Guest Pastor - Alex Feliciano

I'm so happy to be amongst you guys again, my brothers and

sisters. I'm encouraged by the things I'm

seeing. You know, of people getting

married. That's, that's a, that's a

blessing. I'm saddened because I, I didn't

get to hear my brother seen the doxology today.

It's always a blessing to hear him sing.

But I know that they're doing some things.

So I'm encouraged some new things that have gone on since

the last time you guys have seen me.

I know some of you are aware, but since I've been here last,

I've been elected or selected as the one of the elders or lay

pastors in my congregation. So yeah.

So I ask for your prayers in that regard.

I also ask that you pray for Miriam, as she's now responsible

for the children in our church. So everybody's working.

So I ask that you guys continue to pray for us.

So today, you know, everybody knows it's Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in the room.

Thank you for. Being here and I'm so happy to

see you, haven't seen you in a while, so I'm encouraged to see

you and the baby. It's a blessing.

But let's pray before we get into the word.

So it is a Father's Day sermon, but we'll flesh it out a little

bit. So let us lead in prayer.

Father God, we give you thanks, Lord, for today.

Lord, we thank you for this opportunity that you've allowed

us to come here and fellowship. Lord, I ask that you continue to

bless us and strengthen us and that you give me your words

today. Lord, let it.

Let me be filled with your spirit, Lord, and give the word

as you have given it to me, to this congregation, Lord.

Let it be planted in our minds and in our hearts Lord, that we

may go forward. Lord, I pray for John, Michael

and those that are for traveling mercies as they return back from

their men's conference. I ask that you just bless them,

strengthen them, guide them and be with them as they return.

Lord, I pray over from our local congregation as well over an HRF

Hampton Roads fellowship. I pray for Pastor Mattis, he's

giving the sermon today, Lord, and that you just bless him and

that our church be blessed as well.

Lord, we ask you all this, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

So the title of our sermon today is Living as Faithful Children

of our Heavenly Father. So our main point is going to be

because God has adopted us as His children Through Christ, we

are called to live as faithful sons and daughters who reflect

the character of our Heavenly Father.

So as you guys know, today is Father's Day.

For many, it is a day of joy, gratitude, and celebration.

For others, it can be difficult. Some had wonderful fathers who

modeled godliness. Others experience absent

fathers, harsh fathers, or fathers who simply fell short.

The good news of the gospel is that every earthly father, even

the best of them, is only a shadow of the perfect Father.

So even myself, I'm just a shadow of the perfect Father.

The greatest privilege of the Christian life is not merely

that our sins are forgiven, though they they are.

It is not merely that heaven awaits us, though it does.

The greatest privilege is that God becomes our Father.

And we become his children. Amen Today, rather than focusing

primarily on earthly fathers, let's consider what it means to

be faithful children of our heavenly Father.

So .1 A good child knows the father's love.

First to John chapter 3 verse one says, see how great a love

John 3 · chapter mention

the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called.

Children of God and such we are. But before we discuss what we do

as children of God, we must understand who we are.

Christianity does not begin with our performance.

It begins with God's love, right?

His sacrifice is the beginning of where we are as Christians.

Notice John's amazement. See how great a love John never

got over the wonder that God would adopt sinners into his

family. And let us never forget that

also we are adopted into his family.

We were not naturally God's children.

In fact, Scripture says we were rebels, enemies, lost, dead in

our sins. Yet through Christ God adopts

us. Adoption in the Roman world was

permanent and legally binding. The adopted child received all

the rights and privileges of a natural born child.

So we as Christians being adopted into the family, in part

get those same rights as children as God.

That is what God has done for us.

David sinned grievously, yet he never doubted God's covenant

love. Psalm chapter 23 verse 6 says

Psalms 23:6

surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the

days of my life. Psalm 51 one says, be gracious

to me, O God, according to your loving kindness.

So David understood what God's love looked like.

Even though he understood that he was a.

Fault a flawed man that he failed.

After his sin with Bathsheba, David did not run from God

permanently. He ran back to God because he

knew the Father's mercy. David's confidence was not in

his own righteousness, but in God's steadfast love.

A good child knows he can return home because the Father's love

is greater than his failures. Let us not be deceived by the

world that says we are too sinful to run to God.

Let us not be confused as we as children, even though we fall

short, we can always fall to the feet of our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ. A good child rests in the

Father's love. Many Christians live as though

they must continually earn God's affection.

And that's so sad of me, because you'll never get there.

They obey from fear rather than love.

