Fathered by God - Pastor Erik Kutchen

love that you guys are alive and active. Little

known fact, the spirit of God or the word of

God is actually living and active too. So the

fact that you're alive this morning is due to

his word. Amen. But if you don't know me already,

my name is Eric. I'm the Next Steps pastor here

at Lifehouse. Pastor Kip and Dixie are out on

vacation. Don't worry, they'll be returning next

week. So in the meantime, you have me. But I

would like to start off with just giving you

a couple numbers. So it's estimated that the

number of orphans in the U .S. alone is between

2 .1 million and 2 .7 million. That number is

also inclusive of having lost one or both parents.

The number estimated of paternal orphans is 1

.4 million and 1 .8 million. So the vast majority

of that 2 .1 to 2 .7 million is actually when

the father... passes away or they don't have

that father. 1 .4 to 1 .8 million don't have

a father and therefore are orphaned. And that

doesn't even count those having to go into the

foster care system, which at any given point

is about as high as 400 ,000. So think about

that. 1 .8 million children are without a father

figure in their life. 2 .7 million orphans in

total have either one parent or no parents at

all. James actually has something to say, the

Apostle James in the Bible. In James 1 .27, it

says, So in that verse, the word orphan is actually

the Greek word orfanos, which is rendered to

mean fatherless. They have no comfort. They have

no father in their life. It describes not only

those without the loving care of their parents,

but also those who have been abandoned and alone,

including adults. Notice how in the verse, James

talks about caring for orphans. And if we refuse

to do so, then we allow the world to corrupt

them, right? Orphans are vulnerable to corruption

without the voice of a father interceding for

them when they need it. When the father is not

present or guiding his children with his voice,

then statistics show that there is a greater

risk of living in poverty, of them being abused,

for them to drop out of school. They could suffer

from anxiety and depression. They struggle socially.

They're at high risk of being incarcerated. And

this is just evidence of what happens when the

father is not in the picture. But when the father

is present, And being the voice that these children

need, the chances of those all become so low.

It's the exact opposite. And so we all need that

guiding voice in our lives. Orphan or not an

orphan, we need someone to speak into us, into

our hearts. Someone to vocalize who we are called

to be. Someone to vocalize the callings and gifts

on our life. Someone to speak reassuring words

of love and security throughout our life. Speak

peace when things become fearful. Speak hope

when we feel hopeless. Someone to speak Jesus

to us every day of our lives. So who is that

constant and stable voice in our life? Well,

thankfully the Lord calls us His children. Amen?

And we call Him our Father. Right? That's not

just some thing we say. That's a real thing.

We are fathered by him. And Jesus said this right

before he ascended to the right hand of the Father.

He's telling the disciples, he said, I will ask

the Father and he will give you another advocate

who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit

who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive

him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't

recognize him. But you know him because he lives

with you now and later will be in you. No, I

will not abandon you as orphans. I will come

to you. So Jesus, while he was still here, demonstrated

what the Father was like to everybody around

him. Everything that he did was fatherly to those

under his care. And although we don't have Jesus

in the physical form that the disciples had,

we do have the Word of God to father us. The

Lord becomes our Father when we surrender our

lives to Jesus Christ. That is how you enter

into the family of God. And when Jesus isn't

here, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us to

show us what the Father is like, just as it was

with Jesus. So knowing the voice of our Heavenly

Father is the only true way to be fathered by

Him. I'll say that again. Knowing the voice of

our Heavenly Father is the only true way to be

fathered by Him. We're simply fathered. By his

voice. So our passage today is going to be in

John 10. And if you go ahead and flip there.

But up to this point, the people of Israel have

been led by the religious leaders of the day.

And they've been leading this community for a

long time. Their voice was the strongest influence

in the community. But when Jesus comes on the

scene, he's not impressed. And actually upset

by how they have been influencing the culture

of that day. So before we read the passage, let's

pray. Oh, Lord, we just thank you for your word.

