God, Our Father | Francis Chan

And so the phrase that I want to teach today is um the very first phrase. We believe in one God, the father almighty. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty. I want to talk about God the Father tonight. And this is what I'm really excited about. All that other stuff was just prleamina.

That means introductory thoughts. For those who um I just remember my theology teacher writing that prolamina. I'm like what the heck does that mean? It means introductory thoughts. And we're like why didn't you just say that? Um but anyways we believe in one God the father. Now, those of us who grew up in the church or have been in the church for years, you know, we call God the father.

But why? Have you ever meditated and seen the uniqueness of us calling God the Father? Because if you've been in church for a while, you just go, "Yeah, sometimes we call him Lord, sometimes we call him God, sometimes we call him father." But there's something very special about the fact that Jesus says, "When you pray, call him our father."

What does he mean by that? Jesus could have said other things. He could have said, "Hey, when you address him, call him your buddy. or call him this distant holy God because now when you pray say our father not my buddy our father. One of the reasons he uses this term is uh Ephesians chapter 3, which of course we studied last year.

Ephesians 3, for this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and earth is named. Okay, think about this phrase. He goes, I bow my knees. This is this is the Apostle Paul praying for the church. He goes, "I bow my knees before the father from whom every family."

So the word father means he is our origin. Every one of you exists because your heavenly father, God himself decided to create you. You were not an accident. He may have used you know these he did you know use these two human beings on earth that was that's who he used to put you on the earth but you have to understand he is your true father this is huge a lot of times when we think of our father you think about your earthly father and god saying no no no you came from me yeah I use these human vehicles but I am your father as than the originator, the creator.

You were the thought in my mind. I decided to make you. And that's what Paul's saying. I bow my knees before a father from whom every family in heaven on earth is named. You have a name. You have an existence. Why? Not because two humans decided to make you, but God himself is your father.

Have you ever dwelt on that fact? I want us to meditate on these truths tonight. I'm on the earth because he made me. He is my true father. In Jeremiah 1 verse 5, this is one of my favorite verses. I don't know if you know the story about this, but one time I just decided I'm just going to go out in the woods, you know, with just water and my Bible.

I don't want to talk to any humans. I just want to be alone with God. And I lasted like four days. I mean, I borrowed a cabin, too, because I can't survive out there. It's gets cold. And uh but he said, but I I remember just sitting by a creek and opening up the Bible and it landed on Jeremiah 1.

And I got to this verse and I ended up meditating on it for three days cuz I thought, wait, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. I just kept thinking about that. Wait a second, God. before before I really existed in my mother's womb, you already knew me.

Like I originated with you and then somehow I was formed in my mother's womb. Then he goes on and say before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. He's telling Jeremiah, "Look, I knew you before your mom and dad even made you.

I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. I knew you before you came out of her womb. I already decided. I already consecrated you. I already appointed you a prophet to the nations." So when we say, "I believe in God our father," we're going, "God, I literally believe that you are the reason why I exist.

You are my true father. And you knit me together in my mother's womb. And you already appointed things for me to do. You made me for a reason. That's pretty amazing. And then in Psalm 68:E5, he says this, "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation."

So those of you who don't have an earthly father, he says, "Look, I'm your father. I'm the father to the father. This is his This is what he calls himself. I'm the father to those who maybe don't have an earthly father. A father to the fatherless. I was meditating on this um because I know most of you did not probably did not have a great father.

Some of you maybe had an average father. Um, I point to Claire because when she was young, she uh it was my birthday or something and they were saying what they're grateful for and she just heard the word average somewhere. Didn't know what it meant. And she just says, "I love you cuz you're average.

Thanks, honey." Um, but you don't think that anymore, do you? No. Okay. But the idea is some of you I I was trying to think some of you had a terrible relationship with your dad's or no relationship with your dad's or your dad left the home. You don't even know who your dad is.

And and so it's hard when you hear that word and you try to think of God the father. All this baggage is with you. But today I was thinking some of you have really good fathers. Yeah. Some of you have really good fathers and there's baggage with that too because then you start to associate your earthly father as your father.

That's all you can think of. There's like a challenge for both sides. Sometimes I tell my kids like it's weird. I don't I don't get having a dad like you have. Like I don't get that. And sometimes I feel sorry for you because there was something nice about not having a dad that to transfer all of my thoughts of fatherhood to God is nice.