But a healthy relationship with the Father begins with

confidence in his love. You do not obey so that God will

love you. You obey because He already

does. For I'm not.

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

rulers, nor things presents, nor things to come, nor powers, nor

height, nor death, nor anything else in all.

Creation will be able to. Separate us from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord. And last I checked, we are all

creation, so not even we ourselves can separate us from

the love of God. Point #2A good child trusts the

Father's wisdom. Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5

Proverbs 3:5–6

through 6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not

lean on your own understanding. In all your ways.

Acknowledge Him and He will make straight your past.

Proverbs 3/5 through 61 mark of maturity in children is learning

to trust their parents. Children often do not understand

the reasons behind a parent's decisions.

Likewise, there are many times where we do not understand God's

ways. Why suffering?

Why am I suffering? Why do the people around me

suffer? Why delays?

I'm praying so hard for this so fervently, and why is my prayer

not answered yet? Why those unanswered prayers?

Every Christian struggles with these things.

That's we're not. We don't float on air, we don't

walk through walls, right? Why close doors?

Why not this? Why not that?

Yet God's children learn to trust him.

Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 8 says by faith, Abraham, when he was

Hebrews 11:8

called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive

for an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was

going. Abraham didn't have a map, he

didn't know the destination. He trusted the wisdom of the one

leading him. God promised the Son, but

Abraham waited decades for that promise to be fulfilled.

His wife laughed when she heard the Angel of God saying that she

was going to have a child. She laughed.

Human wisdom would have said that is impossible.

Yet Abraham believed God what and what he was doing, and it

was counted to him as his righteousness, his faith.

So when we get into those situations where we can't see

God, where we don't understand why we're suffering, we can't

understand why we are going through these trials, we have to

trust that God is going to take care of us as his children.

We have to believe in the promises that He's given us.

We have to believe that he's going to do what he said he was

going to do. A small child in a doctor's

office may cry during a vaccination.

The child believes the parent is allowing something harmful.

The parent understands what the child cannot in the same way God

sees what we cannot. His perspective is eternal.

His wisdom is perfect. I think about all the ways that

God has liberated me from things that have happened in the past

and that the foreshadowing that he had, I'm so thankful that He

has led me to where He has now, because if I would have just

stayed in those positions, who knows what it would have

happened. I gave a sermon not too long ago

and what in one of the sermons I spoke about my cousin Alex,

who's actually he was the same age as me.

We grew up together. He's actually named after the

same person as me, my dad, and we grew up together.

But Alex went a different path in life than I did.

Alex got addicted to drugs. Alex was a gang member.

Alex wound up in prison and unfortunately, Alex lost his

life pretty early a few years ago.

But I say to I start to marry him the other day I was like,

you know, I don't know that my life would have turned out any

different than his if I didn't have the Lord and praise God for

that. If I didn't have a father who

guided me in my life, if I didn't have parents that were

faithful to Christ, I don't know that my life would have been any

different. We grew up in the same place.

We had the same grandparents. We were raised this practically

the same other than my my father made sure we were in church and

I'm so thankful that I've been able to trust in God and he has

led me in my life and we as children of God need to be led

by Him. Faith is trusting God's heart

when you cannot trace his hand. A faithful child says, father, I

don't understand, but I trust you number .3.

A good child obeys the Father's commands.

John chapter 14 verse 15 says if you love me you will keep my

John 14:15

commandments. Jesus does not say if you love

me you will feel affection for me.

He says if you love me, you will obey me.

Love for God is demonstrated, not merely declared.

Obedience is the is the visible fruit of an invisible love.

We must be careful here. Obedience is illegalism.

Legalism seeks to earn God's favor through performance.

The gospel tells us that in Christ we already have the

Father's favor. We obey not for acceptance, but

from acceptance. We obey because we are love

children, not because we are trying to become love children.

Throughout Scripture, God's children are identified by their

obedience, their faithfulness. Obedience is not what makes us

God's children, but it's evidence that we belong to Him.

The mark of a true believer is not perfect obedience.

None of us obey perfectly this side of glory.

The mark of a true believer is genuine obedience.

A heart that desires to follow God, grieves over sin, repents

when it falls, and continually seeks to walk in the Father's

ways. The child of God asks different

question than the world asks. We ask, what pleases my Father?

How can I honor him? How can I glorify Him?

What would bring Him joy? How can I reflect His character

in my home, in my workplace, and in church?

As we were returing Christ, obedience becomes less about

rules and more about relationship.

We obey because we know and love the One who gave the commands.