We thank you that it is living and active and

sharper than any double -edged sword. Wherever

we are in life, Lord, your word can cut deep

and heal the wounds inside of us. And so, Lord,

I pray that your Holy Spirit would awaken the

spirits of everyone listening today, online or

in the house, Lord, that the word would be alive

in them, that it would awaken something in them

that they've been looking for, the answer, the

healing, the comfort, Lord. Let it be today that

this prayer is answered. In Jesus' name, amen.

So John 10, verse 1, it says this. He calls his

John 10:1

own sheep by name and leads them out. And after

he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead

of them, and they follow him because they know

his voice. They won't follow a stranger. They

will run from him because they don't know his

voice. Those who heard Jesus use this illustration

didn't understand what he meant. So he explained

to them, I tell you the truth, I am the gate

for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves

and robbers, but the true sheep did not listen

to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in

through me will be saved. They will come and

go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's

purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. My purpose

is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I

am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd sacrifices

his life for his sheep. So in this passage, Jesus

describes himself as the good shepherd, right?

And so shepherd here is actually synonymous with

that of a role of the father. Does that make

sense? The father demonstrates care by the way

he loves, cares, guides, and protects, and provides

for his children. And the sheep in this illustration

are those who have entrusted their hearts to

the care of Jesus Christ all the days of their

life. They've wanted a true shepherd. They no

longer wanted to be an orphan sheep, but they've

been longing for that good shepherd, the one

to care for them. And notice how Jesus doesn't

actually say, like, my sheep know me because

I have a staff in my hand, and they see that

staff and they come follow me. I mean, maybe

they're, like, afraid of the staff or something,

but it doesn't even say, like, my sheep know

me based off my smell, and when they smell me,

they come to me. No, it actually says, my sheep

know me because they know my voice. Because they

know my voice. So if we want to be fathered by

God, we must know his voice. We cannot be cared

for. unless we know God's voice. How can we know

his voice? Big question. Well, how do we know

anyone's voice, right? You get to know someone's

voice by interacting with them, right? Before

you guys ever talked, you don't know each other's

voices. But the fact that you exchange words

allows you to know their voice and their heart,

who they are and what they care about. Likewise,

if we do not spend regular time interacting with

God's word, With Jesus, it will be hard for us

to know his voice in our life. So think about

the 12 disciples, right? These 12 disciples were

handpicked by Jesus. There were many other disciples

in the picture, but the 12 were in his circle.

They got to spend time with him every day. They

got to hear Jesus' thoughts. They got to hear

how he cared for the disciples personally. The

disciples got to see. who Jesus cared for. He

saw the broken. He saw the widow. He saw the

lost. He saw the confused. Those who had no idea

who they were, they saw Jesus actually call out

their name, speak exactly what they needed. And

let me tell you something. No one has better

fatherly words than Jesus Christ himself, because

he perfectly expressed the image of the Father.

Amen? When the disciples experienced doubt and

pain, they had Jesus right there to interact

with. They got to know him. Yes, in the good

times, but it was when they felt most like orphans

that they really took his words to heart. And

in that orphan state, healing and care was provided.

They go to him at a very personal level. The

words that Jesus speaks were life -giving, and

that is how they knew his voice. In that broken

state, Jesus was able to give life -giving words,

and that's how the disciples knew, hey, that's

the voice of God I'm listening to right now.

Paul tells us what God had told him in the midst

of his struggle and his brokenness. Paul says,

or this is God speaking to Paul, my grace is

all you need, for my power works best in weakness.

So without the word of God in our lives, we are

orphans. Amen? Make sense? Without the word of

God in our life, we are orphans, because not

interacting with his words means not getting

the powerful words of our Father into our life.

Jesus emphasized this when he said, I am the

bread of life. Eternal life comes to the one

who eats my body and drinks my blood, and I will

raise him up on the last day, for my body is

real food for your spirit, and my blood is real

drink. Now. If someone told you to eat their

flesh and drink their blood, you'd say, you're

a wacko or you're nuts, you need help, right?

You're not going to do that. There's no way you're

going to get convinced to do that, right? And

so that's exactly what the audience that Jesus

is speaking to is thinking, this guy's absolutely

nuts. He just told me to eat his own flesh, drink

his own blood. Are you kidding me right now?

