father and what he is for us he's the very best father just now you see these things that we've talked about here when people gave us some examples a lot of these i've already got on the uh the next um slide here some of the things about the very best father god is our father god is our role model if you like the the role model of the perfect father and the first one i put to you is that he listens the father god the father listens we know the word tells us that his throne is open 24 by 7 we can come boldly into his very presence since the very throne room of our great king and father it says proverbs 15 29 it says the lord is far from the wicked but he heareth the prayer of the righteous god hears the prayer that we pray the lord is far from the wicked but he is hears the prayer of the righteous friends today god the father is close by i like to say that he's close as a prayer away amen he's as close as a prayer away and we have constant access to him and we he is never too busy to hear from us you know we know as earthly fathers i know speaking from um personal experience sometimes you get very busy and you don't spend as much time with the children as really would be the best thing let's

[18:14] face it of course we still got responsibilities as the breadwinner as the one who's got to make the living but we all need to make sure that we give time don't we and the good blessed thing about our father god is that he listens he hears our prayer and we can come to him at any time we've got access to him he listens next one is that he chastens and that's not so nice is it sometimes the father chastens and we see that for example in revelation 3 verse 19 as many as i love i rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent to chasten it means discipline you know there's needful discipline and it can be hard it's probably the one i'd say it's the hardest thing don't you uh father's here today that or you know whether you're on the receiving end or the giving end of discipline it's a tough thing isn't it but it's needful needful discipline and correction when we're going the wrong way we need correction it's like these days everyone's too scared to offend you know the teachers aren't allowed to put a big cross next to things though they kind of got to be more gentle and uh you know it's like uh all these you know sports in the schools these days there can't be winners and losers because you might hurt someone's uh self-esteem or something but now there is a sense where there is discipline there is needful discipline and it's part of god's love that he does chasten us he he corrects us he points us he redirects us and he administers this tenderly and for our good he chastens us another fact about our great father god is that he nurtures us he nurtures us!

[20:08] and it says that for example in Ephesians 6 4 you beat me to it Ephesians 6 verse 4 it says and you fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the lord our lord always nurtures us he knows when we we need that TLC that extra space and time!

[20:34] ! He builds us up he he looks after us he cares for us he nurtures us he nurtures us such that he wants us to grow to mature to be stronger he's guiding us and lifting us and helping us find the right way to make those wise life choices the good godly father nurtures us and we could all think of such situations wow yeah i can look back and think yeah i was nurtured you know think these days of even when they're little toddlers and and they're just inclined to run here and willy-nilly and run across the road you know you've got to have that watchful eye as parents to to know that uh they have got no road sense and you can think it only takes a few seconds of inattention and that the father that the mother they nurture the children to make sure that they're looked after carefully another one is he teaches us the father the good father our perfect great very best father teaches us it says in john 14 26 but the comforter the holy ghost whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring things all things to your remembrance whatsoever i've said unto you our lord says learn of me doesn't he he says learn of me he is our teacher he's our subject he's our school the school of christ may we learn christ learn christ it's the ultimate learning isn't it we can learn a trade a profession uh some get letters after our name get some credentials or some um qualification but what matters most is that we learn christ we learn christ we learn christ amen now may we always be attending to his word he teaches us another one is that he provides a lot of these we did talk about when you fired some at me there genesis 22 verse 8 and abraham said my son god will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together the occasion here was abraham and isaac going up the mountain and uh god testing abraham for his faithfulness for his obedience and isaac asked where's the we see the word but where's the lamb and abraham said god will provide and god did provide amen as god provided at calvary's cross for us the perfect provision our father provides amen the great father that will always make provision for us and really we owe our all to him as the next verse says james 1 verse 17 it says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning really every good gift comes from his hand doesn't it the breath the breath the breath we breathe the the sun we see the the green grass everything that we have to enjoy just the things we take for granted every good gift comes down from the father of lights do we stop and think that what god has provided another one is he guides the best father provides um i think i just did that one that was the one i just did sorry about that genesis 22 8 and then the next one is um uh that he guides yeah oh there you go he guides sorry i'm getting mixed up he guides psalm 48 verse 14 if you got that on there psalm 48 14 it says for this god is our god forever and ever he will be our guide even unto death god will guide he will guide us

