Embracing Father's Love - Trisha Frost

How are you guys?

Now, our team has traveled all over the United States, and we've been to many, many countries.

In fact, my husband, before he passed away, even preached God's love to the penguins on in Antarctica.

So we have been all over the place, and I say this honestly, I don't know that I've been to a church that's more loving and kind and lives, or I should say your leadership team, because I haven't had a chance to get with many of you yet, and lives this message of love.

So I'm thinking, I'm up here squirming.

God, what am I gonna say?

They already know it.

What do you want me to do?

You guys are awesome.

Look at your neighbor and say, You're awesome.

Did you mean it?

Tell them again.

You are awesome.

And Father loves you.

Father loves you just the way you are.

Right now, just the way you are.

So we have had the most amazing time this weekend with my team.

Where's the Shiloh Place team?

With you guys all stand up.

Doug.

There's Norman, uh Ken and Sandy.

Norman Sandy, our chaplains.

Where's Audrey?

Oh, there she is.

Okay.

Anyway, this is an amazing group of some of our team.

We have 70 team members and different ones travel all over with me.

And our goal was just to share, tell you, not even tell you.

I don't like to tell people things.

I like to live in front of you what Father has done in my life.

Because I don't know about you guys, but I'm kind of tired of playing church.

You know, I just really are.

And you guys don't play church here.

Because you see, church says to me that I've got to be something.

Um, not all churches, but some churches say to you that you've got to measure up or you've got to perform a list of of this in order to be involved, to be a part, or to be loved.

And you guys aren't like that.

And this, or at least your shepherds aren't like that.

And I'm done with that kind of Christianity.

I'm done with Christianity that that places value on my gifts instead of just who I am.

Because you see, I'm a little girl with a great big dad.

And my great big dad loves me just the way I am if I never do another thing.

When did Father put his seal of approval on Jesus?

When he came up out of the water from being baptized.

Had Jesus performed a miracle or done anything yet?

Of course not.

But Father said, This is my beloved son.

Guys, I want to tell you, you, I'm not just saying this, I'm not trying to convince you of something.

You are his beloved child.

But some of us grew up in homes to where we grew up under the love of law instead of the law of love.

Now, I know that this church doesn't do that.

But did some of you grow up in that type of environment to where you felt like if you didn't cut the grass right, if you didn't hit the ball right, if you didn't wash the dishes right, if you didn't do this, this, this, or this right, then you didn't have a place of value and honor in the eyes of a loving father or mother.

And so when you grow up in that type of environment, you just transfer it right into your Christian life.

You know, you come to church and do the same things.

You call, okay, where can I perform?

Where can I get the pastor to like me?

What can I do?

So Susan will say my name on Sunday morning from up here.

I got it.

She said my name three times.

What's it gonna take for you, for Steve to say your name?

But doesn't it make you feel good?

We all need to feel like we're valued, but you don't have to earn that place of value.

It's already yours.

And so many people don't believe that, and that's why a church like what's here is crucial for the body of Christ.

I've got a friend of mine that he just emailed me this morning, and he's a kind of, I'm not gonna give you his name because you'll, if he does what I asked him to do, you'll meet him.

But anyway, he's moving to your area.

And he's a pretty famous guy.

And he doesn't know where he's gonna live, where he's gonna go to church or whatever, but he's looking, his message is the father's loves you message.

He's looking for a church home.

I'm trying to push him here.

Because he's a huge international speaker, and you guys will make him feel loved and valued if he chooses not to ever speak again.

Isn't that amazing?

I feel so comfortable.

I really do.

I'm not sweating, I don't stink.

You guys are just full of yourself.

You're full of the love, you're full of the assurance that Father wants us to live out of.

But maybe there might be one or two of you out there that's still struggling with this place.

And before the day's, excuse me, before today's over, hopefully we will help to facilitate an encounter to where you feel like you're loved if you never do another thing.

But let's back up just a minute and talk about this image.

When I say father, what's the first thought that comes to your mind?

Somebody yell something out.

God.

Okay, let's say earthly father.

Did you say bad?

Oh, dad.

Okay.

Bad dad.

Okay, some of us don't have that perfect image of a loving father because we grew up in a home that maybe they didn't, they weren't given the same kind of love.

Maybe they grew up under the law of love.

