God Is a Good Father - 1.knowing the Father and Being Like Him — Zac Poonen

Jesus Came to Reveal the Father

Thought if Jesus himself were standing in the pulpit today what would he speak about. And we don't need to guess about that because when we read the Gospels what did he speak about the most. And I'll tell you he spoke about his father.

He had come to earth to reveal the father not just to die for our sins he do. You know that he didn't primarily die for our sins because he loved us. You know it's we can think like that because we like to think that we are very important.

But I want you to turn to the Gospel of John and verse just before he went to the cross John 14 and verse 31 so that the world may know that I love the father. I do what the father commanded me. Let us go from here to the cross.

So when Jesus died on the cross the first thing I see is wow how much he loved the father. Now most of us have spent all our lives thinking at the cross and say wow how much he loved me. Because even after we become Christians we never get out of our self-centeredness.

The race of Adam is a self-centered race. Everything revolves around me. And I want to say my dear brothers and sisters as long as long as you live like that you will never come into the fullness of the Christian life.

You'll never be able to walk as Jesus walked. You never. You'll never come into that life of perfect peace and joy that the Apostles experienced. And that you hear from this pulpit so often but you find so difficult to achieve.

You know why. Because you never want to get out of self as the center. And this is just one indication Jesus loved me and died for me. But Jesus said that the world may know that I love the father. So I want you to look at Jesus.

And the cross is one who loved the father so much his whole life was centered around the father. You know the first commandment is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind strength.

And then you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You believe Jesus kept that commandment. You believe that he loved the father more than he loved you. Self-centered you. Well I mean it took me years to see that but it changed my life completely changed my life when I saw that so much of what we call Christianity centered around ourselves.

And that's why every unhappy marriage there is in Christians is because both are self-centered. And I saw that true repentance is if it's really a hundred and eighty degree turn. I was speaking about repentance last Sunday I think most of us have not turned 180 degrees.

Maybe 90 degrees 135 degrees. 180 means I'm no longer centered in myself. I never think at any time in terms of how will this affect me. But how will it affect the glory of God. I mean it doesn't happen overnight.

But if you work towards coming there and say Lord I want a hundred and eighty degree turn. I want to say to you in Jesus name from a little bit of that I've tasted in my own life that you will live at a level of the Christian life that 99 of believers know nothing about and that you yourself have never experienced.

There's something you're missing my brothers and sisters because the devil has blinded your eyes you you think that you can make the best of your life if you seek your own. That's where the devil's deceived you.

If you say if I take care of me and my family first everything will work out. Okay. It won't. God never intended man to live like that. In fact the choice in the Garden of Eden between those two true two trees was really this choice.

Adam do you want to live a self-centered life. Or do you want to live a God-centered life. Adam said I want a self-centered life. The tree of knowledge of good and evil symbolizes that. And until we have rejected that choice of Adam 100 in our life I can say we're not really converted.

It's it's a tremendous grief to me that so many Christians live in that such a low level. I mean if it's a grief to me can you imagine what a grief it is to our father in heaven. Jesus came to reveal the father.

Knowing God as Father Rather Than Living in Insecurity

And once you know God is your father it'll make a tremendous difference in your life. I believe all of us know God is our father to different degrees. You I mean the day you're converted you say I'm a child of God.

God is my father. And I said that for so many years. But I was a very insecure Christian always trying to impress others. Why do I want to impress others. Because I'm insecure. I don't know God is my father.

One of the things that happens when you really know God is your father is you don't want to impress anybody in the world anymore. You couldn't care less what people think about you. Can you honestly tell me that you couldn't care less what people think about you.

You ladies who dress up in fashionable styles tell me honestly you couldn't care less what people think about you. You only care what Almighty God thinks about you. It'll make a difference even in the way you dress.

I'll tell you that so many things in our life change. When I say Lord the only thing that's going to matter to me is what you think about me. Not what man thinks about me. Not what my fellow believers and CFC think about me.