[24:40] don't we need guiding climbing this mountain of life he goes before us the bible says walk in his steps follow in his steps he's our guide there's no greater guide he knows the way to go and he shows us the way to go and the next one proverbs 3 verse 6 it says in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct our past we need someone to show us the way to show us the way to tread we need direction for life who better to lead us than the very maker of life itself our creator and sustainer of life he guides and just the next one there is that he cares he cares the very best father cares for us in mark 4 38 the situation is a storm on the lake the disciples there with christ leaning on the pillow and the disciples really getting very anxious as the storm was lashing the ship the waves the storm the wind and it says mark 4 38 and he the lord was in the hinder part of the ship the back part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him master carest thou not that we perish now what a question to say jesus don't you care we're going to die here it's jesus don't you care of course he cares you know the song goes of course he cares of course he cares for us does jesus care of course he does there can be times though when we wonder where is god when situations are troubled and we wonder if god is here for us as the disciples there in the stormy sea but the lord jesus is always with you he's always with you what will our response be let's just consider just as we just recap just thus far we've looked at the best father and what the best father does there's many more no doubt we could say but think about now think about we'll just hold the slides there for a time think about our response we've got that if father listens to us he hears the prayer what will our response be if he listens to us what should we be doing talking to him talk to your father pray yeah do we do that if the very best father listens for our prayer shouldn't we pray amen we should pray talk to him he chastens us what should our response be yeah repent trust him really trust his hand when god chastens you when he corrects you when he says you're doing something wrong stop doing it obey him trust him trust and obey i suppose isn't it good say you are the sons of god you are the sons and daughters of god the children of god he's the very best father sometimes he will chasten you it's not always easy we get out of sync with where god wants us to be when we get off track he will redirect us he will chasten us he will discipline us so trust him obey him the next one was he nurtures us

[28:48] what should our response be to god's nurture receive it be receptive be receptive to god's nurture you know sometimes we can we can shy away we can we can reject god's nurture when he's trying to tell us something and show us something and help us to grow we can obstruct god our father but we should be receptive when he puts something on our heart when he convicts us when he draws us to make a change a direction let's be receptive when he's nurturing us see that for what it is another one was he teaches us what should our response be when someone's teaching you what should you do learn learn from god heard about the best father let's be the best son the best daughter amen let's learn let's learn about jesus more and more how can we learn study fellowship have time with the word receive god's truth take it in through every channel you can get hold of it you know this i know for some of you and as i have done you spend hours driving to work and driving home or on the train or tram or bus you know get some good gospel preaching get the bible on on audio and listen to the word feed your spirit and starve your doubts to death feed your faith and starve your doubts to death learn as he teaches our response is to learn his teaching we see his provision what should our response be for god's provision be grateful be thankful thank him you know gratefulness how can we be more thankful how can we be more grateful for what god has given to us do we stop and thank him i think we lack that don't we i know i do i know i need to thank him more i need to be more conscious of god's many gifts and gracious acts to me how can i be a more thankful son and then we see he guides us when someone's guiding you what should you do follow them follow jesus you know what was the common thing that he would say to those that he called follow me follow me do we follow our father our heavenly father do we follow jesus and that following jesus might be following him to the death as it were in some countries taking up your cross literally and going to your crucifixion literally such and and so friends we can learn our response should be when he guides us to follow what he's telling you and then we see his care for us he cares for us and uh what should our response be to god's care to trust him he knows what he's doing trust god he's got your best interests at heart he cares for you and uh when you're in that stormy sea when uh the waves are tossing and the wind is blowing and everything's pretty uh shaky and and up upheaval is your lot in life he says peace be still peace be still he speaks peace to our soul and we can have the very best father today god amen you can have the very best father yet we know we can fail him as a son as a daughter we have to play our part which uh we'll go to the next one psalm 142 verse 4 um again talking about god's care uh the psalmist in psalm 142 he says i looked on my right

