All right, all right. You know, for Father's Day, I felt like the best way to celebrate Father's Day would be to talk about our Heavenly Father, not primarily talk about Fatherhood or what it means to be a Godly Father, but just talk about Him. And I thought it would be even better to talk about Him from the Son's perspective and from Jesus' perspective. So you can turn in your Bibles to Luke 2.
If I was just gonna break it down for you so you understand what the point of this message is. I'm just gonna tell you on the front end so that you can kind of see the thread. But the purpose of this message is to paint the picture that God the Father is the one that assigns purpose and identity, and as the Father assigns purpose and identity, He actually knows exactly what you need to fulfill your purpose in life, and He gives it generously, okay? And we're gonna track with what He did with Jesus and how He did that for Jesus, and then I'm gonna invite you to receive the same thing from Him at the end of the service, okay?
That you get to receive from the Father, this is why I formed you. This is why I fashioned you, and this is what you need, and I'm gonna encounter you with my love, okay? So that's what we're going after today. Does that make sense?
Okay, Luke 2, I love this story, and it's about Jesus when He was a young man, and we're just gonna jump in, okay? Luke 2, verse 41. Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover, and when He was 12 years old, they went up according to the custom. And when the Feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and his parents didn't know it.
If you can imagine Jesus had some younger siblings, he had some younger brothers and younger sisters, he had at least two younger sisters, and at this moment, he's the older brother, right? And how many of you know if you maybe are an older sibling, or you're a parent and you have multiple kids, you know that the older sibling just kinda takes care of themselves over a bit of time. Like they're the ones that are caring for the younger ones, but Jesus is nowhere. I just picture Mary kind of going like, hey, Jesus, where is Maria?
You know, and then she's trying to find, that was a good name, I just pulled out the hat, Maria, because Mary and it's Maria, it's kind of like similar, that was probably her name, I don't know. I don't know, I nailed it, yeah. Maria, we love you, sister of the Lord. Okay, I don't know.
Verse 43, let's just keep on going, all right? And when the Feast was ended as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, his parents didn't know it, but supposing him to be with the group, they went a whole day, not knowing that their son was not with him. But then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for him.
After three days, they found their 12-year-old in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Jesus were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us so?
Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. It's exactly what Katie and I would have sounded like if our 12-year-old had been gone and missing for three days. Oh, my son, we are distressed. And your father, Joe, is very upset.
You know, it's like how many of you know, it would have been like, behold, your dad is livid and he's ready to ground you and there's probably some other choice words, but they were very kind in what they said. Luke was very generous towards Mary and Big Joe. You know, how many of you know Big Joe is a little upset? And Mary's kind of giving in some language for what Joe's feeling, all right?
So why have you treated us so? Behold, your father, okay. And he said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know I must be in my father's house?
They did not understand. How many of you know when your kid says something and you don't understand? It feels great. You're just like, I don't understand, but that's okay, that it's been three days.
Okay. And then we're gonna keep on going. First, 51, and he went down with them, came to Jerusalem, was submissive to them, and his mother treasured up all of these things in her heart. Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
When I think about this story, I just picture Jesus giving his own commentary, you know, where Jesus is looking back and he's sharing like, oh yeah, man, when I was a young buck, when I was 12, and my parents, they kind of went on and that was the moment where me and the father, it was a formative moment. You know, it was Passover, but I just pictured Jesus going, but it was a rite of passage for me. It was a rite of passage because as a young man, and a young boy, I started becoming a man, and it was that weekend that I look at. And I go, that's when my heavenly father, that's when father started giving me identity.
When he started speaking over me, and it was like I always knew everything that he said, that those three days that he took care of me, because my mom and dad weren't around to take care of me, but he took care of me. And I remember those three days, and he began to affirm what my destiny was. He began to affirm, this is who you are, this is your identity, this is what I put inside of you. And I remember those moments when it was just me and him.