But what you think about me. That's a person who's really known God is father. And another proof of it is I want to ask you. You know I want to. I hope you'll believe me that I'm trying to help you not condemn you this morning.

I don't want to condemn anybody. Spirit of condemnation is not in the New Covenant. That's an Old Testament ministry. And we don't do that in this pulpit. We're not here to condemn you. We're not here to make you feel guilty when you go home I honestly say the Holy Spirit's come to lift us higher.

The voice from heaven is my son my daughter. Come up higher come up higher. It's always the voice from heaven. So I want you to be honest and ask yourself whenever you pray what are the first words that come out of your mouth.

First word Lord. Nothing wrong in that. All I say is you don't know the father. Well enough when I pray I say dad. I never said that for many years. Then I knew I was filled with the Holy Spirit. A lot of controversy as to how do you know when the Holy Spirit's filled a person.

Well let me tell you one verse says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 15 you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again. But you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out daddy father.

You know it's very sad that that word Abba in the Hebrew has not been translated. I feel sad about so many words in the Bible that were not translated into English. Baptism. Why in the world do they put a Greek word there instead of translating and say immersion.

Go and immerse people. That's I don't agree with those translators. They were trying to please people. Hypocrite. Why. Hypocrite. It's a Greek word. Why not use an English word actor. Stop acting. That's the meaning of don't be a hypocrite.

It means so much more to me when I'm told don't act when you go to church when you go to a meeting just be yourself hypocrite. Such a complicated word. And I think oh I'm not a hypocrite. But I may be acting so same way here.

Abba it's not Abba. That's Hebrew. I'm not Hebrew. I speak English. I don't want a Hebrew word. I don't speak to God in Hebrew. I speak to God in English. So what should I say. Not Abba. Daddy father.

It's different from father. Abba father daddy father. And it says the Spirit of God cries out comes within and makes us cry out. He could never do that in old in the Old Testament because he came upon people never inside them.

And I want to tell you you know the Spirit of God has filled your life. And you cry out daddy. You don't need anybody to tell you that. And I know the world of difference it made in my life as I grew up as a very insecure young boy I became a Christian and I was a very insecure Christian.

Till in the mercy of God he revealed to me that most glorious truth that I've never got tired of preaching for 35 years. And I'll tell you no man taught me this. There are many truths I have learned from other men.

I have to acknowledge I did not discover forgiveness of sins myself. Other people taught me the gospel. But when it came to this truth that God loved me as he loved Jesus I discovered it myself. I have never heard a tape or read a book in my life that taught that it took to me it was as great a revelation as Martin Luther discovering 500 years ago that justification was by faith and not by works.

It revolutionized my life. You don't realize how much it changed my life. God is my daddy. He loves me as he loved Jesus. Amazing unbelievable. Now I want to put what sometimes in emails you see a disclaimer.

Surrendering Every Ambition to the Father's Will

I want to put a disclaimer there. It does not apply to everyone who calls himself a Christian. Jesus was referring to those 11 disciples who were it surrendered to his lordship completely. And if there are a few sitting here like that where you say every ambition of mine is surrendered to God all my life I love Jesus more than I love my parents relatives wife children brother sister my job my house all earthly property.

I love Jesus more than everything else on earth. That's for you. It's not for others. So it may not be for everybody sitting here because some of you got ambitions which are outside the will of God. God bless you brother.

I hope he can. I don't know whether he will but if your ambition is only to do the will of God for many years I've stood before God and said Lord my only ambition in life is to do your will on earth. Nothing else.

I have no other ambition on earth. And I wish all of you would say that it would transform your life completely. You think God will mess up your life. If you say that I said that to God many years ago many many years ago do you think God has messed up my life far from it.

It would have been messed up if I hadn't said that. You think God messed up Jesus life because he said I only want to do the Father's will. Those are the men and women who really lived the way God wanted man to live on this earth.

Dear brothers and sisters many of us may be just religious speaking a lot of high-sounding new covenant language. But you know God is a father. He longs to that. You know him as a father. You know there's some Christians in certain Christian denominations who teach that you can't come to Jesus directly.