You know, and somehow the enemy can use both to just go, gosh, I don't know how to think of him as father. For some of us, that word brings up negative thoughts. For others, all we can think is how great our earthly father is. And yet, God tonight wants us to find our identity in him as a child of God.

He is my father. God our father. We believe in one God, the father. Just worship him for that for a little bit. I want these truths to sink in. And sometimes as we sing to him and we meditate on him as our father, maybe you've never really thought about this.

You just say father like it's another word like mister and you've never really meditated on the uniqueness that we get to call God. Father, creator. Let's worship him 
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 as stories of what they think you're in. The tender whisper of love in the dead of night. And you tell me that you're pleasing that I never alone.

Let's stand together. You're a good good father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I 
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 am. Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers far and wide. But I know that we're all searching for serves only you proide.

Cuz you know just what we need before we say what you're a good good father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are. And I love you. That's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. You're a good good father. It's who you are.

It's who you are. It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. Yeah. Cuz you're perfect in all of your ways. You are perfect in all of your ways. You are perfect in all of your ways.

To us, you are perfect in all of your ways. Oh, you're perfect in all of your ways. You are perfect in all of your ways to us. Oh, it's love so undeable. I I can hardly speak. Peace. So, unexplainable. And I I can hardly think as you call me.

Deeper still as you call me. Deeper still as you call me. Deeper still into love. Love. Love. You're a good good father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am.

You're a good, good father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. You're a good good father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.

And I love you. It's who I am. It's who I am. who I 
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 am. I'm no longer slave to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer slain to fear. I am a child of God. Rather me with a meloyy. You surround me with a song of deliverance from my enemies.

Till all my fears are gone. I'm no longer a saint to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God. From my mother's womb, you have chosen me. Love has called my name. I've been born again to your family.

Your love flows through my veins. I'm no longer sl came to be. I am a child of God. I'm no longer slave to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer slave to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer slave to fear. I am a child of God.

Oh. 
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 Oh, you with the sea so I can walk right through. My fears are drown in perfect love. You rescued me so I can stand and sing. I am a child of God. You split the sea so I can walk right through it. My fears are drown in perfect 
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 love.

You rescued me so I could stand and sing. I am a child of God. I am a child of God. I am a child of God. Amen. Amen. Amen. You can have a seat. There's something. I mean, picture God on his throne. far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that has been named.

And he says, "I'm your father." And that word father carries with it, that means I'll protect you as my children. That's where we go. We're not slaves to fear anymore. I'm not afraid of anything. Why? Because I am a child of God. I don't have to fear. We have a father that isn't going to leave 
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 us.

He's preparing a home for us. He won't leave us as orphans. He's bringing us to be with him. Let this be your identity. 
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 I want to move into something I've I've never led a group of people through. Comes from Romans chapter 8 verse 15. It says, "You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry aba father. You didn't receive the spirit of slavery. You received. So something mysterious happened when you became a believer. You received the spirit of adoption. Think about the idea of being 
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 adopted. About a week ago, we celebrated my daughter Dal's adoption day.

I remember that was a day we went before the judge and said, "You're my daughter now. What's mine is yours. You take on my name. You're my daughter. It's a It was a choice. Like I I want you as my daughter. You have the rights that all my kids have now.

You're my girl. I'm your father. You have the right to call me dad. Aba. The Bible says that we receive the spirit by whom we cry aba father. He talks about it again in Galatians chapter 4 where he says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying, "Aba, father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. Again, there's this mystery he says that happens. Okay, right now everybody say, "Aba."

Aba. Okay, that's not what he's talking about here. It's not about you just with your mouth mouthing these words, Abba. He says there there's something about when you become a believer and the spirit enters into you and you realize I'm a child of God, it says you cry out.

Romans says it's you that's crying out. And here in Galatians, he's saying it's the spirit of God that's in our hearts crying out. So somehow it's both the spirit of God and it's our spirit together crying out, "Aba, Father." Now, most of us that come from conservative churches, we just take everything figuratively.

Oh, there's this silent aba that's being spoken from my heart. But that's not really what the scriptures say. There's something about like deep from our souls, we're crying out. We're literally like it's mysterious. It's from the core of my being, I feel every right to call out to God and say, "Aba, like you're really my dad.

