Ephesians 1:1-8
My context for this morning is what is God like?
Three questions the whole of humanity asks at some point:
Is there a god?
Can I know him?
What is he like?
The people in the world are asking questions about their existence and our Father wants people to know who he is.
This is not a talk to harangue you to knock on your neighbours doors or a competition to see who has had the most conversations about Jesus this year.
NO. I want to encourage you all. Very many of you are having conversations, are living your lives out waiting for the opportunities to share what God is like.
People are seeking to find answers so keep on being prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Jesus.
I have a company training day about Purpose
Love God, love your neighbour, make disciples.
Make it simple but not simplistic
Ordinarily people are the epicentre of Gods plan and he wants people to know him. He is not remote, bleak and unknowable as many believe. That is a satanic lie. He is much much kinder than we can ever be.
1.Dad and Steve. My brother had treatment for bladder cancer 4 years ago and has since had a triple bypass. My Dad is 93 and he loves my brother and I very much. He said he would rather he had the pain than my brother. What a picture of the Father sending Jesus to pay for our sins. There is a desire for family and for our families that is very powerful and even overwhelming.
2.Have you even seen Billy Elliot. They go through all the trials of the death of the mother, the miners strike, Christmas with nothing, the dementia of the mothers mother who lives with them. But the scene that chokes me is near the end where the father and son and sitting on a low wall and they have a small play fight and fall off backwards and lie on their backs together and laugh. That is what our Heavenly Father is like.
3.You can’t hide from the way God has made you and who you come from.
4.People will search for meaning and who they are so be ready to tell them what their Father in heaven is like.
5.Long lost families. How then children ache to know who they come from. They want to introduce the new found brother, sister, mother, father to their families. What a picture of evangelism.
6.Simon Pryor. Parents never forget their children. Our Heavenly Father aches for us to find him.
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”
Application
Know the Fathers heart for you
There is a desire for family and for our families that is very powerful and even overwhelming.
That is what our Heavenly Father is like.
You can’t hide from the way God has made you and who you come from.
People will search for meaning and who they are so be ready to tell them what their Father in heaven is like.
Our Heavenly Father aches for us to find him.
When you tell people about your faith, tell them about your Father, tell them stories of Jesus from the bible,
Questions
What is your image of the Father?
Think of stories from the New Testament that convey the loving Father.
Example the prodigal son. I used the example in Billy Elliot.
How can you change the way you explain the gospel to convey the love of God to people? We are a family, think about the way people are excited to connect with long lost family members.