You have to come through a mediator Mary. And the example they use is. And they say you can't come to God directly. You have to come through Mary. And the example they use is remember when daddy wanted to come and give you a spanking who came in between and stopped him.

Mommy right. That's why you need a Mary between you and God when he comes to give you a spanky. Do you think such people will want to go near God as a father. They'd rather go to Mary. What about you.

Do you go to God as a father and say no. I'd rather talk to Jesus. You're a little bit better but not really you know what Jesus said. Turn to John 16. Listen to these words. Verse 25 John 16 25. These things I've spoken to you in figurative language.

A lot of Jesus speaking was in pictures parables. But an hour is coming and that's the day of Pentecost. Remember that an hour is coming in the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit will come right inside you which you disciples don't have right now in John 16.

And I will tell you plainly of the father of your daddy in heaven. When that hour comes the Holy Spirit in that day you will ask in my name. Of course we still go in the name of Jesus. But I do not say to you.

Listen to this. Oh I wish you'd be gripped by this. I do not say to you that I will request the father on your behalf. You need to hear that again. I do not say to you that I will request the father on your behalf.

Why. Because the father himself loves you. You need to be gripped by that. And later on in John 17 23 he says I in them in his prayer to the father and you in me that they may be made perfect in unity so that the world may know two things.

One that you sent me to be the Savior of the world and Christianity has proclaimed that for 2 ,000 years. But here's the second truth that Christianity has not proclaimed and that you love them even as you have loved me.

The Father's Love Produces Unity Without Competition

Can you tell me anywhere outside of our church you heard that. I've never heard it. I've been a Christian 52 years. I've never heard a single preacher in my life say that. And it's not something we just have to proclaim.

We have to demonstrate. It says here that these disciples of mine will be so perfectly one like a body where there's no competition. There's no jealousy there's no strife there's no scheming. There's no right hand backbiting against the left hand is such perfect unity so that the world may know.

Boy the father loves these people just as he loved Jesus. And in practical terms that means when I come to that understanding that the father loves me as he loved Jesus I will have no more competition with any other person in the body of Christ.

I can stand before God and say that today. I couldn't say that some years ago. I can say that today. I am not in competition with anybody in the world either for my life or my ministry. I don't want to prove I'm holier than anybody.

I don't want to prove my ministry is better than anybody. I'm not proud of my ministry. I'm not. It's all gone. It's all gone. Otherwise I'd have destroyed myself. The father loves me as he loved Jesus.

And I can rejoice to see a younger brother go way ahead of me in character and in ministry because I'm secure in my heavenly father. Zero jealousy. Can you say there's zero jealousy in my life in your life.

Anyone anyone. I can say that before God. I'm not saying it to boast. I'm just saying the results that come when you know God loves you as he loved Jesus. And you come to that unity in the body of Christ where it doesn't matter if other people consider you their enemy and a lot of people in the world hate me.

A lot of Christians don't like me but I like them. They can't make me hate them. That's impossible. You know you can come to a place in your life where it's impossible for you to hate another child of God no matter what they do whether they harm you or any such thing.

You can come to that place because your reaction will not depend on the way they treat you. If you can say that I have come to the place where my reaction to people is not at all dependent on the way they treat me.

You probably know God is your father but can you honestly say that. Can you even say your reaction to your wife is completely independent of the way she treats you. There are people who've been sitting here 20 -30 years who can't say that.

You know what the reason is. The problem is not your wife brother. The problem is you don't know your heavenly dad. The God of the world has blinded your eyes and you think all you keep concentrating a problem is my husband or my father or my relatives or my wife or problems of my son.

It's got nothing to do with any of them has got to do with you. You got to know God is your father who loves you. See we live in a world where many many of you sitting here it's possible that you never had a good relationship with your dad with whom you could confide everything and talk everything.

I mean tell me honestly you people look back to your time when you were at home with your father when you had a sexual problem. Would you go to your dad with that. No. You don't talk to your dad about such things.

