The Perfect Father - Part 1 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Brightley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace! This is LeSaire Brightley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. God of our fathers, whose almighty hand Leads forth in beauty of our starry band Of shining worlds, in splendor through the skies Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise Thy love divine hath led us in the past In this free land by Thee our law is cast Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay Thy word our law, Thy path our chosen way From Lord's alarms, from deadly pestilence Be Thy strong arm, our ever surely best Thy true religion, in our hearts increase Thy mountains good, as nourish us in peace Refresh thy people on their wholesome way Lead us from night to never-ending day Fill our minds with love and grace divine And glory, love, and praise be ever thine As we approach Father's Day, we thought it would be good to bring a message that we have preached concerning the perfect Father, God, our Father in heaven. And see how many things concerning His care for us are appropriate to apply to what earthly fathers ought to be doing with respect to their children. I hope the message will be an encouragement to you, and we hope that you will take time to write. And let us know that you have listened.

We'd appreciate it if you'll mention the call letters of the station over which the program comes to you. Our mailing address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. My Father is rich in houses and lands He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold His cobras are full, He has riches untold I'm a child of the King, a child of the King With Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King My Father's own Son, the Savior of men Once wandered o'er earth as the poorest of them But now He is reigning in glory on high Preparing a place for the sweet by and by I'm a child of the King, a child of the King With Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King A dead or a cottage, why should I care? They're building a palace for me over there Though here I'm a stranger, yet still I may see Oh glory to God, I'm a child of the King I'm a child of the King, a child of the King With Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King Through the years on Father's Day, we have brought messages about what it means to be a godly father, a loving father Father fills a tremendously important role in the home, he is the spiritual leader If he is not functioning as he ought, the entire family suffers But I want to speak to you today on the perfect father We turn to the book of Matthew chapter 5 verse 48 Obviously there is only one perfect father and that is God, but he tells fathers that they are to imitate him They are to endeavor to be like him, to be conforming their lives to the example set through the God-man Jesus Christ We first consider the question, who can call God father? Obviously there are those that make the assumption that any human being can rightfully say God is my father But scriptures do not bear that out Indeed God is the creator of all, he gives life to all, but all cannot call him father Job chapter 12 reading the 10th verse In whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind Not only did God create man and initially breathe into Adam's nostrils, the breath of life and he became a living soul But he continues to provide breath for every human being Paul enlarged upon that in the book of Acts chapter 17 when he was delivering the message at Mars Hill It says in Acts 17 verse 25 Speaking of God of course he says, neither is worshiped with men's hands as though he needed anything Seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things So as Paul speaks to these who are pagans and worshiping many false gods He sets forth the truth concerning the living God, the true and living God, the creator And says he gives life to all So every human soul is given that life not because they are deserving of it But by the sovereign purpose of God he gives them life, he gives them breath and all things that pertain to life And if made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth And have determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation That they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after him and find him though he be not far from every one of us For in him we live and move and have our being As certain of your own prophets have said for we are also his offspring So he gives life, he gives breath, in him we live and move and have our being And Paul goes on to speak of the fact that all will eventually be accountable to him Verse 31 Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained Wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead So all men are created by God, all men are given breath to breathe by God All men are accountable to God and all would stand before him in judgment Unless their sins are remitted to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and he appears as their intercessor So some cannot call God their father, not all are the sons of God There has been a popular way of thinking with some theologians to advocate the idea of the universal fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man But scriptures make it very clear that some cannot call God their father We read in the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John, verse 44, Jesus speaking to the religious leaders, the Pharisees of that day says Ye are of your father the devil So these individuals could not rightly call God their father Ye are of your father the devil and the lust of your father ye will do He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it It may sound very loving and kind and certainly appears to be a very broad minded position for somebody to say Well I just believe that we are all brothers and sisters, we are all the children of God But that's just not the case, some are not the children of God and therefore cannot call him father Matthew chapter 13, verse 38, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tares are the children of the wicked one So here is a vivid contrast in the parable of the tares He says the good seed refers to the children of the kingdom, those who are children of God and can rightly call God their father But the tares are the children of the wicked one So who can call God father? There are some that cannot but those that can call God their father are first of all those who are born again When Jesus was conversing with Nicodemus as recorded in the third chapter of the Gospel of John He said in the third verse, verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God He can't see it, he can't comprehend it, he cannot be a part of it unless he is born again Verse 5, verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God Now this was very puzzling to Nicodemus Although he was a teacher and well respected no doubt among his peers Yet when Jesus starts talking about the new birth he has no comprehension of it He asks can a man enter the second time in his mother's womb and be born And of course Jesus says that's not worth talking about But he does tell us that in order for one to enter his kingdom which would be the equivalent of entering his family They must be born again Something must occur within them Life is given, they become a new creature in Christ Jesus Secondly, those who can call God Father are those that have been adopted into his family Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world That we should be holding without blame before him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself According to the good pleasure of his will Would you consider the fact that we were far removed from him Certainly not seeking him, not loving him, not honoring him And that he would by his mercy adopt us into his family is an amazing display of his wonderful grace Furthermore, those who can call God Father are those who are believers in Jesus Christ Look at the Gospel of