I mean, the love of law instead of the law of love.

And so they bring that into their homes simply because they don't know anything else to do.

And that causes that that breeds a performance-based society.

And Father God is just saying, you know what?

Because I love you, I gave you a destiny.

And out of that destiny, you're gonna complete your, I mean, out of that love, you're gonna find your destiny and complete it.

But it doesn't change what he thinks about you.

Because he is perfect love.

And you know, I don't want to just get up here and say that.

You've heard that, you've heard that message.

I want to example it in front of you for just a little bit.

So how many people would be brave enough to admit, don't put your hands up, that you grew up in a home to where performance was how you felt like you had value.

Ah, I see the head shaking out there.

Okay, do you see Father God that way?

Is that what he's saying to you?

That, Ken, you're only gonna have value if you get out there and cut the grass right today.

Or if you hit the ball right.

My husband grew up in a home with a PE coach and a tennis instructor that was the city tennis instructor.

And if Jack didn't do everything right and hit the ball right, then he had no value in his mom or his dad's eyes, and they would give him the look.

How many of you have ever gotten the look?

It says, You better straighten up, measure up, or do it right.

And we take that into our image of who Father God is when Father's saying, No, I'm love.

Let me demonstrate this.

I need a nice, good looking man, just a young guy, just one to come up here real quick.

Come on, somebody, real quick.

Yeah, you come on.

Good, come on.

Now, ladies, I need, woo-hoo! Nice looking young man, too.

Thank you.

What's your name?

Kevin.

Kevin.

Okay, Kevin, tell everybody hello.

Hello.

Good.

Okay, how many women out here have got big pocketbooks?

I want to see your pocketbooks.

I want you to get them up because I need to borrow them in just a minute.

In fact, um, okay, get your pocketbooks out.

Because, see, here's what we're gonna do with Kevin.

Kevin's a son of God.

Father God loves him if he never does another thing.

But the church that Kevin goes to before he went to this church, the church that he went to maybe before told him, okay, Kevin, in order to be a Christian, in order to be loved and feel loved by God, you've got to read your Bible today.

You already read your Bible?

You did good guy.

Did you read it for an hour?

You bad guy.

You didn't read your Bible for an hour?

Oh man, what is your problem?

Somebody bring me two pocketbooks, big ones.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Come on.

And other ladies get ready.

I need big, big pocketbooks.

Yeah, y'all don't be bashful.

Come on, I need these pocketbooks.

In fact, somebody could gather a book.

Oh yeah.

Matt, this is this is what I need.

No.

You're gonna hold these.

This is you didn't.

Oh, this one goes good with it.

Whoa! You did not read your Bible for an hour today.

Shame on you.

Okay, Kevin, now you got one more chance.

If you want, and ladies, please get ready.

I need four pocketbooks this time.

Oh, look at you.

It goes good.

It really does.

You look good in pink, by the way.

Okay, ladies, get your pocketbooks ready and come on up here.

But Kevin, did you heal the sick today?

Did you get did you pray for anybody to get healed today?

And why didn't you pray?

Thank you.

Why did you not pray for somebody to get healed today?

What is your problem?

Oh my goodness.

All right, thank you.

Oh my gosh.

Okay, I'm gonna need this one too.

Oh, you okay?

Thank you, Lord, for protecting her.

Did y'all see that angel right there catching her?

Thank you, Lord.

Okay, so you didn't heal anybody today.

You didn't read your Bible for an hour today.

Well, how many people did you get saved today?

Hopefully, this whole room.

Now that's hope.

Okay, ladies, I need about four or five more pocketbooks.

Come on up.

So you did not, but did you get this whole room saved today?

I think we're working on it.

Oh well, but you still didn't do it.

And so, my goodness, you didn't get all these people.

Come on, ladies, I need more.

This is a big guy.

Look at him.

Pile him up there.

Come on, yeah.

I've been on the airplane.

Oh my okay, now one more thing.

You didn't read your Bible, did you pray?

I didn't take you a little bit, didn't you?

Okay, this is good.

So, you didn't do all these Christian disciplines today, so you have value?

What is your problem?

If you drop any of that, you're going to hell.

Thank you.

But you see what it's like when we try to put on somebody all the shivers.

You know, the world's tired of being shit on.