And the next verse, it says, at this point, many

of his disciples turned away and deserted him.

Imagine that, deserting. God himself, deserting

the very words that they need into their life.

But catch this, Jesus turned to the twelve and

asked them, are you also going to leave? Simon

Peter replied, Lord, to whom would we go? You

have the words that gave eternal life. We believe

and we know you are the Holy One of God. While

most could not accept Jesus' words that would

lead them to be fathered by him, The 12 disciples,

specifically Peter, acknowledge that there is

no other one that can care for them like Jesus.

There is no other one that illustrates or expresses

the Father like Jesus does. So if we do not hold

on to the words of God, we don't know eternal

life. How can we live an eternal life, an abundant

life, without the words of our Lord? If we do

not receive his words, we will only experience

orphanhood. So he says, so come and spend time

with me, and I will speak my life -giving words

to you. Jesus was the word of God made flesh.

We may not know him in the physical way the disciples

did, but the words that he speaks are still living

and still active even today. Amen? And it's only

by taking in his word that we know in our hearts

his voice to us. We can know his word for ourselves

by spending time in the word. We can know his

voice by interacting with him in the word. We

may not always understand what we're reading,

but if we treasure them in our hearts, the Lord

is faithful to provide understanding in due time,

just when you need it. Because at first and foremost,

he wants you to seek him. If you're not getting

an answer right away, you're not seeking him,

what are you really seeking? Amen? When he gives

that understanding, he wants to give you understanding.

That's what a good father does. And there are

multitudes of Bible plans out there that we can

do, even on a specific topic, that the father

is more willing to speak into your life, especially

when he knows you have a need, when you have

a need of him. He knows just what you need before

you even know what you need. So he is already

more than willing to provide that need for you.

He wants to be your father. He wants you to be

fathered by him. So as orphans, we need our father's

voice. It's the only way we can truly be cared

for in this life and be led into who he has created

us to be. He has a plan for us. He has a calling

and a destiny for our life. And we simply can't

get there without him. But there is someone out

there that absolutely hates the idea that God

loves us so much. The fact that God has a plan

for us, a calling for us. And that person is

Satan, the enemy of our souls. Whenever there's

a sense of abandonment, the enemy comes quickly.

Perhaps before you even get the chance to seek

God in the matter. Which is why it's important

that we ignore the stranger's voice. So if we

know the voice of our good shepherd. the voice

of Jesus, then anything outside of that voice

is a stranger. What makes it strange is that

it is not the voice that you're used to hearing

regularly, right? It is abnormal for a child

of God to listen to the enemy's voice more than

God's voice. Amen? Jesus said his sheep are so

focused on his voice, so much so that they can't

help but ignore anybody else's. Imagine that.

So many distractions in the world that take us

away from the Father's voice. The disciples did

not get this right either. They were listening

to the stranger's voice. Matter of fact, Jesus

tested them in this in Matthew chapter 16. It

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

says, when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea

Philippi, he asked the disciples saying, who

do men say that I am? So they said, some say

John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah

or one of the other prophets. He said to them,

but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered

and said, you are the Christ, the son of the

living God. Jesus answered and said to him, blessed

are you, Simon Bar -Jonah, for flesh and blood

has not revealed this to you, but my Father who

is in heaven. So Jesus has all of his disciples

gather up together, right? He's testing them

here. Who do people say that I am? Tell me. What

are they saying? Ah, you know, well, the local

newspaper is saying this. And, oh, I just saw

on Facebook the other day that they think you're

like Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Come on.

How many people get their source from the Facebook

sometimes? That's essentially what happened.

They were getting the word on the street. Like,

geez, well, word on the street is that you're

Jeremiah, Elijah. Some say even John the Baptist.

He's a pretty big legend. But, you know, whatever.

And that's when Jesus asked them, because he

got all those opinions out of the way. Jesus

asked them, who do you say that I am? At that

very moment, there was silence. All the ideas

that they had disappeared. Oh, well, who do I

say that he is? Right? When Jesus asked that

question, who do you say I am? It just dismissed

all those opinions the disciples had. Why? Because

all those opinions were not inspired by God's

voice. It was the voice of the world. It was

the stranger's voice. It was secondhand opinion

that was influenced by the culture around them.