Amen. We as children of God seek to

obey Him because we love Him. Our hearts desires to please

Him. One of the main tenants of the

of the Solas is what solely day of Gloria.

To God alone be the glory characteristics of obedient

children. They obey even when no one is

watching. The obedient child understands

that the Father's eyes are always upon him.

He does not merely perform righteous righteousness before

others. He seeks integrity before God.

Character is who you are when no one else is looking.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that they

may see your good deeds and glorified God on the day of

visitation. First to Peter chapter 2 verse

12. Obedient children.

They obey even when it's difficult.

Anyone can obey when. Obedience is convenient.

The true test is when obedience requires sacrifice, discomfort,

or perseverance. Do we turn and run when it

becomes difficult, or do we continue forward?

Faithfulness is often revealed in hard moments.

The Scriptures are full of godly men who obeyed God.

Last I checked, none of them were professional writers, yet

they were obedient to God, received the God breathed

Scriptures, and wrote as they were instructed.

And as he said earlier, 66 books of the Bible right that were

written God breathed into these men of God.

Not a single one of them is credited as an author, but they

still wrote the books of the Scriptures.

Fishermen, a tax collector, a tent maker, shepherds and a fig

farmer, Kings, a doctor, Educated and uneducated, yet

they were obedient to their father and lived in faith.

I'm tired of hearing Christians saying they can't.

I can't. What do you mean you can't?

You don't trust in God when you say things like that.

You're saying that you don't believe and you don't trust in

an all powerful God. We're taking power from God and

we're trying to give it to ourselves.

We're trying to say we know ourselves better than God knows

us when we talk like that. A fig farmer wrote a scripture,

wrote something that we still preach and teach today more than

2000 years ago. There are no excuses when it

comes to working for the things of God.

Men of God, women of God, let's go forward and what God has

called us to do. And sometimes it could be

inconvenient, sometimes it could be tough, sometimes we don't

know how we're going to get there.

But we have to trust in our God that He's going to take us as

obedient children and take us across that finish line.

Obedient children obey even when it costs something.

Obedience may cost us popularity, comfort,

opportunities, or worldly success, potentially even our

freedoms or even our life. Yet God's children understand

that pleasing their Father is worth more than anything this

world can offer. Jesus modeled this perfectly.

He never rebelled against his Father.

He never pursued his own will above the Father's will, even if

even in Gethsemane, facing the agony of the cost, Jesus prayed

not my will, but yours be done. Are we praying that in our own

lives, Brothers and sisters, when we're getting down to pray

to God? Are we saying not my will, but

yours? Father, can I be how you want me

to be LED? Philippians chapter 2 tells us

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

that he became obedient to the point of death, even death on a

cross. Where Adam failed as his son,

Christ succeeded. Where Israel failed as God's

people, Christ succeeded. The perfect son obeyed perfectly

so that disobedient sons and daughters could be adopted into

God's family. He obeyed perfectly so that we

can be made righteous in his sight.

Praise God. The question for the Christian

is not what can I get, get away with and still be a Christian?

And if you're thinking like that, I pray that you change

your ways. The question is, what would

delight my father? Every single action, every time

you wake up, everything you should do should be praying in

your mind. Does this delight my Father?

Do these actions delight my father?

And if not, why am I seeking something that doesn't delight

my father? The question is not how close

can I get to sin, but how close can I walk with my Savior?

How close can I walk with Jesus? How do I get closer to Christ?

A good child does not obey out of fear of rejection.

A good child obeys because he loves his Father.

And when he stumbles, he runs back to the Father, knowing that

his standing rests not of his obedience, but on the perfect

obedience of Christ. Yet because he loves his Father,

his deepest desire is to hear these words.

We want to all hear these words. Well done, good and faithful

servant. Amen.

Point #4 I know we all got things we got to do, so I'm

trying not to be too. A good child reflects the

Father's character. Ephesians chapter 5 verses one

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

through 2 talks about be imitators of God as beloved

children. Children often resemble their

parents sometimes in appearance. People tell me Carol looks a lot

like me and I'm like no, she's too pretty to be to look like

me. Sometimes in speech, sometimes

in habits, I look at a Laura and I don't see a lot of resemblance

in me or Miriam, you know, she looks a lot more like my dad's

side of the family. But she does things and she acts

her in ways that I'm like, man, that's Miriam all day.

Especially when she's yelling, right?

I'm just kidding. Spiritually, God's children

should increasingly resemble their father.

The world should see something of God's character in US.

The way we speak, the way we love, the way we interact with

others should testify that we are children of God.

The fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives, not

perfectly, for only Christ is perfect, but there should be a

visible reflection of his light within us.

The gospel is not only something we proclaim with our lips, and

it's something that should be displayed through our lives.

The gospel should reflect out of us wherever we are and whatever

we do. As we are transformed by Christ,

the world should be able to see His grace, truth and love

shining through us. Because why we reflect his love.

Jesus said love your enemies. Why?

Because that is what our Father does.

For one will hardly die for a righteous person, though perhaps

for the good person someone would dare even to die.

But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we

were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Praise God that while we were still sinners, enemies of God,

He died for us when we didn't deserve it.

Therefore, how do we reflect that love to our enemies?

We were in enmity with God, yet He still died on the cross for

us to save us, to bring us in communion with Him.

How do we treat those around those around us that we consider

our enemies? Do we treat them with love, that

same grace that God has shown us?

And if not, why not? Therefore, love your brothers

and sisters in Christ and do the most loving thing you can do for

unbelievers. Share the gospel of our living

God as we have been commanded to.

We also reflect His mercy. God has shown us mercy, but God

being rich in mercy because because of His great love, which

He loved us even when we were dead in our transgressions, made

us alive together with Christ. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4:00

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and 5:00. So we extend mercy to others.

When we don't, it's because we're coming from a position of

pride. We're saying that we know better

than God. Again, we're putting ourselves

above God. When we don't show mercy to

others, we're saying that we are better than that person and we

are better than God. So let's stop and start to begin

that same love, love and mercy that God has shown to us into

others. The truest evidence that we are

children of our heavenly Father is not merely that what we know,

but who we are, we are becoming. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, a

Christian spirit is a loving spirit.

God's children's bear the family resemblance when they love as

their Father loves. So if you're not loving as the

Father has loved you, pray that he begins to change you.

We reflect His Holiness. God is holy.

Holiness is not merely one of His attributes, it is central to

His very nature. Scripture declares holy, holy,

holy is the Lord of hosts. Isaiah chapter 6 verse 3.

Isaiah 6:3

He is perfectly pure, completely righteous, and utterly set apart

from all sin and corruption. There is no darkness in Him at

all. As His children we are called to

reflect the character of our Father.

This is why Peter writes, be like the holy One who called

you. Be holy yourselves also in all

your behavior. First of Peter chapter one,

verse 15. God's children pursue holiness

because they belong to a holy God.

The pursuit is not an attempt to earn God's love or secure our

salvation. Rather, it is the natural

response of a heart that has been transformed by grace.

So naturally you seek holiness because you've been changed.

You are no longer in enmity with God.

You want to get closer to God and he, he starts to bring you

in through this this sanctification process as you

begin to become more holy. Holiness touches every area of

life. It shapes our thoughts, our

words, our relationships, our entertainment, our finances, our

work ethic, and our private lives.

Everything should magnify and glory God.

While we will not reach sinless perfection in this life, there

should be a growing pattern of transformation.

The Spirit of God works within us to make us more like Christ.

True believers stumble. We repent and continue pursuing

righteousness because the desire for holiness has been planted

within them by God Himself. Let's not get stuck in our rut.

Let's not get stuck in our failures.

Let's not get stuck on the things that we've done in the

past or the mistakes that we've made.

Let's move forward and seek to grow in our holiness to God.

The world should be able to see a difference in God's children.

Not a self-righteous or judgmental spirit, but a

distinct life marked by purity, integrity, humility and

obedience. As we grow in holiness, we

display something of our Father's character to a watching

world and bring glory to the one who adopted us as his own.

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in

all your behavior, because it is written you should, you shall be

holy, for I am holy first to Peter, chapter one, verse 15

through 16. We reflect His forgiveness.

God forgave us at an infinite cost, therefore we forgive

others. Sin is cosmic rebellion, and we

know that because the Scripture tells us it even affected the

ground. That's how a travesty sin is.

It's against God, but He forgave us at an infinite cost because

He shed His perfect blood on the cross of Calvary for us.

So we need to reflect that same forgiveness to those outside as

well. Be kind to one another, tender

hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also

forgiving you. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32.

Ephesians 4:32

We forgive because He has forgiven us in abundance.

To hold on to animosity, strife, anger is to say that our God

isn't who He says He is, that He's not capable of doing

something. It's to say that we know better

than God. It's once again to put our pride

about what God has called us to do.

His forgiveness of us should humble us to the point of so

much forgiveness for others that we would be astonished at the

amount of relationships that would be mended if we actually

lived out how God has forgiven us.