We don't want to be shut on.

Okay, thank you, Kevin.

I appreciate that.

And he didn't drop any of them, so he's not going to hell.

Ladies, I'm gonna put him over here somewhere, and y'all come get your pocketbook.

Or you can take them to him.

Give Kevin a hand.

But do you see what happens when we try to put an image on Father God that you have to perform for his love and acceptance?

That is not who he is.

But that's who the church has put on him.

That's what we're saying, or that's what we feel he's putting on us.

That we, in order to have value, we must perform.

And Father's saying, my son Kevin, I love you.

He's doing good with that pocket, but look at him down there.

I think he's trying to keep one or two.

I think you should let him have that pink one.

Thank you, Kevin.

But do you see why I'm saying, whenever you have to work for a place of value in a father's heart, Kevin, did you was that a little tiring for you?

And Father God doesn't want you to be tired of him because if you get tired of him, then you're exasperated and you lose all hope.

And hope deferred makes the heart sick, wounded, and then wounds are set in.

And what a wound is is just the absence of love in an area of your life.

And Father's heart is so for you to believe that you have a place.

Okay, I can't see here.

I'm not gonna step off the step anymore.

That you have a place of value in his heart.

He created you for his pleasure.

He created you as an act of love, not as an act of lust.

You are loved.

But sometimes it's so hard.

We know that in our head.

But how do we get it down in our heart?

How do we really get it down in our heart to where we can create an environment to where you feel safe?

Here's the deal for me.

If I want to follow, I want a God that I can feel safe with.

I want a God that I can touch.

I want a God, I'm tired of the world telling me that I'm trying to make God too familiar.

I don't want to make God too familiar.

But if God is way up there and he's so holy that he's unapproachable, then why on earth do I have any need for him?

Because he's not gonna provide for me anyway.

He's not.

Because my image of God, again, is that he's a bad God.

I've been told all my life, he's a bad God.

You've got to get saved.

I have been saved 3,265,000 and ten times.

Because every time you do something bad, you've got to get saved again.

No.

When you came into the kingdom of God, you are his child, and he made provision for you because he loves you.

I love John 3.16.

I love it.

I've said this before with the uh shepherds this weekend, so you guys will have to forgive me.

But one of the things I love more than anything else in the world is getting a cult to come to my door.

I just love it whenever the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons come to my door.

You know, they love, I assume they love God too.

But they try to convince me about a God that I have to perform for.

And I tell them when they come to my door, you know, you can come in, I'll give you 10 minutes if you give me 10 minutes and you can go first.

And before it's over, many times I have convinced them that you are loved and you don't have to perform.

Yes, you will fulfill your destiny.

It's not like you're just gonna sit back on God loves you and never do anything.

That's not what we're advocating.

But you have a destiny, you have a plan, you have a purpose.

Because when God made you, he just didn't take a bunch of dirt and just slap it together and say, okay, here's another one.

Okay, here's another one.

Let me throw something in here too.

I love this.

Guys, when God made men, where did he make men from?

The dirt, the dust of the ground, right?

But when he made woman, where did he take her from?

A rib.

So I tell guys all the time, you are dirt, and I'm prime rib.

No, you're not.

You're daddy's little boy, and he loves you.

And he just didn't slap a bunch of stuff together and say, okay, here's Doug, here's Jim, here's Micah, here's Joshua.

He said, Wow, this is my creation.

This is my little boy, and I love him.

But our image of Father God many times has been tainted from this performance-oriented environment that we've created.

And then we see God is mean and mad.

So I need for Norman and Doug to come on up here right now, please.

I want you guys, y'all can come up here on the platform.

I want you guys to meet good God and bad God.

Now, we all know who good God is, right?

So that means that Doug is bad God.

Norman just can't be bad.

He just absolutely can't be bad.

So, anyway, here's the deal.

Okay, here I am.

I'm living my life, and you know what?

I've come up on some circumstances that have kind of hindered me just a little bit.

So, bad God, come on over here.

And if my image of God is this, you know, if I God, I uh I woke up sick today, and I need for you to come and heal me.

What do you think?

How much time have you spent?

Ooh, you bad God.

Well, okay, God.

I had uh, you know, I need some extra money this week.

You know, my finances, I had this happen, I had this happen.

Spend it on something.