It was Peter who remembered in that moment from

the scriptures that he had been reading since

he was a little kid that the scriptures talk

about the Christ, the Messiah who is to come

and restore Israel. And that's when he said,

you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

Jesus says to Peter, this was not revealed to

you by flesh or blood or any human being. No,

it was revealed by my Father who is in heaven.

The stranger's voice is always in opposition

to what God is speaking. And if we listen to

the stranger's voice, it will only take our attention

off of our Father's voice and lead us away from

Him. That's why Paul says in Romans 12, verse

Romans 12:2

2, There are times where we are absorbing a little

bit too much of the world's opinions. There are

times where we listen to other people more than

God himself. And the purpose of our creation

was to... personally hear God's voice to us,

to be truly fathered by him. It's in that moment,

in that orphaned state, where they realized they

had been fathered by lies and not by God himself.

When we listen to the stranger's voice, strange

things happen. Amen? But when we listen to God's

voice, we will experience greater things. Should

be an amen there. Jesus stated in this illustration

that the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and

destroy. But his purpose is to give them a rich

and satisfying life. The enemy does not want

you to pay attention to God's word. Because he

knows if you follow it, if you're fathered by

his word, you will experience a rich and satisfying

life. Whenever we feel orphaned, it is because

we need to be fathered by the right voice. If

you listen to the wrong voice, you're still going

to feel like an orphan, but it's a temporary

fix. The enemy is so jealous of how much God

loves and cares for us that he will do all that

he can get you to do to ignore his voice and

listen to his very own. The enemy wants his voice

to be the new normal in your life. Oh, it's just

normal to listen to the enemy. It's just normal

to listen to that stranger. Well, now the stranger

becomes your father because whatever you choose

to obey is your master. Amen? How many different

voices do we listen to in a given day? Where

are they coming from? TV? Social media? Friends?

Co -workers? Social media? Are they of God? Are

we regularly hearing God and interacting with

His Word so that we can be fathered by Him? And

we all desire to be fathered by Him, but are

we being intentional? and actually hearing from

him. One voice leads to loneliness, abandonment,

and discouragement, while the other leads to

a rich and satisfying life. If it's not of God,

ignore it. Amen? So our response to the voice

of God really matters. But unless we respond

to him, he will not lay his fatherly touch on

us. This is what Jesus meant when he said the

sheep recognize his voice, and what? They come

to him. There's action involved in this father's

voice speaking to them. He calls his own sheep

by name and leads them out. A response to Jesus

equals leading them out of where they were before

and into greener pastures. They are no longer

here, but they are over here because that's what

the good shepherd is calling you. It's being

led out of orphanhood into childhood. Amen. The

psalmist says it like this. My heart has heard

you say, come and talk with me. And my heart

responds, Lord, I am coming. When an orphan hears

the voice of the father, father's invitation

to come and talk with him, our hearts can't help

but respond, Lord, I'm coming. Consider the story

of the prodigal son. When the son says, I want

my inheritance now to his earthly father. I want

it now. I want all the money that's involved

with it so I can go live my own life. So the

prodigal son goes off, spends it all on wild

living, and then comes to this point where he

runs out, and it's actually in complete desperation.

He's starving. There's a famine in the land,

and it says this. He persuaded a local farmer

to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields

to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry

that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked

good to him. but no one gave him anything. When

he finally came to his senses, he said to himself,

At home, even the hired servants have food enough

to spare, and here I am dying of hunger. I will

go home to my father and say, Father, I have

sinned against both heaven and you, and I am

no longer worthy of being called your son. Please,

take me on as a hired servant. So he returned

home to his father, and while he was still a

long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled

with love and compassion, he ran to his son,

embraced him, and kissed him. The prodigal son

was led away by the stranger's voice, one that

encouraged greed and selfish living. That was

his response. Now, the father, his father, did

not yell at him, but he let him make his own

decision in that moment. Once the prodigal son

realized what had led him to where he was, he

said, this is ridiculous. His senses, it says

his senses were awakened. His senses became awakened

by the Spirit of God. And that's when the Spirit

of God says, hey, come and talk with me. I see

that you're going the wrong direction. I see

that you've been led astray. Let me be your father.