Imagine the amount of relationships that would be

mended in the world. Imagine how full the churches

would be if us as Christians love those outside the way he

has loved us. Imagine the relationships within

the church that would be mended, those people who have church

heard, those people who have issues with all these things

that are going on that they've been cast out of a church.

Imagine if we forgave those and lived in harmony and peace and

we extended a a sense of humility and leaned on the Holy

Spirit in order to forgive those people.

Imagine what what would look like in these churches if

someone watched your life for a week.

Would they see a family resemblance to your Heavenly

Father? If not, let's get in prayer.

There's no time for excuses. There's no time to feel bad for

about it. Let's get in prayer.

Let's get in prayer and fasting and say I need to reflect you.

My brother has a shirt that says Jesus is king.

And if we are the Princess and princesses of our king, are we

reflecting that in our daily lives?

If not, why #5-A good child loves his brothers and sisters.

First to John chapter 4, verse 20 to 21 is one of the clearest

John 4:20–21

evidences of being God's child is loving God's family.

We cannot claim to love the Father while hating his

children. And I'm going to let that sit

for a little bit. We cannot claim to love the

Father while hating his children.

The church is not merely an organization.

It's not merely these four walls.

It's not merely merely this congregation.

It is a family. Every believer is brother,

sister, fellow heir. This means bearing one another's

burdens, encouraging one another, forgiving one another,

and most of all, serving one another.

The world should see a supernatural love amongst

Christians. Much of the world's skepticism

towards Christianity stems not only from what we believe, but

from the way we treat one another.

Jesus said that the world we would know we are his disciples

by our love for one another. John chapter 13, verse 35.

John 13:35

So how are we doing that? This does not mean that we will

always agree or that we will handle every relationship

perfectly. In fact, Scripture assumes the

opposite. The Bible commands us to rebuke,

reprove, exhort, forgive, and confess our sins to one another.

Genuine Christian love is not the absence of correction.

It is the willingness to lovingly speak the truth for the

good of another. And it's also the understanding

that your brothers and sisters will correct you and exhort you

and rebuke you. And you should be open to that

correction, exhorting and rebuke.

So there's a give and take there.

I should be able to say, brother, blah, blah, blah, this

is going on. I need you to step it up, man.

And you should be able to be like, he's right.

At the same time, when you come back to me, like, brother, I

need you to grow 6 inches. And I'm like, well, I can't.

There still should be some loving relationship there that

we can exhort, rebuke and reprove one another.

And often times what you see is this wall of defense.

As soon as anybody comes to tell you anything, you put up this

wall. I praise God for the brothers

and sisters that pour into me. I praise God for my wife who

corrects me and says, Alex, I praise God for my daughter, my

oldest daughter who says, Daddy, you were that was you did too

much. And you know, she's my daughter.

And I know often times guys will say, what do you know, you're a

child? But then I have to sit back and

think, is she right? And praise God for her, for her,

you know, discernment that she can say you went a little too

far, you said a little too much. And so praise God for that.

Yet there's a common misconception that questioning

or correcting A fellow believer is unloving.

Scripture teaches the opposite. We're done with humility, grace,

and a desire for restoration. Correction is one of the

clearest expressions of biblical love.

It would be unloving to see a brother or sister wandering into

sin and saying nothing. God has not left us to navigate

these relationships on our own. He has given us the Holy Spirit,

the Comforter, and the Helper to guide us in truth, shape us into

the likeness of Christ, and teach us how to love one another

faithfully. As we submitted to His leading,

our relationship should increasingly reflect reflect the

supernatural love that Christ has shown us, the love that was

shown to us between the Father and the Son.

The ultimate example. The quality of our relationship

often reveals the reality of our relationship with the Father.

So if we're having tumultuous relationships with everyone,

that might be a reflection of where you stand with the Father.

If you're loving on people and you're forgiving of people, they

will see that reflection from, they know that this is coming

from how God has changed your life.

Number six, a good child welcomes the Father's

discipline. This might be the hardest one.

Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5 through 11 states this.

Hebrews 12:5–11

This may be the most difficult mark of of spiritual maturity.

Nobody enjoys discipline. Yes, Scripture teaches that

discipline is evidence of sonship.

For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.

God disciplines because he loves, not because he delights

in punishment, not because he is angry with his children, but

because he desires our holiness. One of the greatest privileges

of being a child of God is understanding the difference

between punishment and discipline.

For those who are outside of Christ.

Punishment is the just judgment of God against sin.

God's wrath against sin is real, holy, and righteous.