And I just picture Jesus kind of strolling through the streets, just young Jesus, and then he comes, he's kind of outside of the temple, and there's these things called mikvas, and there are these baptismal pools for cleansing. And I just picture him looking into the water, and as he's looking into the water, I just picture the father going, son, I love them so much that I'm sending you. The whole reason why you're here is because I love them. And I picture, it's just straight from John three, but it's 17 years earlier.
And I picture Jesus here in the father, saying to him as he's looking into the waters, they must be born again. They need to get new birth, they need to go down and die to their old natures, and they need to rise again, and you're gonna do it. You're gonna lead them to get cleansed from all their unrighteousness. And I just picture this young boy looking into the waters, Yahweh in the flesh, and it was like he's known it for eternity past, but his soul and his body are all connecting the dots in the moment.
And sometimes that's what we need. We know that eternity is built within all of our hearts, but sometimes that soul and that body needs to line up, and we need to hear from the father, this is who you are. And it feels familiar when that happens. It feels like, wow, I knew that the whole time, I didn't know it.
And I believe that the Lord has that for us here on Father's Day. I picture Jesus, strolling around with the father and just reflecting, and the father giving him downloads from the very beginning in Genesis. Do you remember the moment where Mary and Joseph see him? And Jesus says that, horrible phrase to them, why were you looking for me?
I'm about my father's business, and I'm at my father's house. And what happens in Jewish writing is oftentimes as a rabbi, and Jesus isn't a rabbi at the time, but he's a rabbi, right? And what Jewish teachers would do is they would draw our attention back to the very first time a phrase is used in the Torah to actually make a point. And the very first time that the word father's house is used is Genesis 12.
I want us to read Genesis 12. Says verse one, Genesis 12, it's the first girl of the Torah. Jesus knew this by heart, because he had memorized before this age. He had memorized the whole first five books of the Old Testament as a young Jewish boy.
Genesis 12, now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country and from your family, are you hearing me? And from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. And he continues and he says, I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, I'll make your name great, you shall be a blessing. Verse three, and I will bless those who bless you.
I'm gonna curse him, who curses you. And in you, all the families of the entire earth are going to be blessed. A picture, the father hanging out with the son in the temple and saying, hey, you and I, we chose this city. All back when Abram, when we called him out of his father's house, we were thinking, you and I, we were thinking about this father's house.
We were thinking about this moment in this city in Jerusalem and son, you are going to reign on the earth for eternity from this city. And we are going to establish your throne here. And we are going to dwell on the earth, we're gonna restore everything. And you son are going to be the reason why every family in heaven and earth is going to be blessed.
And Jesus as this young boy, this young man, is getting brought into a knowing of what he was designed to do and what he was called to do, not even designed, because he was not, he's an uncreated one, right? But the call of Yahweh in the flesh and why he was there. A picture of Jesus just talking about the father, you know? And him just saying, yeah, mom and dad, they, when they found me and what all the scribes were saying about me is that I'm a good listener, but he's the best listener.
My father, he's such a good listener. And I just want him to talk all the time, but my father is the most knowledgeable and he listens all the time. And he asks those questions, how many of you guys have known somebody that, that's a really good question and they ask a question and it's like light shines into the recesses of your soul. And you're like, why do you ask that question?
I wish you wouldn't ask that question, you know? And he gets to the heart of the matter. That's what the father is like. And that's what the scribes and the Pharisees and the teachers were experiencing.
They were experiencing this young boy that was demonstrating, all he was doing was copycouting because that's what sons do. He was just copycouting the father. And they looked at him and they went, who is this? That has Yahweh's wisdom and Yahweh's question asking and Yahweh's listening and Yahweh's answers.
Jesus knew who he was. And that carried him through the next 17 years of his life. As he was doing his earthly father's work being a carpenter and just day to day hidden. And Jesus knew that the father is a rewarder of those that do things in secret.
