Fatherhood of God Scotland Youth Conference For the Father Himself loves you. Jn 16:27

Awesome God  Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Ex 20:18-21

Caring for the smallest detail of a servant  “And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth. Ex 21:27

God by Nature is The FATHER The Creed  Truly, We believe in one God, God the FATHER the Pantocator, creator of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible.

On the Incarnation (16:5) St Athanasius  There were thus two things of Love which the Savior did for us by becoming Man. (1)He banished death from us and made us anew; and, (2) invisible and imperceptible as in Himself He is, He became visible through His works and revealed Himself as the Word of the Father, the Ruler and King of the whole creation.

Liturgy of St Gregory  O You who are, Master, Lord, true God of true God:-  Who revealed to us the light of the Father;  Who bestowed upon us the true knowledge of the Holy Spirit.  Who has revealed to us this great mystery of life.

God is THE model Father a) In the O.T. God models Fatherhood in His relationship to Israel (The Nation). b) In the Gospels God models Fatherhood in His relationship to Jesus Christ (eternally- revealed to us in time) (The Son). c) In the N.T. God models Fatherhood in His relationship to believers (The Church).

 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 1 Cor 4:15 God has Children and no grandchildren

Why is the fatherheart significant? Satan has destroyed both the image of God as a loving father and he has caused havoc and chaos in many of our earthly families by “binding the fathers”.

A worldwide cry!  There is a generation of “orphans” crying out to God. Only by knowing the Father heart of God as a son or daughter can true and lasting healing be achieved.  Worldwide people live in rejection and fear and seek to fill the void within with things – jobs, cars, money, toys, alcohol, sex, drugs – but none of this can truly satisfy!

Images of the father  The passive father.  The performance oriented father.  The abusive father.  The absent father.  The authoritarian father.  The ‘good’ father. All these images are distorted to a degree and this means we cannot truly see our heavenly Father for who he is.

Jehova Jireh = Jehovah will provide  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Gen 22:14

Jehovah Rapha = (The Lord That Heals)  and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” Ex 15:26

Jehovah Ra’ah =(The Lord My Shepherd)  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Ps 23:1

Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)  It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. Eze 48:35

Jehovah Mekoddishkim = (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)  “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Ex 31:13

Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)  So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is- Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Jdg 6:24

Jehovah Tsidkenu = Jehovah is our righteousness  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jer 23:6

Slow to Anger  The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. Ps 103:8

Liturgy of St Gregory  You, O my Master have turned for me the punishment into salvation.  As a good shepherd you have sought the stray.  As a true Father, You labored with me, who had fallen.  You bandaged me with all the remedies, which lead to life.

I am stuck  God’s best sermons aren’t delivered at church they are delivered during these moments – these moments of “stuck”.

3 Encouraging Truths When You Feel Stuck 1.God has us just where he wants us to be. 2.He is preparing, reforming and transforming us to be His and do his work. 3.God put a calling in our hearts. Listen and follow.

He disciplines and corrects  You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Deut 8:5

St. John Chrysostom In Hebr. Hom., 29:3  Since illegitimate are not chastened, then we should rejoice when we are chastened, for it is a sign of our legitimate sonship.

He disciplines and corrects  13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 2 Sam 7:13,14

St. Cyprian Ep. 7:5.  When God rebukes us, it is to rectify us, and when He rectifies us, He preserves us.

Partakers of His holiness  Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Heb 12:9,10

St John Chrysostom Homilies on St John, 59:3  When the Lord leads us to the Father, He calls Himself ‘the door.’ When He watches over us, He calls Himself ‘the Shepherd.’ So that we might not think that His sole mission is to bring us to the Father, He calls Himself ‘the Shepherd’.

Fraction of St Cyril of Alexandria  And as you are one with Your Father and the Holy Spirit, we become united with you. And you with us to fulfill your saying “And that we all may be One in Us”. So with that intimacy, we call on God, Your Father; Our father, and say with loud voices …Our Father