But for those who belong to Christ, something remarkable has

happened. The punishment we deserved has

already been carried by another Jesus Christ that that

punishment for us on the cross of Calvary.

He shed his perfect blood for us at the cross.

Jesus stood in our place. He bore the wrath of God that

our sins deserved. He drank the cup of judgement so

that His children would never have to praise God.

Romans 81 declares there is now no fault.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus. Because Christ absorbed God's

wrath, believers never experienced God's correction as

condemnation. God is not paying us back for

our sins. Christ has already paid the debt

in full. Instead, what we are

experiencing is His loving discipline.

Hebrews 12 teaches that God discipline every son whom he

receives. Discipline is not the act of an

angry God, it is an act of a loving Father.

Punishment seeks justice for wrongdoing.

Discipline seeks growth, maturity, and restoration.

Punishment says you must pay for what you have done.

Discipline says I love you too much to.

Leave you where you are. Punishment is retributive.

Discipline is corrective. Punishment flows from judgment.

Discipline flows from love. Thank God for God's discipline.

When God convicts us of sin, closes the door, allows a trial,

or lovingly exposes an area of weakness in our lives, He is not

rejecting us. He is shaping us.

He is conforming us into the image of His Son.

A Father who never disciplined his children does not truly love

them. Likewise, our heavenly Father

loves his children enough to correct them when they wander

and praise God for that. In fact, Hebrew says that God's

discipline is evidence of our sonship.

His correction is not proof that he has abandoned us, It is proof

that he has claimed us. He disciplines us because he

loves us and He wants us to go on the right path, not because

he wants us to be punished. Like there's some people who

would say, when God corrects you, do not run from him, run

towards him. Do not hide in shame.

Do not believe the lie that he has cast you away.

Instead, remember the gospel, remember the good news.

The Father who disciplines you is the same Father who adopted

you. That is the good news, brothers

and sisters. The Father who corrects you is

the same Father who sent his Son to die for you.

The Father who exposes your sin is the same Father who promises

to forgive and restore you. His discipline may be painful

for a moment, but is always motivated by love and aim at

your good. The scars in Christ's hands

remind us that our punishment has already been born.

Therefore, every act of correction from our heavenly

Father comes not from wrath, but from love.

The Father's discipline is not evidence that he has stopped

loving you. It is evidence that He never

will. So as you become stronger in

your faith, as you get into the the Scriptures and as you learn

and as you walk and you feel that tug and you feel that pull

and you feel that correction, don't run from it, run towards

it. Our next point.

A good child honors the Father above everything else.

Matthew chapter 22 verse 37, you shall love the Lord your God

Matthew 22:37

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your

mind. And I know that we do a great

job on the 1st 2, right? Loving God with our heart and

our soul. It's that last part that becomes

a little difficult. Loving God with our mind.

What does that look like? That looks like.

Purposefully giving time to the things of God.

That means studying, reading, learning constantly in your

scriptures. When Jesus asked to identify the

greatest commandment, he did not point to a particular religious

activity. He pointed to a relationship of

wholehearted love and devotion to God.

And that's in every aspect of your life.

A good child loves his Father above everything else.

This does not mean that he loves his family less, cares less

about his work, or neglects his responsibilities.

Rather, it means every other love is rightly ordered beneath

his love for God. Men and women of God, you

reflect God in everything that you do.

If you say that you love God and you're a Christian and you go to

work and you give half your energy towards it, you are not

reflecting God. If you enter into your marriages

and you're giving a halfway try, you are not reflecting the love

of God. We love God wholeheartedly.

That doesn't mean that we do other things less and those of

you that are in leadership in the things of God, that doesn't

mean that you give 1,000,000% to the church and you don't take

care of your families. You don't take care of your

wives, you don't take care of your children.

That is not what God has called us to do.

And I know that's difficult and I've, I've seen it and I've been

there. Do not neglect your families for

the ministry because ultimately that is your first ministry.

And anybody who tells you otherwise is lying because I've

had people tell me that too, that our ministry is not our

family. So don't let them lie to you.

I'm so thankful because one of the things that we do as elders

when we get together in our church, as we have an

accountability questionnaire. And one of those questions is

have you been neglecting your family?

So we keep each other accountable because the last

thing I want to do is neglect my my children and my wife.

You know, we've started doing a family devotional on Fridays and

we're trying to adhere to that as much as possible.

As difficult it has become, as difficult as it is, it is to

find time to do that. It's important that we spend

time together in the word as a family.

And you guys who are young families, if you can learn from

my mistakes early on, get in the word now with your children,

with your wives, Spend time together in the Word of God.