Because that's what his father's like. And as he was walking, because remember, he had this purpose, he had this mission. And when he was 30, it was his time to become a rabbi. Because you couldn't become a rabbi until you turned 30 years old.
So now is his moment. So he's leaving Nazareth and he's going down to the river Jordan because he's got a cousin. How many of you know the name of his cousin? John.
John, can you imagine the father's excitement? He's like, do you know who is going to baptize you son? Your cousin John. And do you know what John's like?
And Jesus is like, yeah, he's crazy. Do you know what he eats? Yeah, he eats flies. And the father's like, he's the guy for the job.
And Jesus is like, are you sure? And the father goes, yeah, he's the one. And so Jesus, he's making his way from Nazareth all the way to the river Jordan just outside of Jerusalem. And I just picture Jesus and the father, the father and the son walking together, just strolling together.
It's a three day journey from Nazareth to the river Jordan. And there they are, they're going together. The father wants to be on a journey with us. He doesn't want you to just do a bunch of stuff.
He wants to be with us, right? And so as they're on their journey and they're conversing and they're processing the last 17 years, what's ahead? Jesus approaches the water. And the father could have said anything about Jesus after Jesus gets baptized.
But when Jesus hits the water and he gets baptized into his ministry, what happens is so profound. Because it's like what the father had been brewing with for eternity, eternity passed. It's his first time where he really gets to put his love and affection on display. And you know, he could have said, this is the Messiah.
He could have said, this is your deliverer. He could have said, this is your king. He could have said, this is the miracle worker. This is the teacher, this is the rabbi.
He could have said all of these things. But you know what he said? He said, the most important thing that you need to know about this man is that I love him. He's my beloved son.
And then he goes, he's not just my beloved son. He's the son that I'm well pleased with. Can you imagine God taking the heavens open? It says that he rendered the heavens.
It says that it's like the stratosphere and the mesosphere and all of the spheres that are over the earth, they just became brittle. And the Lord is like, grr! And he just, I'm really not good at sound effects. But the microphone helps.
But the Lord just looks and breaks open the heavens and all because he's the father of love. All because he's the father of delight. Do you know the father of love? Do you know the father of delight yet?
Have you encountered the father that showers with affection, that showers with enjoyment? That when he looks at you, you feel like, he likes me so much that it makes me uncomfortable. He loves me so much that I'm gonna put on edge with that type of love. Nobody's loved me like that before.
Why are you loving me like that? I don't know if I like that. I don't know if you know me. I don't know if you know the secrets.
I don't know if you know the baggage. I don't know if you know what's been done to me and buy me. Why are you loving me like that? Jesus didn't have that problem, but we have that problem.
Right? And the Lord knows exactly what Jesus needs in the moment. As he's getting launched in the ministry, he knows that his purpose and his mission is to multiply that moment a billion times over so that every single family in heaven and earth can have that same encounter with the Father of heaven. So that everyone can know, I'm a son.
I'm a daughter that he loves and that he's really well pleased with. How many of you know that you can't do anything to earn it though? When I think about my kids, I love them so much and I don't love them because they're such good kids. I don't love them because they perform really well.
I mean, that's awesome when they do. But when Jesus is getting baptized, he hadn't done any ministry or any good stuff that would really put on display who God the Father is to the whole nation of Israel in the world. He hadn't done anything. He hadn't performed.
He hadn't showed up to the game and scored 15 points. He hadn't shown up to the school play and really been the star. He hadn't gotten straight A's. He hadn't done enough.
None of that. He didn't get a job out of college. He didn't do all this stuff that's like, man, I'm really proud of my son. Do you know what made him proud that it was just my son?
That was the pride in his heart because he's mine. And the Lord wants all of us to know a Father's love like that. That's not based on performance, not based on what you can do, not based on how righteous you can be and holy you can be and how many things you can check off the list. He's going, hey, I love you and that settles it.