And and I need some extra money.

You think you could give me some more?

Shouldn't have bought those sugar babies last week.

How'd he know that?

Okay, well, here's the deal.

You know, I just really need to be comforted.

My husband is in heaven.

I don't have nobody comfort me.

What do you think?

What have you done for me lately?

You are bad.

Bad.

But you see, if that's your image of God, you he's always gonna say no.

He's never gonna have an answer for you, he's never gonna provide for you because you see you already have an expectation that he's gonna tell you no before you ever get started.

Okay, now, but but if you have an image of Father God that he's love and he wants to provide for his kids, he doesn't want your circumstances to dictate your image of who he is.

Father, I got a headache.

Can you help me?

Trust come close.

Lean your head against my holy breast.

Be that child again.

Wow.

Let me touch it.

Good God.

Wow.

We're Norma and I are fixing to hit the ground.

We're not faking either.

Okay, God, that was good.

Okay, now um, you know, I had a little extra stuff this week and I had to spend some money, you know, on other things.

You think you could just give me a little bit more money this?

I will bless you.

Wow.

Now I need comfort, but I think I've already got that.

I need some comfort.

Let me be your comfort.

Let me be your father, a good father, is really who the image of Father God is.

He's touchable, he's tangible.

Thank you guys, I appreciate it.

I want a God like that.

I want a God that's touchable and tangible.

Is he gonna just show up right down here?

I'm not advocating um fluky-dookie stuff.

But you know what?

He might.

Where is he at?

He might, for all I know.

I feel that he's right here behind me.

Susan was telling you, there's something on this platform.

Well, I believe there's something in this room.

It's the presence of love.

As soon as we pulled up, we all came in different ways.

Some of us flew, some of us drove and all.

But all of our whole team said, as soon as we landed on this property, we felt the presence of love in a tangible way.

You can do that.

Don't let people tell you that you're making God tooth for me.

Yes, he's holy.

Yes, he's righteous.

Yes, he's all those wonderful things.

But he doesn't want you to fear him.

If he wanted you to fear him, there would be no such scripture as perfect love, cast out fear.

Because fear has torment.

When you're afraid of something, do you want to be anywhere close to it?

Of course you don't.

And so how do we work on changing our image of who Father God is?

Um in the greatest moment, the greatest day, you will know your image of who Father God is.

My husband Jack, many of you don't know him.

I've very rarely been to a church where at least half the church has not heard of us.

But my husband Jack was an international speaker.

He took the message of the Father's love to the whole world, to every continent he's been on.

I can't tell you how many countries.

Why was he able to do that?

Because he lived, he had an encounter with Father that so touched his life, he brought it home to his family.

Because you see, my husband Jack was untouchable, unapproachable.

He was emotionally detached from his family.

Hugging him was like hugging one of those poles back there.

There was just no one at home.

And we never felt like we had a safe place of value in our father, my children's father.

And so Jack went to an encounter because he would go out and he would touch the world.

Our table out there is filled with materials to where Jack received healing and he gave it away to other people.

But he didn't bring it home.

And so he would come to your church, he would minister to you, and he would love on your family, and then come home, and our family was falling apart.

But one day he had an encounter with love.

And if you want to know more about there, there's a tape series out there called Restoring the Father's Love.

It's another whole message.

I can't go there today.

But he had an encounter with love that so touched him, held his heart, that he realized I never have to perform again to have a place of value in love.

It can happen.

It can happen.

It all depends on our image of who Father God is.

And guys, I believe with all my heart that the church today is in transition.

The church today is in transition.

In other words, there are many people that won't go to church.

There are my daughter-in-law told me one time, she goes, you know, if I didn't have to get up and get dressed, I'd go to church.

But there's many, many people who just do not want to go to church, and I've got four minutes left, so I'm going to have to cut most of all the rest of that out.

Who don't want to go to church because they enter into a place to where they're going to have to perform again.

But you guys, God is using this church in this place in this hour.

You are in transition because you are transitioning church from have to to want to.

From your transitioning church from a place of no value, no identity, to a place of identity and value.

If I lived in this area, I would come to this church.

I would come to this church because of many of you guys that I have met.

And so I, to me, it's just an awesome privilege to stand up here before you and speak what God has done in my life.

