The Father-Heart of God

So today I want to build on what we were discussing yesterday

with the with the worship team, and I want to just quickly give

you the title of the sermon this morning.

It is simply Father, I respond to you now.

I know that in this family, I love it.

It's a lounge. In this lounge, God has healed

hearts as the Father heart of God has broken in, has cascaded

into your lives. Today I want to say to you that

all of our worship is essentially this learning how to

see our Father in heaven rightly so that we can respond to Him

correctly. Worship is simply the act of

ascribing value to something. I want you to think of that for

a minute. Worship is simply ascribing

value to something. We live in a day and age where

people are realizing that smashing Macca DS week in and

week out is not good for your body.

Isn't that true? Are you?

Are you with me? OK, you can sneak a McDonald's

burger from time to time, but the reality is this is that very

quickly over the last recent time, people are realizing that

our bodies are precious. And so we've learnt to ascribe

value to our bodies, to stop eating certain things and to

look after our bodies. The reason why I'm giving you

this illustration is every person under the sun understands

worship intrinsically, whether it's your body or as I noticed

the other day, there are a whole lot of mountain bike people here

in Pretoria. Apparently it's an obsession

ascribing value to health because it's important you spend

a whole lot of cash to get a mountain bike and spend your

whole Saturday mountain biking. And what that says is we can

even begin to worship things incorrectly.

The truth is this. As we start off today, worship

is simply learning to value something, to respond to it

correctly. It's the same with God as we

discover Him, as we begin to realize that He's more

beautiful, that we could ever realize that He's more profound

and wonderful than words could ever describe, something happens

inside of us. We realize I've been living in a

certain way. I've been acting in a certain

way. I've been responding in a

certain way. But Jesus deserves more.

But the key to it all is learning to see Him correctly.

This brings me to my specs. I'm becoming a bully.

I'm turning 47 in August. Yeah.

A shame. A shame.

Some naughty guys that stood up front here.

A shame. And my eyes have begun to go.

If I took these off, I'd struggle to see you.

I need to wear the right lenses to see correctly.

Well, some might mistake Melissa for someone else.

That would be unhelpful. That would be unhelpful.

But the truth of the matter is this.

You have come in here today, whether it's your first time or

50th time and life has happened at you and to you.

In my 46 and some change years, life has happened to me and my

life experiences have formed a lens.

And there are many things in my life that I haven't seen

correctly and it's darkened my gaze.

It's real. There's Eugene, it's him, but

he's not that tanned. Oh, there's Eugene, that's who

he really is. Are you following me?

Lenses alter the way that we see things that are real, but they

are not the true representation of them.

And in learning to worship so that we can rightfully respond

to the majesty of who our God is, what God wants to do is come

deal with these things. The first thing that Jesus said

on the mission of transforming Project Planet Earth was repent,

for the Kingdom of God is bearing in upon you.

That word repent is being twisted to mean all sorts of

things. And I don't want to go into

those details, but what Jesus was saying was see, rightly,

because the kingdom's upon you in those days, they had a a

perspective of who Christ was. They had been anticipating him

for centuries. The prophets have been speaking

for so long, the Messiah's coming, the Messiah's coming,

but because of disappointment, because of delay, because of

discouragement, and because of the Romans, life happened at

them. Their lenses became twisted, and

the Messiah that the Scriptures promised, the suffering servant

who would lay down his life for the whole world, past, present

and future, was reduced to a king with a sword who would

destroy the Romans. You see, it happens to the best

of us. Now, just before I move on, this

is really important. I want to leave you with a

little picture as I speak because I want to take you on a

journey briefly in Genesis and then land on Luke 15 and then

we're done, sort of. Zoe, our eldest child, was about

three or four months weeks old. Excuse me.

And it was just so beautiful to see her, a connection with

Melissa. She would smile the moment

Melissa walked into the room because she had attached to mum

and the smell of mum would cause it a smile.

But Dad was on the back burner. Dad didn't have the right goods

to help Zoe, and I have to admit I thought I was quite a secure

cat until I began to realize here's Zoe.

She's my beloved daughter, made in love and joy, and yet she's

not responding to me. But a day came about three or

four weeks, and apparently the clever people tell you that a

child of that age's eyes begin to focus appropriately.

And I'll never forget that moment. 10 Montreal, 100

Chelmsford Rd. all that time ago.

And I bent over Zoe and she saw me and she saw me.

You've got to know what happened to me.

It wasn't. I'm aware that there is this

human being called Dad around. She saw me and it changed our

relationship. It changed her ability to

connect with me in a profound way.

Suddenly it was now Mum and Dad in her life.

I want you to remember that as we speak for the next few

minutes, God wants to change our lenses so that we can see Him

rightly, that we might worship Him in the deepest connection

that we are made for. Hey, it's exciting stuff, this.

When we say worship, many of us think of falling down.

It's true. It's about adoration, but if you

understand the Scriptures and you understand the heart of our

God, he's not looking for a people to kowtow before him and

say, yes, Sir, no, Sir, 3 bags full, Sir.