You're like, I don't know. And he's like, it's already done. You can't get out of it. You're like, but I'm gonna go into the deepest, darkest pit and the Lord's like, hey, I'm there.
And then you're like, but I can probably run fast when the Lord's like, try. You're like, but I'm gonna go into the pig's love and I'm gonna betray you and I'm gonna say horrible things about you and make sure that everybody hates you the way I hate, I hate you and I'm gonna, because I'm mad. And the Lord's like, okay, I love you so much, buddy. We think we're gonna hurt him.
We think we're gonna just get him back. And I just hear Jesus, the sun's going, man, I know the Father isn't hurt and I'm not disappointed, but I just hear the sun going, I just wish they knew the Father the way that I know him. Because if they knew him the way that I know him, they wouldn't think the way that they think. If they knew him the way that I knew him, they'd know that he's the most safe and the most compassionate and the most generous and loving and patient and kind and he's the Father that they're longing for.
He's the comfort that they want when they're feeling completely not themselves. And the sun's looking at us today and I just feel him as he's like sitting in throne, I just feel him going, I love you so much. And I just hear whispers from the throne room of you haven't seen anything yet. You may be known religion, you may be known some good information, but you gotta know him.
Like you gotta know him. Because when you know him it changes everything, you know the Father's love and you can be completely a mess and receive his love in your mess, then you start getting to know him. And Jesus is like, man, do you remember that story that I shared? He's like, no, not the one about the garden where the Father came pursuing Adam and Eve when they rebelled against him.
Not like that's amazing. But he's like, but the other story where there's that sun that completely betrayed his Father. And then he just came to his senses and he started turning and he started coming back home. Do you remember what the Father did?
The Father waiting on the front porch is like, is that my boy? Is that my girl? And he started, he started booking it. He started booking it.
Do you know why he started booking it? Because the whole city, I don't know if you've heard this before, the whole city was, it was like part of the culture that if a son betrayed his Father and took advantage of his Father's inheritance and spoiled it with Gentiles, that a whole city would come out to meet that betraying son and would shame them so that they wouldn't come back to the city. The Father is waiting. And he's going, oh, I got my shoes on because I'm ready for this one.
I'm ready for my son because I'm going to beat every other foot, every other person of accusation because I'm going after my boy. I'm going after my daughter. And as the enemy is trying to accuse many of you today to go, you shouldn't come back. You shouldn't come back to the Father.
Look at what you did. Look at how you back to it. Look at how many years you've been. The Father's going, oh, I'm going to beat everybody to you.
Don't you know? Don't you know the strength of my legs? I created the cheetah. I'm like, fast.
And he's going, hey, I'm going to grab you. And I'm the God of open arms. I'm the Father of delight. I'm the Father of love.
I'm going to affirm you with my ring. I'm going to wrap you in the robe of righteousness that you don't deserve. You think you deserve that robe of righteousness? But it's the fathers, and I'm giving it to you.
And how many of you know that the Father is a party animal? He's the best at throwing parties. Who's the one that initiates parties in heaven when one sinner turns back to the Father? You think it's the angels?
You think it's Angel Gabriel that's throwing the party? No, it's the Father. It's the Father. You want to know why the angels start celebrating because they're following his lead.
And as the angels are celebrating, you better believe that the Father is more undignified than David and that he's ready to dance because he's filled with a joy that is infinite and he's not ashamed to show it. And some of you think that you got to go with, your tail between your legs and I don't know just like a prodigal son. But instead today, you're going to be that person that's going to go, I'm going to let you love me. I'm going to just lay in your love.
I'm going to rest in your love. I'm going to let you finally love me. Even though I can't point to any reason why you should love me. I'm going to let you do it anyways because it's not about me.
It's about you. And Jesus, do you know what gives Jesus so much joy is if you let his Father love you. You were designed to know this type of love. It's going to feel natural because it's how you were created.
