|
WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 36
1 February 2009
Abba, Father
(Message delivered by Rev Hien
Nguyen at the Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Feb 1, 09)
Text: Gal 4:4-7
What would you think and behave if you were a son or
a daughter of a king? Surely, we would not worry about our lives and
about what we would eat, drink, or put on. We would also feel secured as
we were protected by the royal guards. We would also behave as a prince
or a princess of the royal family. We would never be ashamed of being
children of our father, who is the king. Then what about our attitudes
towards our heavenly Father, who is the King of kings? Are we so much
worried about our lives and sometimes frightened at our uncertain
future? Are we living and behaving as sons and daughters in the royal
family?
We have learnt about the LORD our God, who is our
Creator and the Most High, eternal, supreme, sovereign, almighty,
unchangeable, holy, righteous, faithful, all-wise, ever-present and
merciful, and who is All we need. However, in our great trials and
difficulties, we sometimes feel that the LORD our God seems to be so
high, so great and far from us and we are nothing and so small that He
may not care for us! Therefore, it is so comforting to remember that the
LORD our God is our Father, who does love us and care for us, His
beloved children. Today we are learning about the name of God as our
Father, and we may cry unto Him, Abba, Father (Rom 8:15; Gal
6:6). As the LORD our God is truly our heavenly Father, what are our
proper attitudes toward Him?
The Meaning and Background
of Abba
Abba is an Aramaic
term, which means father. It has three occurrences in the New
Testament and is used to address God in prayer, always followed
immediately by the translation, Abba, Father (Mark 14:36; Rom
8:15; Gal 4:6). The Hebrew term for “father” is ab, and in Greek,
it is paté̄r.
Abba, Father is first
mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ, who fervently prayed to His Father
in the garden of Gethsemane, “And he said, Abba, Father, all things
are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not
what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36).
It is so comforting to hear the words from our Lord
Jesus, “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me,
and have believed that I came out from God.” (John 16:27). Do you
and I truly trust in our heavenly Father’s love? He loved us so much
that He gave us His only begotten Son (John 3:16) and that He “spared
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). Our God the Father
not only gave us His only Son, who came to die for us and our sins and
rose again for our justification, but also gave us the Holy Spirit, who
guides us, regenerates us, sanctifies, comforts and strengthens us,
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him?” (Luke 11:13), and we are encouraged to cast all our
care upon Him “for he careth for us” (1 Peter 5:6). Then do you
and I still doubt our heavenly Father’s love and care? “Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). Shall we not praise our
Father, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3) and
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
(Eph 1:3)?
Our Proper Attitudes
Be Born Again, Be Separate and Be Holy:
We must be born again by God’s Word and by the Holy
Spirit (John 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23) to be God’s children. There is no other
way. Are you sure that you are born again and enjoying God’s eternal
life and fellowship with Him? Our heavenly Father is holy and He
requires us His children to be holy and separated from sins, worldliness
and wrong doctrines, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor 6:17-18; cf. James 1:27)
and “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye
call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to
every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1
Peter 1:16-17).
Acknowledge and Trust in God the Father’s
Sovereignty: It is our God the Father’s
sovereignty, love and grace alone that has drawn us to Jesus Christ and
revealed Him to us as Jesus confirms, “No man can come to me, except
the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44) and “Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
(Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God) unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven” (Matt 16:16-17). Our God the Father even
has prepared His kingdom for us before we were born, “Fear not,
little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) and “Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”
(Matt 25:34). It is always good for you and me to acknowledge and trust
in our heavenly Father, who is always in control and able to make all
things work together for our good (Rom 8:28). He is our Creator and
Potter and we are just the clay in His hand, “But now, O LORD, thou
art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the
work of thy hand” (Isa 64:8), and there is nothing happening to us
without our loving Father’s permission, “Are not two sparrows sold
for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without
your Father” (Matt 10:29). Praise our God the Father!
Know God the Father through Jesus Christ:
God the Father has revealed Himself through His Son
Jesus Christ, so we may know about Him through His Son, “No man hath
seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18), and “If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him” (John 14:7). Have you and I known God
the Father? “I write unto you, little children, because ye have known
the Father” (1 John 2:13). Looking at Jesus Christ, we can be sure
that our heavenly Father is not only almighty, holy and just, but also
loving, caring, forgiving, gentle, and meek, and this truth will draw us
closer to Him.
Humbly Worship God the Father in Spirit and in Truth:
Our God the Father, our Creator, is
worshipped in heaven day and night, but He is still seeking true
worshippers on earth, who worship Him in spirit and in truth, “But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship
him” (John 4:23). Are you and I true worshippers, who worship the
Father according to His Word, which is truth (John 17:17), under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is Truth (1 John 5:6), and with Jesus,
the truth (John 14:6), the centre of our worship?
Seek God the Father First and Trust in His Loving
Care: It is wise for you and me to seek
our God the Father first and trust in His loving care, “Behold the
fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?... for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you” (Matt
6:26, 33).
Honour God the Father and Submit to His Will and His
Word: Our Lord Jesus Christ honours His
Father and submits to His Father’s will and Word even unto death, and we
must do the same, “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible
unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but
what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). There is no other way, “Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”
(Matt 7:21), and “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which
is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt
12:50), and “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”
(John 14:23).
Let us not be discouraged when we are chastised by
our loving Father, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not? Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb 12:6, 7, 9)
Pray to God the Father:
Jesus prayed to His Father, addressing, “Father”
(John 17:21, 24) “O Father” (John 17:5), “Holy Father”
(John 17:11), “O righteous Father” (John 17:25), we are
encouraged to do the same in our prayers, “For ye have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15; cf. Gal 4:6).
Jesus teaches us to pray to our Father in His name, “Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will
give it you” (John 16:23), and to put our heavenly Father’s name,
kingdom and will first and before our needs (Matt 6:9-13). Do we pray
accordingly like that?
Give Thanks and Praise to God the Father:
Knowing our heavenly Father’s grace, love, and
boundless blessings, we should give thanks and praise to Him always,
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20), and “Giving thanks
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light” (Col 1:12), and “And
whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col 3:17).
Glorify God the Father and Do His Work:
Jesus Christ glorified His Father and finished His
Father’s work, and we should do the same. Jesus prayed to His Father,
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). Are you and I glorifying
God and doing His work? “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen” (Matt 28:19, 20). Our heavenly Father will be glorified
when we bear much good fruit and reflect the light of Jesus in this
world of darkness, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit” (John 15:8), and “Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven.” (Matt 5:16).
Commit Ourselves to God the Father’s Care:
Jesus committed Himself to His Father, we should
do the same, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he
said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus,
he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46). It is always safe in our
Father’s mighty hand, “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than
all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John
10:29).
Come Back to God the Father in Humble Repentance:
When we are backsliding, it is always wise
to come back to our loving Father right away, “I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and before thee” (Luke 15:18), and we shall enjoy
His forgiveness and blessings, “And he arose, and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke
15:20). Our heavenly Father is so good!
Be Perfect as God the Father Is Perfect:
We are commanded to be perfect as our Father is
perfect, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48), and “Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Remembering
this command will keep us humble as we are not yet perfect!
Conclusion
Dear friends, thank God and praise the LORD our God,
who is our loving and caring Father. May God help us know more about Him
and trust in Him, worship Him, seek Him first, submit to Him and His
Word, give thanks and praise to Him and look forward to our blessed
place with Him in heaven, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
(John 14:2). Amen.
Top
/ Back
|