He has come to draw us into an intimate relationship.

And having said that, the New Testament's overarching theme of

worship is this Greek word that I don't know if I pronounced it

correctly. It's proscuno.

It literally means to come forward, to step forward, to

kiss. Isn't that amazing?

This is the heart of God's plan and purpose for us as as people

worship. But as I have just said that

right now, words are like intimacy.

Words are like coming close and closing the gap.

Hey my buddy, nice to see you again.

Can make some people feel a bit strange because we've got some

perspectives about intimacy. We've got some perspectives

about how to connect with God. Maybe you've come from a

tradition that says it's OK to keep God at arm's length.

Come to church on a Sunday, worship him, you know, as as

passionately as you can. But but gosh, Rory and three CR

crew don't, don't, don't take me any further.

I wonder if the reason for that is, is because of lenses.

Genesis 1-2 and three, are you following me here?

Because it's really important. Genesis 1-2 and three is a

profound beginning to all things here.

ABBA creates the galaxies, he throws out the stars, and he

names them by name. And then the pinnacle of his

creation is when he gets on his knees.

You've got to get this, everybody.

He's been speaking creation, but now he gets on his knees and he

fashions with his own hands in the dust of the earth.

Man think of that. And he forms this body, and he

is yet not a living being. He is a shell to be filled with

the breath of God. And how does God do this?

He gets on his knees and I was a lifesaver from a wee

whippersnapper running around in a Speedo from the age of age of

eight. It was spectacular, spectacular

in my opinion. And they taught us at the

youngest age Surf Life saving Proficiency Award SPA how to do

CPR. In this moment.

It was the kiss of life where God, the creator of the

galaxies, bent over and with his very lips breathed into man.

Now this is where I'm going. Who did Adam see first?

In an instant his eyes opened, and he saw in those eyes

everything. I'm made for you.

I'm made by you. I'm made to connect with you.

And suddenly this relationship is born out of seeing clearly.

Seeing clearly. And he walked in the cool of the

day. And God was even more genius.

And he made woman praise the Lord, and they walked in the

cool of the day. Unfettered relationship between

God, themselves and creation and each other.

It says at the end of Genesis 2 that they were naked.

They were covered in glory. OK, they were naked and

unashamed. The emphasis of the writer there

is this. There was nothing between them,

nothing between God. They saw clearly.

But then Genesis three man alive was a moment of distorted lenses

from seeing God clearly. That's Cabanga came into the

garden, the serpent. I'm at home here.

I'm being myself, thank you. It's all your fault.

The serpent came in the garden. Diabolos, the one who smears

character to separate Diabolos and he asks the question, did

God really say? He cast a question mark on God

and slowly but surely a lens came over their eyes and they

couldn't see him clearly to the extent that before this they

were walking in intimate connection with God.

Suddenly they were afraid of Him.

What is the issue? The issue, friends, is lenses.

He walks into the garden. They hear the sound of the Lord

walking in the garden that they knew so well, and they hid away.

Lenses are powerful. Lenses are real.

Lenses are an issue in Genesis 3.

Lenses are still an issue today. Turn with me, please, to

Genesis. Excuse me, Luke 15.

Thank you. Thanks, Roman.

I don't know how I'm looking with this thing, but it's like

poking in my eye here as I preach.

He did. Yeah.

Turn me to Luke 15. This is a well worn text, and

I'm going to finish here. Are you following me so far?

Because the question I'm sure you're asking yourself already

is. OK.

Rah. How do you deal with these

lenses? Good question.

Look at this Luke 15. You know the story, the parable

of the lost coins, etcetera, and then the parable of the lost

son. Let's read it briefly and then I

want to hone in on something specific.

There was a man who had two sons.

The younger one said to his father, father, give me my share

of the estate. So he divided his property.

I'm sure it's already been torture, but that was an insult

beyond insults. Dad, you're dead to me.

Give me my cash and let's buy. He was a selfish son.

Not long after that, the youngest son got together, the

same boy all he had, and set up for a distant country and there

squandered his wealth in wild living.

Later we know the older brother says he's been sleeping around

and acting no good. After you'd spent everything,

there was a severe famine in that whole country because

things will catch up with you eventually.

And he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out

to a citizen of that country, who sent him to the fields to

feed pigs. You understand the context?

This is getting worse, from bad to worse.

He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were

eating, but no one gave him anything.

The moralists, I just want to say, you know, the religious

goody 2 shoes would say, yeah, he got what he deserved.

When he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's

hired servants have food, food to spare?

And here I am starving to death. He came to his senses.

Remember that I will set out and go back to my father and say to

him, Father, I have sinned against heaven in you.

And again, the moralists and the religiously correct would say,

yeah, exactly. You're getting it right.

But he had something fundamentally wrong.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son and make me so.

Make me like one of your hired servants.

So he got up and went to his father.

Press pause. What you going after here, Ryan?

He was a son who was incredibly selfish, took something in

advance, told his dad, you mean nothing to me.