Right. What does that prove. You can't talk the most difficult things with your father with your earthly father. Oh you could hug him and love him and say I love you and all that. But you had a sexual problem.

You wouldn't go to him. Same here. I wouldn't go to my dad with that. So what I'm saying is hardly anybody has had a really good father. Most of us have had fathers who are distant whom we respect and care for.

Maybe when they were old we care for them and we think that God wants to be a father like that to us. Because when we heard the word father we think of our earthly father. I want to tell you God's not like that.

He wants you to be very intimate with him and I thank God for that. He doesn't come to me with a whip. It's very very important that all of you from a very early age some of you young people are very fortunate to be able to hear these truths when you're very young to know God as a father as a daddy.

That's the basis for faith. See repentance and faith of the two legs we stand on in the Christian life. Repentance and faith. Faith begins with knowing. Of course knowing that Jesus died for our sins.

But then that leads to knowing God is a father. That's so important. So we need to go. And the first step in knowing I mean the first place we know God is a father is a father who forgives us and welcomes us.

The Father Welcomes the Prodigal Home

And that's why Jesus spoke the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. That's the first way needed we need to know the father that he welcomes sinners. He welcomes backsliders. See actually strictly speaking the prodigal son story is a story of a backslider who in the father's house once upon a time and sought his own and went away.

And finally when he made a mess of his life he came back to. It's a dual picture of sinners coming to God and a backsliders coming to the father. And you know the way Jesus portrayed it it's it's like saying rock-bottom.

It's hitting rock bottom. It is being so utterly rotten. Why do I say that. Because it says about this one sentence about this child when he went this boy when he went away it says in verse 10 of John Luke 15.

Sorry 16 Luke 15 16. He would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating. No one was giving anything to him. To paraphrase that in terms of your experience of mine it means we feel rejected by others.

Do you feel rejected by others. You're not the popular type rejected. No one was giving anything to him. And I'll tell you honestly I have never in my life met or seen even seen a man eating what the pigs are eating.

I mean even the beggars won't do that. If you see a man in a farm sitting down with the pigs and eating what the pigs are eating. Boy if there's any description of rock-bottom that is it Jesus took that picture to show the utter failure and rottenness of this boy this young man.

It's a picture of a person whose life is messed up with sin abominable sin to the level of the pigs whatever we you know we would put pigs as the lowest level of culture and hygiene and everything else.

And spiritually speaking that is a picture of a sinner or a backslider who's gone way down so much that you can't sink lower. And if you like that there from there that boy got up and with all that filth and torn clothes and everything else he came back to his father.

He said okay maybe after my dad will at least give me a room in the servants quarters and I'll get a little food there. And he came back and he said father I've sinned against heaven. I'm not worthy to be called your son.

But it says here in verse 20 so he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off his father saw him felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him. I wish we could grasp what Jesus is trying to show us here about God as a father.

What does it indicate when it says the father saw him in a long distance how did he know he was coming back that day. He hadn't gone away for two or three days. He hadn't gone away for two three weeks.

Remember the father was a multi millionaire. And when a multi-millionaire divides half his property with his children with two sons each son gets becomes a multi-millionaire. So it was with many millions of rupees that he went away from home.

And he could not have spent that in two weeks. I don't know how many years he took to spend. How many years would you take to spend millions of rupees. It was many years away from the father. How did his dad know that he was coming back that day.

He never sent any message ahead. It shows me something that all those years his dad would be looking out of the window every now and then is my son coming back. That's how he spotted him one day at a long distance.

That's the first thing you need to see about God that when you go away from him he's looking out to see whether you come back every single day. He sees you going and using all his gifts for yourself. He sees the consequences you're going to face from that.

He sees you sinking to the level of all types of terrible sins. He's still looking for you to come back. That's a father. And if there's anyone here like that today I want you to know God's still looking out for you to come back to him.

And the other thing is do you think this boy this look when he came back looked anything like he was when he went out. Healthy robust young man went out coming back after so many years skin and bones dark and working in the Sun ragged clothes.