It's not something that's like a new idea. This is like woven into the fabric of your being as a human, is to know this Father's love. When Jesus was dying on the cross and he experienced the wrath of God poured out, it was the wrath of a Father that was poured out on him because there is such justice in the Father's heart for everything that destroys his kids. And sin has been destroying his children.
And it's not that he hates his children. He hates the thing that destroys his children. And that's sin. And so he wants all of us free from things that hurt us.
So that's why when he says if you want to follow me, you got to leave behind, sin, you got to turn away from everything that is hurting you anyways. When you say yes to Jesus, I'm going to say it again, because it's really important. It's called repentance. It's called surrender.
So when you follow Jesus, you have to make a choice. And the choice is this. Do I want to be the God of my own life and do things my way and then say yes to sin and have sin govern my life? Or do I want to have a different leader, God?
If I want to have a different leader, I have to turn away from sin and then surrender to his lordship or leadership and follow him and do it his way. And how many of you know that when we do it his way, it's so much better and it's good for us. But we're still a work in progress and we mess it up all the time. The difference between a believer and a non-believer is that the believer has relationship with God the Father free access to him.
And even when they're in process, they don't just give themselves over to this former life. Instead, they go, that's not who I am. I'm going to live in the light. I'm going to actually be open.
I know that I'm forgiven. I know that that's not who I am. And I'm a son. And I've been set free from all that junk.
And I love you and I'm going to let you love me. Even when I messed up, I'm going to bounce back and I'm going to turn because that's not who I am. That's not what I want. That's my old self.
That's my old life. And that thing got crucified. So that was weird that I did that. That's how the Christian lives.
The Christian lives dead to that life. And the enemy tries to remind us to go back because he starts knocking on our door. He's like, hey, is anybody home? And then you go, nope.
And then you keep on going. And the enemy goes, hey, are you sure? And you go, yeah, no, yeah. That one died.
That person died. The one that you used to hang out with died. I'm the Lord's. I'm fully is.
That's what you get invited into. Some of you have known religion. Some of you have known going to church services, but you actually haven't encountered father God and surrendered your whole life. I'm not talking, listen, there's plenty of us that are nominal Christians.
We did church. We are culturally Americans that lived in a Christian world and a Christian, but I don't know. But I'm telling you, there's a moment where you go, I'm dying and I'm surrendering fully to Jesus. And you have an opportunity today to do that for the very first time.
Some of you have played church. Some of you have played just like done, gone through the motions. I don't know why you did it. Maybe it's just all you've always known.
And the Lord's going, but there's the reason why you're a little feeling like, man, why is there a cloud? And why is this not satisfying? Why is there something more that I'm looking for? And it's because you haven't actually gone born again.
Remember that moment Jesus looks in the water? It's time to get born again. You have a purpose for your life. You got a mission for your life, just like the sun, just like the father was speaking over the sun and going, you're not just any sun.
You're my son that I love, I delight in. You were meant to know that you're delighted in and you've got a purpose for your life. And the father wants to articulate that to you, but it's very simple to know the primary thing that you're called to. The primary thing that you're called to is to know him and be loved by him.
And then the Lord starts taking care of the rest. Some of us need to hear the father articulate something more. And I want to draw us back to the basics and go, actually, you probably just need to know his love. You probably just want, you probably are feeling like, I need to know my calling, I need to know my identity, I need to know my identity, I need to know my, like something more.
And the Lord's like, this is your identity, and this is your call. You're a son, you're a daughter. I'm the dad, I'm going to love you. Would you receive it?
Would you receive my delight? I'll stand. Thank you, Lord. The father is one whisper away.
He knows the very hairs on your head, and they're all numbered. He's the father of compassion, the father of kind love, and his love doesn't quit. He's the father of resilient love, and his love outlast our troubles. He's steadfast.
He doesn't cheat. He doesn't leave. He doesn't forget. He always shows up.
