Our Amazing Heavenly Father - Ray Price

• 06/09/2018
• SLC Stuart Price

 

 

 

    Last Sunday being Father’s Day, we wanted to honour the Fathers in our

    church family, and say ‘thank you’ for all that you are to us! At the root

    of it, without our earthly fathers we wouldn’t be here and in that fact

    alone, we have much to be grateful for.

 

    It was also ‘mission and family Sunday’ … Kids church Ps David gathered the

    young children at the alter and told Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Son and

    received the offering for the Zambian mission -TTN.

 

    Our awesome heavenly Father tops our list of who deserves most honour!

 

    In considering the father’s heart in the parable, Jesus is revealing an

    example of Father God and how fervent is His love.

 

    “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how

    much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who

    ask Him!” Matt7:11

 

    Never stop praising and appreciating Him for who He is and the amazing

    privilege it is to call Him, Abba Father! We honour Him when we willingly

    follow His Spirit’s leading in daily life Ps23 and when we are “imitators

    of God as dear children” Eph5:1. God wants you to understand how much He

    loves you and invites you today to live in that love and trust in Him

    today; becoming mature sons of the Kingdom…read again Matt 6 following His

    new and living way.

 

    “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens

    the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev3:20

 

    “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts

    of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Jer29:11

 

    In God’s eyes, “relationships” are the most valuable thing and worth

    everything to save. Jesus is proof of that. God’s mission is, family.

    Consider the value you give to those you are in relationship with. Selah.

 

    Story: Two neighbours’ plant identical sapling trees either side of their

    adjoining fence. One man a young techie, the other a retired gent. The

    young man heaped on water and quality fertilizers in the trees life which

    caused the tree to grow lavishly well. The retired man gave it just enough

    water and manure to keep it alive and it looked just like a normal

    specimen. One year a great storm with strong winds came to the area and

    come morning both men came out to see the fate of their trees. Shockingly

    the techie’s tree was uprooted and fell right across the street, dead. But

    the retiree’s tree looks undamaged in any way. Why, why, why?” the techie

    sadly asked. The neighbour replied “ because you gave your tree what it

    needed, in abundance, so it had no need to seek it for itself; but I

    encouraged my tree to seek nourishment for itself by only supplying it just

    a little of what it wanted, thereby causing its roots to go deep to live

    which anchored it for the long term.”

 

    Father God; is my Great Shepherd, who knows our future and what we need to

    grow strong in His ways to enable us to be able to stand strong against

    whatever may come in our tomorrows. God has not left as us orphans, but has

    given us “His Spirit of Truth to guide and teach us all things” Jn14:26,

    16:13, taking what is Jesus’ and declaring it to us Jn16:15, telling us

    things to come Jn16:13.

 

    Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and feed him

    for a lifetime.

 

    What do “you see” as great value in your personal life? You will know it by

    your resources invested in it.

 

    Meditate on the love of the father in Jesus parable in relation to

    ourselves. Neither of the sons in the parable understood this love and

    therefore missed on the joys of understand son-ship, living with servant

    -thinking. The Father didn’t try to stop or overly shield the sons from

    storms of life, allowing them to have free-will. But the Father; ever

    hopeful and full of grace, beckons us onward to follow His lead to greener

    pastures, faithfully by our sides in life’s journey. It’s a daily practice

    but absolutely learnable.

 

    Determine today to be more aware of the Holy Spirits leading than our own

    desires: God-centred and not self-centred. Free yourself and live in the

    “NOW”…it’s where God lives…handing your life completely over to His hands.

    Move over to the passenger seat and let the Holy Spirit drive…there is no

    better driver!

 

    Have a great week

 

    Ray Price