Come back home. Come back home. And as the prodigal

drew near to the father, the father was filled

with love and compassion and ran to his son.

embraced him and kissed him. We have the promise

when we draw near to God, he will draw near to

us. Amen? It just takes a response from his children

to actually be embraced and kissed by him. So

Zach and the worship team, if you would come

up. This is the story. Of everyone who has come

to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, he has called

them out, out of their orphanhood, and said,

you are mine. But it's not a one -time thing.

God is always speaking to us. But are we listening?

Are we responding to him? It is only then that

we enter into his loving care. Perhaps you're

afraid to respond. and run into his care because

you messed up. Or thinking he would just be disappointed

in you because you should have came sooner, you

should have done better. But notice the father

in that illustration, the prodigal son, he didn't

say anything to him. He was filled with love

and compassion and embraced him and kissed him.

Maybe you're going through a hard time, feeling

more orphaned than you ever have before. But

we... need to hear from him because that is the

only way that healing and care can be provided

the only healing and care but we must hear what

he's he's speaking to us to respond to him he

is willing to speak to us in our time of need

we need that ever present father in our lives

that speaks to us willingly and unconditionally

amen The stats speak for themselves. Those who

do not have a good father figure in their life

suffer greatly. It is God's heart to care for

them. Jesus came that we may have a rich and

satisfying life, not anything less. Jesus came

and paid everything for us. So are we living

the life that he paid for us for? Does that make

sense? Not anything less than what he actually

paid for. He purchased your ransom. so that you

could have abundant life in this life. And it

takes knowing him. It takes interacting with

him. It takes truly embracing this gift of salvation,

this gift of new life that he's abundantly provided

for us. But he said, it's up to you. It's up

to you to unpack that. It's up to you to see

if you're wanting to get to know me more and

more and more. Not saying, oh, I'm at level three

with this relationship. I'm good now. Right?

Because then that's when we start feeling empty

again. That's when we start feeling like an orphan.

We enjoy this gift of a relationship with Jesus

Christ by when we know that he's calling out

our names. So at this moment, I just ask that

you stand for a moment. We get to know him by

first responding to him. and what he's done for

us we had a broken relationship with god before

before jesus came and when when it was the father's

good pleasure to give jesus christ to us he didn't

have any doubts he said i love them so much and

i love my son very much but this has to happen

because this is the only way that they're going

to have a restored relationship with me he personally

jesus gave us access personally to know the father's

Father's voice, which the Holy Spirit makes known

to us. So with every head bowed and eyes closed,

if you have never heard the Lord calling your

name before, and you hear him saying today, come

and talk with me, I just ask that you raise your

hand. Scripture says that if you call on the

name of the Lord, you will be saved. So this

is our proper response to him. Thank you. Today

we can respond by acknowledging him and what

he's done. This next response, I feel very strongly

because the moment I entered into this gathering,

I felt a lot of brokenness in the pews. I felt

a lot of hurt and pain. So if you feel like you've

been going through it literally this recent season,

you're feeling more orphaned than ever, your

heart is troubled, you feel alone, confused in

life, broken or lost, or overall need the Father's

voice in every part of your life, I'm going to

ask that you be brave in response and come forward

at this time. We're going to have a prayer team

up front here. And so if you need prayer, if

anything I just said resonates with you, and

the Spirit of God is making it real to you and

saying, hey, the Lord's calling my name, I need

to respond. Let that be you today. This is what

families do. Because we're not always being fathered

in the way that we desire to be. We get into

orphanhood sometimes. And what family has siblings

that care for them? Amen? We all are united under

one Father, our Father in heaven. And so feel

free to even pray for anybody that's up here.

Because they're saying, hey, I want to draw near

to God. And you can be a reassuring voice into

their life as well. Amen. Thank you for tuning

in to this message from Lifehouse Church. We

pray that you were impacted powerfully by this

message. If you have been personally affected

by our ministry, and you would like to partner

with us as we love God, love people every day,