He's always faithful. I don't know where you're at on Father's Day, because some of us, you grew up with a dad, and the dad was home, but he wasn't home. Some of us grew up with a dad that was amazing. And you couldn't have thought of having a better dad that protected and provided and promoted you and pursued you.
But most of us maybe didn't have that. Maybe you never met your biological dad. Maybe you got adopted by another family. Maybe you got adopted when you were in high school, into a family that really loved you and took you under their wing.
I don't know what your father relationships look like. If there's father figures in your life, or if you didn't have anything, you didn't have a window into any of it. But it doesn't matter today. It doesn't matter today, because today is like the day where Jesus is in Jerusalem, and mom and dad aren't around.
And it's just him and the father. And today is your day where it's just you and the father. And he's wanting to speak identity over you. He's wanting to speak restoration over you.
And he's calling you into the depths of his love. He's inviting you into the recesses of the places that you feel like, I don't want to be loved in that way. And he's like, I'm going to shower you. And you are going to know love that is deeper than you've ever known, wider than you've ever known, higher, and longer.
It's going to outlast you. And the Lord's going, would you let me love you? Would you let me be your father? Would you let me step into that place today, Father's Day, 2024?
I don't know where you're at. Maybe you're going, I want to surrender my whole life to Jesus, or maybe you've been pursuing Jesus for a long time, and you're going, man, I know the Father like I know him, but I want to know him more. I want to know the Father in a way that just blows my mind. I want to know the Father's delight and affection.
Wherever you're at in that spectrum of, you've never met God, but you want to start a relationship, you maybe never met God and you're curious and you're going, man, this is interesting, I want to know the Father. Wherever you are in the spectrum, today gets to be your day to encounter the Father's heart of love. I want us to just close our eyes. Lord, we say that you are the Father of all things.
You're the Father that's not distant. You're the Father that's not mostly sad, mostly angry, mostly wondering why we haven't performed better. You're the Father that is steadfast. We want to know your steadfast love.
The slow to anger, a bounding, and love. Rich and mercy, Father. We want to know you. We just want to give an opportunity for us to respond to the altar.
We're just going to open up this altar all the way from the stairs over here, all the way to this other, all the way to this wall and in this rectangle altar area. Wherever you're at with the Father, I want to be specific and I just want to say maybe you're in middle school, maybe you're in high school, but I'm talking about the whole spectrum of ages in the room. Some of us are like, man, I feel like I'm 50, 60, 70 years old and like me, Father, like I'm an old guy, I'm older. And the Lord's looking at you and he's going, I want to counter you.
I want to encounter the grandpa's of the room because the Father's going, I remember you when you were five. I remember you when you were 15. I remember you when you were that young book. And I want to encounter you today.
I want to encounter you with my love. I want to blow your mind. However much history you have with God, or however little the Lord's going, today gets to be your day. I'm going to shower you with my affection and he's inviting us to actually move our bodies to go, I want to let you love me.
And so I'm going to pray and after I'm done praying, I'm going to invite anybody who wants to respond to the Lord to come to the altars. And as you come to the altar, it's this sign, physical sign. So your body knows I want to let the Father love me. And I'm making a choice consciously to go, I am going to let you in and I'm going to let you do it and I'm going to receive, all right?
So Lord, we say yes. Would you just put out your hands in front of you? If you're willing to say, Lord, I have been trying to parent myself, but I want you to be my Father. I'm going to let you love me.
I'm going to let you enjoy me. You're the Father that I've always wanted. You're the Father that I was created to know deeply. And I say yes to you.
As we immerse if I just want to encourage you to come to the altars, just let's make room in the aisles, let's spread out. I just want to invite you to come to the altars. If you want to say yes to the Father, I'm going to let you love me in my place. In this moment, you can come all the way to the front of the altar to this black tape.
Lord, we say yes to you. We want to encounter you today. We want to know your love. Lord, I'm going to let you love me.
I'm going to receive your love. I want to know your love deeply.