You're my real father. You've adopted me. I'm your child. You've you've put in my heart the spirit of adoption. And I can cry out to you, aba. 
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 Aba, aba, I want to give us some space right now cuz maybe none of you, maybe some of you have never 
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 Literally from the depths of your heart, your spirit interwoven with the spirit of God looked at God upon his throne and literally cried out, 
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 "Aba, Aba.

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 Ah, forget about anyone else being in the room right 
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 now. Close your eyes if that's 
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 helpful. But picture God on his throne giving you that spirit of adoption. And you so secure in that in the core of your 
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 being. Just call him by the name by which he wants to be called.

Cry out to him. Now forget about everyone else in the room. You cry to aba. Aba. Aba. A up. 
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 Up. If you want to scream it, scream it. If you want to say it out loud, Sam, however the spirit is leading you, just cry out to aba. 
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 I belong to 
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 you.

I belong to you. I belong to you. I belong to you. 
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 I I belong to you. 
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 I belong to you. 
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 I belong 
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 to my father. 
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 You're my father. 
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 I believe that God is so pleased. He just loves when his children cry out to him, "Aba, we find our identity in 
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 him.

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 Let's look at one more verse. Skip to the last verse. 1 John 3 verse 1 says, "See what kind of love the father has given to us that we should be called children of God." And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

That first phrase some of us memorize. Behold what manner of love the father has given to us that we should be called the children of God. And that's what we are. That's what we are. Like what's your identity? The world will say, "Hey, find your identity in what you do. leave a legacy, be remembered for this.

I want to be remembered as this. I want to be remembered as that. I want to make sure I accomplish. I want to do something with my life rather than going my identity. I'm a child of God. That's crazy. like the king of the universe loved me so much that he gave me the right to be called a child of God.

And that's who I am. That's my identity. You know, we live in a time where everyone's taught, hey, don't don't create your own identity. It's kind of like when uh when Mercy went to college, she went to this Christian college where I would speak there every year like four or five times and so they all knew me.

Um but she didn't tell anyone that I was her dad. In fact, her roommate even was like when I showed up, she's like, "I was wondering why she had pictures with Francis Chan on her." So, you're her dad. And I went to her uh I I went into her um choir rehearsal and she told the teacher ahead of time.

And right when I walk in, the teacher goes, "Mercy, you never told us that was your dad. You just said your dad's coming. You didn't say Francis Chan is your dad." She goes, "Well, that's just a weird thing to say." She goes, "Wow, Francis Chan's your dad." Like like she really kept it a secret.

Rachel was the opposite. She also went to a Christian college where I spoke a lot and uh she introduced me at chapel is my dad, you know, like in fact she would get frustrated at places where they didn't know who her dad was cuz she's used to getting free stuff.

And uh so the moral of that is be more like Rachel. Um, no. It it's it's this idea of like I want this to be my identity. Okay. We live in a world where it's like, hey, don't just live in the shadow of someone else. Create your own identity.

And it's only been this really recently that I go, "Wow, this is my identity. There's nothing I'm more proud of. Who cares what I've done? Who cares how much money any of you have had or will have or how successful you'll be at anything? I know a lot of you are students at Stanford.

Who cares? Like your identity. Behold what kind of love the father has given to us that we get to be called children of God and that's who we are. He adopted us as his sons and daughters. We have his inheritance coming to us. We have his protection. We have his love for all of eternity.

Neither life nor death, nor angels, nor principalities can tear us apart from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us. We've got to find our identity in this. tonight. And I just I guess the thing I wonder is because father has become such a common word, have you ever celebrated your adoption?

Have you ever like John just go, man, can you believe it? I get to be called a child of God and that's who I am. So there's this God who spoke the whole world into existence and he actually thought of me and he actually made me. Yeah, he used this human father and mother, but he made me.

He created me and says I'm your father. I'm going to adopt you and you get to be my child. That means everything that comes with that. Everything that I have is yours and I will protect you and nothing will separate my love from you. and you go, "Wow, I'm a child of God."

And just as I believe God was honored as we just cried up a father, I just want us to be his children tonight, celebrating him as our father. So, we're going to worship him one more time. But can we stand to our feet and think about the fact that God in heaven is watching and we are about to celebrate what he's done in our lives.

We're going to celebrate our adoption by Aba Father. 
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