The the Father's honor becomes the controlling priority of his

life. The questions that governs the

Christian life is not what do I want, but what would bring glory

to my Father. That's the theme throughout what

brings glory to my Father. This was the heartbeats of Jesus

earthly ministry. Again and again, Jesus spoke of

doing the Father's will, seeking the Father's glory, and

accomplishing the Father's work. The perfect Son lived every

moment with his Father's honor and view.

As God's children, we are called to do the same.

The Father's honor shapes every area of our life, including our

work. We do not merely work for a

paycheck, a promotion, or the approval of others.

We work as servants of Christ, whether we are managing people,

cleaning floors, raising children, serving customers, or

leading a company. We do our work with integrity

because we represent our Father. Whatever you do, do your work

heartily As for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from

the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance.

It is the Lord Christ whom you serve Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3:23–24

verse 23 to 24, when people at work ask me, you must love this

job. I'm like, no, I do not.

I can't wait to get out of here. 3:00 cannot come fast enough.

And they're like, but why are you so passionate about doing a

good job? My response is because I'm a

Christian, no other reason, because I'm a Christian and they

go explain God has called us to work like we're working for

Christ. And early on my dad said, if

Jesus was at your is at your desk, is he going to say that

you're working as hard as you can for him?

And you'd be surprised how many people that will draw attention

like this guy worked so hard. Why?

Because he's a Christian. What do you mean?

And there's an opportunity there for you to preach the gospel not

only just because you're saying it, but you're reflecting it.

So I ask, how can we honor God through the way we work our

marriage? Marriage is not ultimately about

personal happiness, and anybody who's been married for a long

time knows this. It is about displaying the

relationship between Christ and His church.

A husband honors the Father by sacrificially loving his wife.

A wife honors the Father by faithfully loving and supporting

her husband. The goal becomes more than

having a successful marriage. It becomes reflecting God's

character through our marriage. Our marriages should reflect

Jesus Christ. When we wake up in the morning

and we see our wives or we see our husbands, are we saying, let

me reflect Jesus Christ through my actions today and how I love

my wife and how I love my husband, how I love my children?

Are we doing that? That leads right into our next

point, our parenting. Children are not merely to be

raised into productive adults. They are to be pointed to

Christ. Parents honor the Father when

they teach His word, model repentance, show grace, and

shepherd their children towards faithfulness.

When is the last time you apologized to one of your

children? One of the greatest gifts a

parent can give is helping their children see the beauty of their

Heavenly Father. Our children are not our

children. Ultimately, they belong to God.

It's an honor and a privilege that God has allowed us to raise

our children. Let us never forget that my

daughters don't belong to me. They are created in the image of

God. They belong to God.

I'm here to shepherd them, and the best way I can shepherd them

is into the glory and honor of Jesus Christ.

Our friendships. A good child chooses

relationships that encourage love for God rather than compete

with it. Friendships can become

opportunities to encourage, strengthen, challenge, and serve

one another in Christ. The question is not simply do I

enjoy the friendship, but does this relationship help me honor

my Father? And if not, what are you doing

to point the relationship into that direction?

Our finances, our money reveals what we treasure.

A child who honors God recognizes that everything he

possesses belongs to the Father. Time, talents, possessions,

savings, investments, and resources are all gifts

entrusted by God. Generosity becomes an act of

worship because it demonstrates trust in the Father's provision.

I never want to stand before God.

And he says, What did you do with my gifts?

And I say, oh, I buried them because I never knew.

I didn't know I wanted to be careful.

Our recreation, even rest and enjoyment, can glorify God.

The Christian does not view leisure as a realm separated

from discipleship. Whether enjoying a hobby,

spending time with family, playing a sport, or taking a

vacation, we receive God's gifts with gratitude and use them in

ways to honor him. In everything we do, we should

be looking to honor God. Everything becomes worship when

God is honored above everything else.

Worship is no longer confined to just Sunday mornings.

Worship becomes a way of life. Every conversation, every

decision, every dollar spent, every hour worked, every

relationship cultivated, every act of service, all of it

becomes an offering laid before the Father, as Paul writes in

First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31.

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the

glory of God. A good child understands that

life is not ultimately about self fulfillment, personal

achievement, or even earthly success.

Life is about the glory of the Father.

And when God's glory becomes our highest aim, we discover what we

were created for. The greatest desire of a

faithful child is not merely to receive blessings from the

Father, it is to bring honor to the Father.

This is the heart of true worship.