John chapter 1 reading in the 11th verse He came unto his own and his own received him not 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 These were given the right to become the sons of God They had not been God's sons, they could not prior to what is here described have rightfully called him Father But as many as received him to these he gave the power or authority or the right to become the sons of God How are they identified? Even to them that believe on his name But what brought this about? Verse 13 which were born not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man but of God So this connects with what we've already read in the 3rd chapter of the Gospel of John You must be born again and these then who are born of God therefore now receive him and are given the right and privilege of being known as the sons of God These are believers, that's how individuals are going to be identified as those who can call God Father Another reference to this can be found in the book of Galatians chapter 3 It says that you are the children of God by faith So faith is given, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast But that faith is that by which these are identified as being the children of God For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, verse 26 of Galatians chapter 3 Now having considered the question of who can call God Father, we're talking about this perfect Father, who can call God Father There obviously are multitudes who cannot, although God is their creator, although God sustains life they cannot call him Father Those who have been born again, those who have been adopted into his family, those who are believers in Jesus Christ can call him Father Now secondly let's think about the privilege of calling God Father What a remarkable privilege it is that we who are sinners by nature being adopted into his family now have the right to call him Father By nature we were his enemy, Romans chapter 5 verse 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life How does it describe us? We were enemies Somebody might try to raise objection to that and say well I don't feel that I was ever the enemy of God As far back as I can remember I loved God, I was taught when I was a child about some of the great stories of the Bible and I never rejected those I feel like I've always had a favorable inclination toward the things of God, toward Christianity, toward the gospel Well indeed that may be the case as far as what you're able to discern and observe But the fact is all of us are born with the Adamic nature and that is a fallen nature, that is a sinful nature And we are not inclined by an act of our own free will to turn to God or love God or serve God or honor him And so by our relationship to the fallen parent Adam we by nature are enemies, the enemies of God Chapter 8 verse 7 says because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be The carnal mind, the natural mind, this mind that we have in human nature is at enmity against God So in both of these references it categorizes us in our fallen nature apart from grace that we are enemies of God But now what a privilege considering that being our state by birth, our natural condition, an enemy of God Not seeking him, not desiring him, being a basic rebel in our hearts That he would rescue us, that he would draw us to himself, that he would adopt us into his family and now we can call him father First John chapter 3 verse 1, behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God You can tell as John writes these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he stands in awe of the whole matter What manner of love, what kind of love is this that we should be called the sons of God Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not, beloved now are we the sons of God How often do you think about that? What a blessing to meditate on it To think here I am a fallen sinner by nature, here I am insignificant in so many ways And then to think I have the privilege of calling God father It's one thing to say I believe in God, I believe he is the creator, I think about him at a distance in heaven But to think about him as your father, what a blessing Beloved now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is It's then by God's love, by God's amazing grace that we now can call him father Romans chapter 8, reading in the 14th verse For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God Here's an evidence that one belongs to him If one is a true son of God, he is being led by the Spirit For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear But ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God And if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ So be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together This term Abba Father has generally been thought to have been an expression used basically by children As they would speak to their father calling him affectionately daddy But some recent research into the language indicates that it wasn't a term just limited to small children That it was an expression used right on showing great affection And is an endearing term that one would have for their father So by the Spirit of God, we are able to call him Abba Father, our father In Old Testament times, God was viewed as being at a distance The use of the term father referring to God is used only about 15 times in the Old Testament In the New Testament, it's over 260 times You can see the tremendous change of emphasis That now because of the position that we have through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ And the Spirit of God being given to abide in us We are now on a very close intimate relationship with God The people in those olden times stood at a distance They were dependent upon the priesthood to make the sacrifices and to approach God on their behalf The great high priest was the only one who could enter the holy of holies and that was only one time a year If he entered without the proper garment or at the incorrect time, he would be struck dead So it was a solemn thing when the priest was ministering As long as they could hear the ringing of the bells against the pomegranates on the bottom of the priestly robe There was reassurance that all is well If that should cease, it would indicate that the priest had been struck dead They did not have that close intimacy which is ours today Now in vivid contrast to the distance that separated the people in olden times The sense they may have had that we believe in God and he's one of great power And he certainly is a help in the time of need but they would never have used such terminology to call God father The book of Hebrews chapter 10 describes this contrast verse 19 Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus If anybody had entered into the holy place under the old covenant, they'd have been struck dead But now we have boldness to enter because we enter by the blood of Jesus By new and living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh And having a high priest over the house of God let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water So the word of encouragement to us, let us draw near with full assurance We don't have to feel that there is a distance, that there is a barrier We have the right and privilege to call him father Children of the heavenly father, safely in his bosom gathered Nestling bird nor star in heaven, such a refuge ere was given What a blessing of grace that we're able to call God our father and what a privilege to be able to call upon him in prayer To pour out our hearts, to lay out our burdens before him and know that he cares for us and has promised not to forsake us If you would like to get this message on CD, The Perfect Father, request that when writing And also as I mentioned earlier in the broadcast, you can ask for the booklet, There is Hope Until next week at the same time, may the Lord richly bless you all Lo, we giveth, or ye taketh God his children, therefore saith Is the loving purpose solely to preserve them, pure and holy?