[32:54] hand and behold there was no man that would know me refuge failed me no man cared for my soul verse 5 i cried unto the lord unto thee oh lord i said thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living now there can be times when earthly supports will fail we look on the right hand we look here and there there's no one to help us but he is always your refuge fellow believer this morning he is your refuge he is your refuge and our heavenly father he's always by our side it if it seems like he is not then we need to ask why is this so as i've heard it put you know if you feel like god's not close to you then who moved you know it's a good question isn't it when when we think well actually maybe that's the problem at times people can wander like the prodigal wonder didn't he he probably wandered away uh luke 15 the story goes where he squandered uh he's wasted his wealth it was riotous living it was um just a waste of a life really and he wasted his inheritance that he received and he wandered far far away into a far country but the good thing is the prodigal returned to the father's house and you might feel like you're a bit of a prodigal maybe at times you can return to the father's house and what does he do he just wraps his arms around you and gives you a squeeze and a hug and a kiss on the neck and he says welcome home son that's what our father does for us isn't he when we may fail and fault we falter as a son as a daughter of this great father this very best father he he loves you today and he cares for you he knows what you have need of but how can we know this very best father that i'm talking of of course some would say oh we're all children of god but we know the bible doesn't say that we have to be born again into his family and we see that here in john 1 verse 12 and verse 11 it says he came unto his own his own received him not but verse 12 but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of god even to them that believe on his name wow that you could receive sonship that you could be declared his son you could be declared his daughter today if you've never received it you can receive him and you can receive that privilege of being called children of god and friends today there's nothing greater that no greater word that we can share if you know that not yet you can know it now here and now today now sometimes we go witnessing and we get various reactions and responses and often it's not interested and it's kind of sad really isn't it and i know um just yesterday we were witnessing and there's a woman we she must have slammed the door on us and then we're in the passing a reserve and she came across our path again we didn't recognize her so we started to witness to her again and she was saying oh don't you get it you know just you know i've got my religion kind of thing and oh you know that kind of response um uh you shouldn't be pushing this on people or whatever it is now that kind of attitude oh you know i'm all right jack you know she'll be right mate uh i'm i don't i've got it got it sorted but it's our message we must declare this we must declare this because for us to neglect to declare it is to really it's to it's to fail our god really

[37:01] isn't it because he wants us to he calls us to this and and there's no greater word no greater testimony no greater message you can impart to another human soul than this message but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of god even to them that believe on his name there's no greater story you can tell there's no greater communication you can make than to tell this to a soul a human soul even if they reject you even if they hate you for it because thankfully there are some who do receive it and as you have done one day you received it by faith and just lastly galatians 3 26 it says for you are all the children of god by faith in christ jesus that's what makes the difference it turns on this on faith faith trust him trust jesus died for your sins trust jesus died in your place paying your penalty receive it on your part trust him believe him as your lord and savior you can know the father's love you can become the children of god and that's the wonderful truth that we it all boils down to this and it's almost like you can't it bears repeating constantly because this is the vital message our world needs to hear that you can become a child of god by faith in jesus christ and i leave you with this today that you can be made declared to be a child of the king to know the very best father god the heavenly father you can become brothers and sisters together and children of his what a privilege to know he's he's always listening at times he's chastening he's nurturing he's teaching he's providing he's guiding he's caring he's always there for you and we that are fathers can learn from his example as the ultimate example for each one of us and and of all of us for our own father we can see those truths in in him i hope maybe some less so or more so but let's learn to be children let's let's trust him so we can be children of the living god and it's not by any working of our own or manufacturing of our own effort or any doing of our own it's by faith in christ jesus it's simply that trust him trust him now by faith and if you'd like uh if you've heard this today and you think wow that that's something i want i haven't received it yet i want that if you're a woman today i'll refer you to a a godly christian woman to talk to or or a man you can talk to me or i'll refer you to another christian man to pray with you to counsel you to encourage you in trusting jesus today that you can become a child of the living god by faith today it's simply trusting him and calling upon his saving name to save your soul today let's go to our last song to close now and be encouraged for this further fellowship time please linger for a bit of a chat and a cuppa and maybe a word of prayer or comfort or encouragement encourage one another exhort one another comfort one another we're going to close with this one we have heard the joyful sound we have heard the joyful sound jesus saves jesus saves we have heard the joyful sound jesus jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves spread the tidings all around jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves bear the news to every land climb the mountains cross the waves

[41:04]  jesus ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending you ocean caves sing in triumph for the tomb jesus saves jesus saves sing above the battle strife jesus says jesus saves by his death and endless life jesus saves jesus says shouted brightly through the gloom when the heart for mercy craves sing in triumph for the tomb jesus saves jesus saves give the winds a mighty voice jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves jesus saves shout salvation full and free highest hills and deepest gaze this is a song of victory jesus saves jesus saves let us pray lord we thank you for this time together we thank you lord for our heaven our earthly fathers and lord we thank you for you as our heavenly father lord may we be children of god that know you and trust you follow you learn of you and and obey you lord and lord guide our steps lord that you would be glorified in our lives that we would be uh obedient children lord unto you and know and do your will help us to live the life you've caught us to and bless each family it's hard each home on this day we pray in jesus name amen god bless you today