High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR46/ALPHON_2.ZIP/FATHER.R04

Text File | 1992-10-31 | 6KB | 132 lines

                                FATHER AND SON

God always uses natural things, in His creation, to illustrate spiritual
truths.  So also, the human father - son relationship shows us important
aspects of our own relationship with God.

Fatherhood is eternal in God's nature (Isaiah 9:6), and expressed in His
giving us the gift of life,  for it was always God's plan to make us His
children.  This relationship is intensely  personal, just like a natural
father with his little son.  Read Hosea 11:1-9.

"You have received the Spirit of adoption - the Spirit producing sonship - in
the bliss of which we cry, Abba! Father!  The Spirit Himself thus testifies
together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God".
Romans 8:15,1 6 (Amp).  Read 1 John 5:1 ; Galatians 4:5-7.

The Holy Spirit dwells within us as a consequence of our sonship, and is also
the one who makes this sonship real to us.  Through Him God begins to relate
to us as Father in reality, and we are enabled to respond as His child.   His
is a perfect Fatherhood; He acts only to produce in us and for us the highest
good, knowing perfectly what is best for our lives and for His own purpose
for us in His kingdom, and motivated only by love.

THE ROLE OF A FATHER

1.   He provides for and protects his children.

     A father is responsible for providing food (Ezekiel 34:13-15), clothing
     (Isaiah 61:10), and shelter (Psalm 91:1,2,9,10) for his children.  We
     have God's promise that He will do so for us.  The Hebrew word for
     "father" does not imply physical fatherhood so much as protector and
     nurturer.  He is the one who watches over us with great care and
     faithfulness, not missing the smallest detail of all we bring before Him,
     ever ready to supply our needs from His own bountiful riches.

     "If you then, who are 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?" Matthew 7:11 (RSV).  Read Luke 12:22-31.

2.   He disciplines.

     "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.  If he commits iniquity, I
     will chasten him. . but My mercy shall not depart away from him". 2
     Samuel 7:14,15.

     There are times when we will feel God has withdrawn from us, or He will
     speak to us concerning some wrong in our lives.  When we become conscious
     of His discipline we are to come in repentance to Him, allowing Him to
     change us "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18); being fully
     conscious that He disciplines us out of His great love towards us.  Read
     Proverbs 3:11,12; Hebrews 12:5-8.

     The purpose of discipline is:-

     that  we  share  God's  holiness,  and  the  "peaceful  fruit   of
     righteousness."   (Hebrews 12:10,11 ).This depends, as we shall see, on
     the son "accepting it in the right spirit  "  (V.Phillips N.T.)

3.   He trains and guides

     His purpose is to have mature sons, ones He can trust with His authority.
     "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20), and we must truly represent
     Him as He is. He teaches us to walk according to His ways, not our own,
     and guides us so our lives are pleasing to Him.  Read Psalm 32:8,9;
     Isaiah 30:21; Luke 6:40.

     "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
     your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
     perfect will of God." Romans 12:2.

SONSHIP INVOLVES

1.   Obedience and Submission

     The best and wisest father is powerless to influence the life of a
     rebellious son.  Rebellion is the very nature of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-14),
     so our response to God is to be just the - opposite - an instant
     obedience and bending to His will, through which we know the joy of our
     relationship with God.  Read Psalm 40:7,8; Exodus 24:7; Hebrews 5:8,9;
     Luke 22:42.
     "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God," Romans 8:14
     (RSV).

2.   Trust

     "Commit your way to the Lord - roll and repose (each care of) your road
     on Him; trust (lean on, rely on and be confident) also in Him, and He
     will bring it to pass".  Psalm 37:5 (Amp).
     Obedience is made easy as we trust the wisdom and righteousness of our
     loving heavenly Father, just as a little child has no doubts about his
     father's willingness and ability to care for him, and therefore trusts
     him in everything.  Read Jeremiah 17:7,8.

3.   A sharing with Jesus, the first born Son, in inheritance,

     "And since we are His children, we will share His treasures -for all God
     gives to His Son Jesus is now ours too." Romans 8:17 (LB)
     We do not have to wait till we get to heaven to enjoy our inheritance -
     as God gave to Jesus all He needed in His life on earth, so we too can
     know peace, victory, joy, power now - all that we need to live as He did.

     ... and authority

     "And He. . gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure
     diseases, and He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal".
     Luke 9:1,2.  Read John 20:21 Mark 16:15-20; Luke 10:19.
     God has given to us His authority in Christ, to use over all the power of
     the enemy every demon, illness, fear, or darkness of any kind.

THE NATURE of SONS of GOD

A son usually inherits the nature of his father, so, as Christ dwells within
us, the Holy Spirit reproduces His fruit in us so that our lives shine forth
the very nature of God.

Righteousness
"No one born of God commits sin; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot
sin because he is born of God".  I John 3:9 (RSV).  Read I John 5:18; 2:29; 2
Corinthians 6:17,18.

Victory

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that
overcomes the world, our faith." 1 John 5:4. (RSV)

Love
let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God
and 1 John 4:7 (RSV).

THE END