Father’s Day is here. So to start I would like to say thank you to all the fathers out there today. For those who have lost fathers or husband, we take this moment to remember those as well. (Prayer over dads and those who have lost husbands/dads)

There were a lot of different things I thought about and prayed over to say to our fathers here today. But I believe these words just say it best. Thank you.

Thank you to the Fathers who see the importance in spiritual foundation and are the spiritual head in your home. Thank you for being there for your wives, children, and families. Thank you for being strong. Thank you for your awful dad jokes. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for opening the pickle jars. Thank you for killing the spiders in the middle of the night. Thank you for your tireless work to provide. Thank you.

So, it just so happened that the passage for today talks a lot of family. The main theme for today is God is Everything we long for and all we ever needed.

So far in 1 John we have talked a lot about our salvation. John has been giving the church warnings:

-Warnings about superficial faith
-People who know all the right words and phrases. They speak ‘Christian-ese’
-People who seem to do all the right things. They come to Sunday morning gatherings, help at VBS, maybe even teach a class.
-But there is a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge.
-There is a difference between doing the right things and doing things to glorify the Lord.
-People who haven’t questioned the norm of “this is the way it always was done.” People whose families have always gone to church, so this is what they do as well.

What is salvation? Salvation is much more than a one-time emotional response to an amazing preacher or a huge gathering. Salvation is a complete transformation is ones life. Salvation is an ongoing sanctification is ones life.

As a child, there are things that we long for as children in our fathers. We long for fathers that are present in our lives, that care about the things we care about. We long for fathers who will help with our homework. We want fathers that we feel safe around.

Maybe you did or did not have a father like this growing up. But I have good news for us today. Everything that we ever needed in a father growing up, our God is.

This FATHER does not just love us, He gave up everything for us. He sacrificed His only Son for us. He is always present. Our Father cares about the things we care about. This Father makes us feel safe in His presence.

My Father is All-knowing
The passage today starts off with reminding the church to abide in the Father. I would like to remind everybody on what our mission statement is: Creekside Church will PROCLAIM CHRIST crucified, buried, and risen; will MAKE DISCIPLES who are abiding in Jesus, being transformed by Jesus, and are on mission with Jesus; and will GLORIFY GOD in everything.

To abide in Jesus means to remain in His teaching, to live in His word, and to remain in who He is in our lives. Good fathers are much more than ‘checking in’ - they stay involved with their children.

The Message, which I see as a paraphrase, puts this passage in a way that I love. It says that The Message should have the run of the house! Giving it plenty of room in the house. Instructing each other and directing one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts to God!

We need to trust Jesus with our lives and everything in it. We grow as disciples when we abide in Him and in who He is. Abiding in Jesus is much more than a 1-time prayer, it is a lifestyle change.

Relationships with Jesus oftentimes can be very superficial. (Ever have that ‘friend’ in your life that only ever calls you when they need something) How often do we treat the Lord of our life like that?

If we are to live as a disciple of Jesus, we need to bear fruit. And according to John 15, we cannot beat fruit without the vine. If we want to see everything grow in our lives, we need Jesus. In John, Jesus says that apart from Him, we can do nothing.

While we abide in Jesus, our Father loves us and calls us His own.

1 John is very clear on the Fathers love for us. We are called His children. David Platt says in his sermon on 2 John that we need to “Make much of the thought of being God’s child.” Where some fathers are distant, our Father is always there. He has adopted us into His family and given us new life because of His sons sacrifice.

So our Father being all-knowing helps us grow into who He is. When we need something, we abide in Him. When we seek wisdom, we abide in Him. When we seek peace, we abide in Him. When we seek strength, we abide in Him.

My Father is pure
As children in a family, we have certain responsibilities. We are called to be like the father. To hold certain values and to hold unto certain familial traits.

And this makes us different from the rest of the world. Unless one is in the home of a family, you don’t really know what they are like. The same thing goes for our Heavenly family. The world does not know us because they do not know Him. The world sees the Father in us, and does not recognize it.

Many children while young see their father as this perfect person. In the eye of the beholder, right? But our Father is actually perfect. He is pure and holy.

In a world that does not know purity, seek God. Many seek out pure love, and yet do not know God’s face. This creates a friction between those who have the Father and those who do not.

While we strive for perfection - literally being Christian - we cannot reach that goal. What we strive for can only be found in our Father.

My Father is the Example
We continually go through the sanctification process as a Christian. We cannot be perfect. John mentions many times in this passage what sin does in our lives.

-Practicing sin is of the devil
-Practice of sinning, not a Christian
-Sinning is practicing lawlessness

Our Father, the example in our lives, does not just forgive sin when we come to Him, but He empowers the Christian to leave sin behind them.

While good fathers will not just ignore when their children are misbehaving; our Father lovingly corrects His children and calls them to be better.

True Christians do not HABITUALLY violate God’s example.

When we habitually violate God’s example, we are living outside of His will for our lives. When we are not coming to Him for forgiveness and confessing our sins, we are not living in the way He has called us to live. In that, we question if the Holy Spirit is actually a part of our lives.

Abiding in our Father and in His example leads to holiness.

This does not mean that you still will not sin. John says earlier in this letter that if we say we do not sin, we call him a liar and that we deceive ourselves. But our Father allows us to come to Him to confess those sins and to abide in Him once again.

A child who grows up in their parents home begin to look like their parents. They learn to talk more like them, look more like them, and live more like them. He should be our example in everything that we do and say. We are a reflection of who He is.

And how do we know if we are a reflection of who He is? Are we loving to others around us? Do we love our brothers and sisters? Are we practicing love like the Father and following His example?

Response

SO Fathers, maybe you are here today and trying to be the best Father you can be. Here is your example. Maybe you never had a good father growing up and don’t know what that looks like, here is your example.

God loves deeply, disciplines wisely, is always present, and he transforms powerfully.