But to go just a little bit further now, my image of Father God began to change when my husband's image changed.

And he brought that home.

And he brought it home.

And I watched him become a father to my children.

I watched him change from being that hard-nosed man to a loving, tender, and kind father.

It changed my kids.

Because you see, my kids saw him as hard.

And how do you think they related to Father God?

Whenever you view, whenever you've been hurt and wounded by your earthly fathers, many times you transfer that same thing either on Father God or on your pastor and his wife or an authority in your life because you've been so hurt and wounded.

And that's not who Father God wants you to know him as.

Because Father God, the image of Father God is love.

1 John 4, 16.

God is love.

Period.

He is love.

And so right now, what we're going to do is I want to show you a video.

You guys can get that video ready, please.

I want to show you a video about a natural father.

And he had a son.

And he, whenever his son was born, they came to him and they told him, you know what?

Your son's a vegetable.

He can't talk, he can't move, he can't write, he can't do anything.

He will never be able to do anything.

He can't feed himself, he can't drink, he can't do any of this.

And so you need to just put him in a home.

Just give him away.

You know, give him, put him somewhere where others can take care of him.

And this man, his name was, I can't remember if he which is the father, which is the son, one's Dick, one's Rick.

But anyway, the father, Mr.

Howitt said, That's my boy.

He's my boy, and I will take him home, and I will treat him with value, with honor, and with dignity.

If he can't do anything, he can't go to the bathroom by himself.

But this father, this good father, claimed his boy and said, No, I'll take him home and I'll raise him.

Now the father was a triathlon, and he won all of these races.

You know, the triathlons they do those three, whatever.

And he would come in number one in any of the races that he ever raced.

He was always number one.

And then this young man had grown up and he told his dad one day, he said, Dad, he said, I want to run with you.

Now, this the father had built him a computer to where he could take a pencil and type with a computer, and there was a voice in the computer, and he could communicate with his father and his mother.

And he said, Dad, I want to run with you.

And the dad thought, well, how's he gonna do that?

He can't eat, he can't drink, he can't walk, he can't feed himself, he can't do anything.

How can he do that?

But this father, who I think is a perfect image of what Father God wants us to see, he built all these things and he took his son with him on all of these triathlons.

He went from being number one to coming in last, but people would wait until they crossed the finish line.

So we're gonna look at this and then we're gonna come back for some ministry time.

Who taught the sun?

And who told the old time?

You can who told the moon with a high tool in bed, who told me that you're not a few.

Is he there to love you and to build for you and to create an environment for you to where you function, to where you complete your destiny?

The little the guy there, the son, he has his PhD, by the way.

And he told his dad, he said, Dad, when I run with you, my disabilities disappear.

When we run with the Father, when our image is that he loves you no matter what.

He loves you even when you're broken.

He loves you when you didn't do everything okay today.

He loves you.

I can run with a dead like that.

I can love, I can give my life for a dead like that.

What about you?

But some of you here, and and Steve, you're gonna have to forgive me because I forgot.

Are you coming now or is Norm coming now?

Or Steve?

Norm's coming now.

Okay.

Okay, so what we want to do right now, some of you have never been blessed by your earthly fathers.

And it's left you with a void, a wound inside of you that you don't believe you have value because the power of life and death is in the tongue.

Norm used to be a he's a retired state trooper, he's a wonderful man.

He used to be a real hard-nosed codger, though.

And he's not like that.

He had a revel, his own personal revelation with love, and he took it first to his family.

And so we've asked Norm if he would come now.

And I want you guys to stand to your feet, and I want you to position yourself to receive.

These are just not words being spoken over you, but this is a life-giving thing for you today, and it might change your situation when you go home today with the rest of your family.

So Norm is gonna bless you, and I want you to stand there and just let your spirit, you're a spirit, let your spirit soak this in.

With even one child, I'm still so home.

My heart is not home.

My heart yearns for you.

I adore you.

It just never ends.

My children bless you with grace, mercy, mercy, peace, joy, and hope.

Possibly the greatest sound heaven has ever known.

The sound of my family coming triumphantly home.

Welcome home.

You've been bruised, beaten, tossed, and torn, knocked by thorns, wounded.

I say, Well done.

Still you insist on love.

Still you come.

Welcome home, my children.

Well done.

God bless you.