You're dead. Squandered it in wild living.

Ended up feeding pigs. He became a slave to sin.

He became mangled by life experiences.

He ended up with lenses. He he came to his senses in one

right regard. I've got to sort my stuff out.

Where am I going to go? Where's the only safe place?

My old man's home. My dad's home.

But there was a fundamental problem.

He maybe was coming out of being a slave to sin, but he had the

wrong lens. His twisted lifestyle had

twisted his view of everything. I'm not worthy to be called a

son, but who determines that? And he went back to his father

and he said to his dad, just take me.

An ulcer from the outside in his life experiences was determining

his view of himself. I'm no longer worthy.

I'm a piece of rubbish because I've been living like a piece of

rubbish. And secondly, surely my loving

father, who has always acted graciously to me my entire life,

will treat me like a slave or a servant.

Lenses twist our view of ourselves and we project them

onto our good, good father. But what does God?

Well, we know, we know he's speaking about the father, but

what does the father in the story do?

He doesn't say a word. He doesn't even trade truth

blows with him. He doesn't sit him down and try

to counsel him and say, hey, that's what you went through.

That's what you saying about yourself.

But I just want to tell you this.

What does he do? He turns around.

Let's let's look at it. But while he was a long way off,

that means this daddy was on tippy toes.

He's working, but every moment he's looking, where's my boy?

And he saw him a long way off. And he broke with tradition.

He pulled up his man dress. For a man of those days, you

weren't supposed to bare your skinny, hairy legs.

It was for kids to do that, you know that He pulls up his man

dress and he just began to run. My son is coming.

And the son says what? He says he doesn't trade truth

blows. He turns around and says this

servants, he's talking to his son.

He's having a conversation. But he turns to the servants and

he says, quick, bring the best robe.

Put it on him. Put a ring on his finger,

sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf.

Kill it. Let's have.

Joel, the best robe belonged to him.

The dad this is. I wish we had hours to talk

about this. The ring was a ring of legacy in

the family. He didn't trade truth blows with

him. He embraced him and broke

something over him. The only way I'm done, the only

way we can deal with our lenses, is not to sit in a dark corner

and trade truth of truth. There are two things that I want

to point out to you #1 Philip. I've told you, as you see me,

you see the Father. If you want to trade lenses #1

Jesus is the first lens, the perfect representation of God.

And something begins to change, and he calls us to believe upon

him. But there's a second which is so

exciting. You see, when Dad ran back to

get the sun, as he saw him approaching, it says that he

threw his arms around him and kissed him.

That word kiss means to do what I do with my kids even though

they have deep voices now and pimples.

I kiss and I kiss and I kiss and I kiss pross cuneo.

But he threw his arms around him.

That word is a cool little Greek word called epiphypto.

Epiphypto is used in Acts chapter 10 verse 44, eight verse

Acts 10:44

16 and 11 verse 15, and it's used of God the Holy Spirit

coming upon the church. How do we change our lenses?

One, we believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the

reinterpretation of all things, the perfect representation of

the Father as Rory was saying earlier.

And secondly, he wants us to receive His Spirit.

Let me tell you who the Holy Spirit is.

In John chapter 14, Jesus says himself, I will not leave you as

John 14 · chapter mention

orphans. I will give you another just

like me. I will come to you talking about

Holy Spirit, God the Spirit, friends, is not some idea out

there. Let me tell you who He is.

He is the passionate, fierce, fiery love between the Father in

heaven and His Son on His throne.

And the Spirit is the passionate, fiery love between

the Son and the Father. And this is what He wants to do.

He wants to sandwich us in his love.

Cliff and EMS, I need you. EMS, you gonna be.

You're gonna be the last. No, no.

You know, it'll be a bit awkward.

Come here, Cliff. Man, we haven't.

We haven't figured this out. Yeah.

This is the last Son. Your name is Father God.

Bear with me here. God's not a woman.

The wayward son gets caught up come EMS in the hug

and breaks every chain in his mind.

Thank you. The only way our lenses can be

transformed is to realize, number one, that we have lenses,

two, that they're quite probably twisted and maligned. 3, believe

upon the Lord Jesus, and four, say, Holy Spirit, you've got to

show me what love is because no one else can.

And our response as we close is to throw up my hands and just

say, come epiphypto, fall upon me, fall afresh on me, love me.

Neuroscience is proving this, that we learn through

experience. Today, as we end, I'm done.

We're going to provide an opportunity.

I'm going to jump up and sing a song.

It's really simple. You might know it, you might not

know it. I certainly don't want to

prescribe how. Maybe you want to respond, maybe

you want to sit down, maybe you want to stand up.

Who knows? That's really your decision to

take. But my encouragement is this.

Maybe you've walked in with the lenses today.

Maybe you think that Father God is mad with you because you've

been living away with life. I want you to know something.

Don't let your past distort your lens of who God truly is.

Jesus has revealed, and the Spirit proves that the Father

values you more than you could ever realize.

It's time to have a moment to Epipepta.

Can we do that?