The Transformative Power of the Father's Love

In fact, I think it's so important, me as a father, I've got three kids, soon to be four. Again, I just want to shout out, I've done this at the 9am. Six weeks ago, we were told that we should abort our child and we're going to lose our child. We're going to lose him because Joanna's water's broke at 20 weeks. But hallelujah, we're six weeks later and this boy's going to be perfectly fine and healthy. Amen. [00:03:00]

how much I love them and how special they are and by no means am I a perfect dad but I'm telling you man if you're a father in this house if you're a father to be I implore you take that on it doesn't matter if maybe you didn't have a father to tell you the same thing maybe you haven't seen that seen that example or that displayed I suppose regardless I implore you I urge you let your children know that you love them that you accept them just the way they are amen again above everything else I need my children to know that I love them I look them in the eyes Elizabeth I love you so much sweetie you are so special you are so beautiful like I constantly tell my children that I had this beautiful moment actually this morning I woke up very early to prepare um for this sermon and then my son Moses who usually just jumps out of his cot and runs upstairs um he decided he was going to call out to me today and so he's going dad dad now he hasn't done this for months dad dad dad so I'm like I go down there I pick him up and he was just over the moon to see me I pick him up and he puts his head on my shoulder and he just says I love you dad I love you dad you know and I mean like my heart melted towards him you know and I felt like it was just the Lord like preparing me for this word you know about the father's heart and and how much the father loves us you see it's so important that we come to this revelation this understanding that man I am loved by my father amen you know there's a crisis at the moment um in the USA and there's a lot of statistics that come out of the USA and it's good because it's like it's a western western country just like us is and there's 400 million people or so that live there so it's great to get stats from them but they say that right now one in three children are fatherless there's no father in the house present at all that's like there's like 24 million children which is basically the population of Australia you imagine that 24 million children a third [00:04:34]

And I'd like to suggest one thing, man, and I'll show you in a minute, that the fruit of fatherlessness is chaos. Most times, if not all times, where you see that where there's no father in house is chaos. Because the role that the father plays, man, is inherited by God the Father. It is critical to a strong family. [00:06:55]

And the enemy is after the man in the house. The enemy is after the father in the house because he understands what will happen. And the significance on the father was given by God the Father. And I'm gonna go into detail into Scripture soon to unpack all of that, to show you the importance of the father in the house. [00:08:31]

It's so important as fathers to live the right way to live a way that's pleasing unto the Lord to live a way that we want other to be an example to like it's so important because our children are going to know us they're going to say yes I am which is pure love us and there's something innate within them and they're going to want to follow after us. Like it's pivotal that we live a certain way, righteous and holy as we heard in a ministry time, obedient to the Word of God. [00:11:21]

You see, there's the good fight of faith that we need to fight. For so long, man, when I first came to the Lord, because of the long drug abuse in my life, I thought that I'd completely damaged myself. And I would get really awkward around people. I would sometimes just blush uncontrollably. I'd get anxious. I didn't have a word for it because anxiety wasn't as big as it was now. And I was really, like, there was, I mean, the Lord was doing a great work, but there was still a lot of stuff inside that needed to get, you know, fixed. And I'd go to the Lord. I'd have, like, these awkward, awkward conversations with people. [00:15:54]

When we understand the extent that the Father went to to actually win us back, to bring us into freedom, man, you can't live any other way. You see, the love of the Father goes before mankind ever existed. The love of the Father goes beyond time. And we need to truly come into a revelation that I have a Father, He's good, He loves me, and He has a plan for my life. We have to come into that revelation. We have to fight for it. [00:17:47]

And I promise you, I give you my word, if you actually come into a revelation and understanding and experience the heart of the Father towards you, you won't have to. You'll get freedom. It's very quiet. Say amen, someone, come on. There's a passage of Scripture I'd love to read this morning and it's the greatest illustration of a father father's love for his child, for his son. [00:20:29]

And you see, I'd like to suggest to you that this story is obviously not about Abraham loving Isaac, but it's the father illustrating to us his love for his son. It's the father's love for us. When we read this story, we see the father's love, but it's towards you. Because when we understand, and I'm gonna get to it in a minute, when we understand the importance and significance of this story, man, it's gonna change you. [00:26:25]

And see, Abraham thought, and it was that ram, but he had no idea he was prophesying into the future that the Lord would provide a sacrifice, a lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world, the Bible says. And that's where the thought of this sermon initially started. Revelations 13, eight. [00:28:44]

Before I create anything, there he is. Before any mistake was made, before Adam even sinned. You know, the cross of Jesus Christ was not some afterthought, some reaction, like the father was like, oh no, Adam stuffed up, all right, I'm gonna send Jesus. He understood what was gonna happen. And he's trying to show us, man, like when we understand the love of the father before we were ever created, the love of the father towards us, man, it blows my mind. [00:30:59]

The Bible says that on the cross, the veil from top to bottom was torn, signifying once and for all all enmity between man and God was over. Separation was over. And now the Bible says in Hebrews that we can step boldly into the throne room of grace. Him having offered Himself a sacrifice once and for all seated at the right hand. We now as blood -bought believers, we need to be able to be like, man, regardless of what I'm going through, God, I'm gonna step into Your presence. [00:36:37]