He didn't look anything like the young son who left the home. And the father recognized him. I mean I've met people after a few years and I hardly recognize them particularly. They were sick haven't you said sometimes to sick skinny people they hardly recognize you what happened.

But the father recognized him. That's the other thing I see about God that even when we have messed up our life in sin he recognizes us. He said I know who you're supposed to be. You're supposed to be my son.

You're not behaving like that right now. But I want you to come back. I want you to see God like this. Don't let the devil hide from you. What a wonderful father we have in heaven. I thank God that when I hit rock-bottom in my life as a preacher and a backslider 38 years ago I came back to God and he accepted me.

And instead of sending me to hell he filled me with the Holy Spirit. That's the last thing I expected. I'd have been glad just to get forgiven and sit in the servants quarters for the rest of my life.

But he put the ring on my finger. New clothes. The fatted calf. And he's been feeding me with a fatted calf ever since. In all these 37 years life has never been the same. I've been sitting at the father's table.

And if you were to ask me where did you get that revelation. I see I just picked up a dish from the father's table and shared it with you. I didn't cook it. I got something and I shared it with you. I didn't want to eat it all myself.

Somebody else made it brother. It's wonderful sitting at the father's table as such a spread of dishes there and there are new ones coming all the time. He's a wonderful cook. Amazing. Do you know your father.

Like that. He wants to know you. He wants you to know him. Like that the son didn't even have to beg and plead for the ring. He didn't even want the ring. He just wanted some food. God filled me with the spirit when I was least expecting it.

And I didn't deserve it. I know why so many people don't receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It's exactly the same reason why so many people don't get the forgiveness of sins. Listen. They are trying to earn it.

You'll never get it. You can't earn God's gifts. They are trying to pay for it. Like Simon the sorcerer told Peter how much money do you want. We don't say money. We say Lord. How much do I have to pray.

How much do I have to fast. How much do I have to give up before you give me the Holy Spirit. The God says no. You can't get it. It's far too much than you can pay. You keep seeking like that. Like Simon came to Peter in Acts chapter 8.

You know what Peter told him. Your money perish with you. You're not even converted. He says. You think you can buy the gift of God with money. You think you can buy the gift of God with prayer with all night prayer.

You think you can buy the gift of God with days of fasting. Three days of fasting. God has to give it to me. You are no better than Simon the sorcerer. Your money and your prayer and fasting perish with you.

But thinking that you can buy the gifts of God with anything. I did not pay anything for the forgiveness of sins. I did not pay anything for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I did not even pay anything for the ministry God's given me.

It's all been free. It's all been free. I didn't even pay anything for the character I have. It's been free. Dear brothers and sisters when we understand that that the only way you can get anything from God is freely.

You'll get things quickly. But as long as you follow this route that the heathen follow pursue and do this and do that and do that. And earn your salvation. And earn the baptism in the Holy Spirit and earn this.

You'll never get it. What did this son pay for the clothes or the ring or the food or the room he got or whatever else he got in his house. What did he pay for it. He had nothing to pay. He had ruined everything.

That's the first way you need to know God as a father who's way beyond what you think. How much he loves you. He says he embraced him and kissed him with all his dirty face and dirty clothes. He just so happy.

And he not only that it says put the best robe on him. Put sandals on his feet. And it says let's have a celebration. My son is lost and he's been found. Verse 24. And they began to celebrate. And I want you to see the goodness of God's heart in another area.

Mercy Toward the Struggling and Sinful

The older son. Verse 23. He's a picture of the self-righteous Pharisee. There are some people like that too. You know the type of people who you didn't sin so much. Right. You never went to the level of the pigs.

At least you think so you say. Well I never messed up my life like some of these other sinners. I was brought up in a God-fearing home and a God-fearing way. Okay that's good. But I hope you don't end up like the older son.

He never reached the level of the pigs. He never. He didn't become skinny and ugly like the younger son. He remained good-looking healthy. And he never ruined his father's property or money. And that's why.