Jesus repeat repeatedly said, I do not seek my own will, but the

will of him who sent me. The Son's delight was to glorify

the Father. That should become our delight

as well as children of God. Our next point, a good child

longs to be with the Father. John chapter 14 verse one

John 14 · chapter mention

through three. One of the marks of genuine

sonship is longing for home. Every believer should have a

growing desire for God himself, not merely His blessings, not

merely His gifts, but Him. Heaven is glorious because the

Father is there. The Christian life should

cultivate homesickness for eternity.

We should increasingly saying, Whom have I in heaven but you?

Our desire should. Be to be with God one day, to be

with God the Father, to be with the Holy Spirit, to be with his

Son Jesus Christ, and together with the Saints.

In eternal heaven, the reality is that none of us has been the

child we should be. We have all disobeyed the

Father, distrusted the Father, ignored the Father, rebelled

against the Father. The good news is that Jesus was

the perfect Son we could never be.

Where Adam failed, Jesus obeyed. Where Israel failed, Jesus

obeyed. Where we failed daily, Jesus

obeyed. Then he went to the cross and

took the punishment our sins deserved.

Through faith in Christ, our sins are forgiven, we are

justified, we are adopted, we become children of God.

The gospel is not merely that God saves sinners.

The gospel is that God brings us as sinners home, and He makes us

righteous before a righteous God.

So in closing, on this Father's Day, let us remember a faithful

child of God knows the Father's love, trust the Father's wisdom,

obeys his commands, reflects the Father's character, loves the

Father's family, welcomes the Father's discipline, honors the

Father. Above all, and longs to be with

the Father. And we do all of this not to

earn His love, but because in Christ we already have it.

Praise God. See how great a love the Father

has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God

and such we are first to John chapter 3 and one, there's no

John 3 · chapter mention

other. There's no greater sacrifice in

the world than what, Jesus? Did for us and on this Father's

Day, as you go and love on your father's and your husband's and

you reach out to those people, remember they are just a shadow

of the greatest father. And those of you who have had

issues or lost fathers, I plead with you to the one father who

will never leave you, the one Father that is here for you

eternally. Run to the foot of feet of

Jesus. Run to the foot of the Father

and thank him for what he has done for our for our sake praise

God, let us pray. Father God, we give you thanks.

Lord, we give you thanks for being the ultimate Father, an

awesome Father, an eternal Father, our righteous Father, a

merciful Father. And we just thank you, Lord,

that you have looked down upon us, Lord.

And as we were being formed in our mother's womb, you knew us,

Lord, and you called us and we and you gave us an opportunity

for repentance. Lord, we thank you for the

sacrifice that Jesus. Made on the cross that he poured

off his blood, so that IA Sinner might be called righteous in the

eyes of God. Nothing I could do could ever

make me. Righteous in your eyes, Lord,

but I thank you for his sacrifice, Lord, I thank you for

the sacrifice for each and every brother and sister in Christ

that is here today, Lord. And I pray, Lord, and I pray

that those amongst us here that if there are any that are not

saved, Lord, that they run to your feet, Lord, that they

understand that they need you, Lord, that they need a good

father, Lord, that they need a merciful father, Lord, and that

nothing that they can do can make them righteous in your

sight, Lord, that they need to repent of their sins and turn to

you, Lord. I pray, Lord, that those people

today that are, are missing their fathers, Lord, or have

issues with their fathers or their fathers have passed away.

Lord, I, I pray for comfort and peace, Lord, and that they may

see you in so many ways today that they can just take the

light in knowing that they have a greater father, Lord.

And we ask that you to continue to bless this church and this

congregation, Lord, as they seek your face, Lord.

Help us to. Love one another everyday, Lord.

More in your likeness, Lord, and that we may turn to you and our

failures. Lord, we ask that you just bless

John Michael and his family and his wife, Lord, as they continue

to lead this congregation and all the ministries that they

working, Lord, all the things that they're doing for men and

women and families all across this great nation, Lord, that

you just bless them as they continue going forward.

Lord, I bless the families in this church Lord that you

continue to help them grow Lord, and give them so many children

and help them raise the children in the ways of God.

That it be so many children in this place Lord, that they need

a new place just to fill for the children Lord that are going to

be raised here Lord, and then they just be a blessing to this

community as well. I pray over these young

marriages and these new marriages Lord that you just

keep them strengthened Lord and guide them as they go forward

seeking your face and everything that they do that they glorify

you and you alone. Lord, we ask that we everything

we do, Lord, going forward this week, this month, this year be

to glorify you. Lord, we ask you all these

things. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Thank you, Father.