And how do you know whether you're like the elder son. Do you look down on any believers. Let me ask you honestly. Yeah. I don't answer me. Answer yourself. Do you look down on your wife because she's not as spiritual as you are the elder son.

Do you look down on your husband. He's not so holy as you are. It doesn't read the Bible as much as you doesn't pray as much as you do you look down on some other brothers in this church or maybe some people who messed up their life.

Oh thank God you didn't do that. You're the elder son. I hope you see that I can stand before God today and say I think it's right. And I say it is impossible for me to look down on another believer no matter how much they have messed up their life because I've tasted the goodness of God in my own life.

I remember once seeing someone who was brought up in a very God-fearing way and looking down on some other believer who had messed up their life. And the only thing I felt I could say to that person was I wish you had sinned more in your life.

What a terrible thing to say. I wish you had sinned more in your unconverted days. You would be more compassionate towards this person. Now that's not the way. It's not the right way. Jesus was the most compassionate but he never sinned.

You don't have to sin to be compassionate. You don't have to mess up your life to be compassionate to others who have messed up their life. Why did the sinful adulterous woman feel more free to come to Jesus who was the holiest person on earth than to these Pharisees who were not at all holy.

I mean if you got dirty clothes wouldn't you like to sit around in a room where other people's clothes are also dirty. Would you like to go and sit with the person whose shirt is the cleanest of all. No.

Why did this woman with dirty clothes feel like coming to the one whose clothes were spotless white but not to the other Pharisees who clothes were dirty like hers. There you see compassion. And that's what many Christians lack.

And that's what his elder son was like he was so upset. And he tells his father you know the father says verse 24 this son of mine has come back. But the elder brother says in verse 27 this brother. You know the father says your brother has come in.

This son does he says in verse 30 this son of yours. He doesn't say this brother of mine. He's ashamed to call him a brother. He tells his father this son of yours has come back. I can imagine him pointing his finger like this at his dad saying this son of yours has come back and you celebrate.

He doesn't say this brother of mine. Did he ever volunteer to go and look for his lost brother. No. How much of a compassion do you have to seek out the lost. No. Maybe you seek out those who are culturally your level.

You have Bible studies with people who speak the same language and who are the same level of education and prestige. And there are a lot of Bible study groups like that. I've seen them all over the world.

I never joined them. I'm sick and tired of those groups that don't understand the body of Christ. It's a cultural unity. Unity of people who are the same educational level same salary level. Rubbish. Yeah.

There's some CFC people who meet like that. I'll never join them. I'll never join them in a hundred years because I don't belong to that type of religious clubs who come to pat each other on the back once a week and think they are studying the Bible and pray.

You don't know God. You don't know the father. Think of the type of people Jesus mingled with. That's the first way we need to know the father. And Jesus said once in Matthew chapter 5 verse 48 he said you must be perfect like your heavenly father is perfect.

Have you ever read that verse. You must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. What a word. Now if it had said one day you will be perfect like your heavenly father's perfect. I can understand that.

But this is not a promise. Distinguish between a promise and a command. How many of you can honestly say. You have taken Matthew 5 48 seriously and you have decided to be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.

I'll raise my hand before God and say that because I take every word of God seriously my goal is to be perfect as my heavenly father is perfect. You are to be perfect. I take the words of Jesus seriously.

I try to understand that. Lord father teach me Lord Jesus teach me what did you mean when you said this. How am I supposed to be perfect like my heavenly father. I can't be perfect like him in wisdom.

I can't be perfect like him in power. I can't be perfect like him even in love. I can't even be perfect like him in holiness. How am I supposed to be perfect. And the Lord prompted me to compare scripture with scripture.

There are two places where the Sermon on the Mount is written in scripture. One is in Matthew chapter 5 6 7 and the other is in Luke chapter 6. When you compare the two you learn some wonderful things.

There are things which God is hidden in scripture. But those who are hard-working will search it out and they'll discover some treasures. So I discovered a treasure in Luke chapter 6 where the parallel passage comes.