Fatherhood matters. It matters to God, and it matters to us. So many of us are growing up fatherless, whether it’s because of illness, absence, or attitude. We carry these wounds with us for the rest of our lives, and even if don’t mean to, we attach those same feelings to our relationship with our Heavenly Father. But God is not a reflection of our earthly Father, He is the perfection of him. In this kick-off message to our new series, Not Forsaken, Louie Giglio reminds us of who we are; loved sons and daughters of a perfect father.
In Not Forsaken, Louie Giglio invites us to understand the character of God in a life-changing way: as a perfect Father who wants you to live under the waterfall of His blessing. You see, God is not the bigger version of your earthly dad. He’s the perfect version of your earthly dad. And He’s inviting you to walk in freedom as His loved son or daughter.
Key Takeaway
We all have to face the gap between where our earthly fathers have failed us and where our perfect Heavenly Father has accepted and chosen us. The quality of our life depends on it.
God is capable of changing the story for those who have been called "the fatherless generation" into a generation who live like the loved sons and daughters of the Perfect Heavenly Father.
Every single person is hard-wired to desire their father's blessing. As kids, if your dad was around, we would say, "Daddy! Watch me!" and "Did you see it?" This is the innate, God-woven desire in each of us: we just need to know that our dad saw it, he loved it, and he is pleased with us. We all want our Father's blessing, which encompasses his approval, his affection, his participation in our lives, and his belief in us.
When you hear the words "I love you" from your dad, and it's walked out in your life, that is a foundational stepping stone for life going better, not perfectly, but in the right direction.
When the blessing is not there, or even a curse or abuse is set in place, there is a gap. You can either fake it or face it. You have to face the gap because you'll never be able to bury it. It always rises to the top. Faking it, stuffing it down, acting like you don't need it and you're fine without it is not going to get you to the place God wants you to be in your life; which is being transformed no matter what was into what can be...living empowered under the blessing of a perfect Heavenly Father. It is knowing that deep in the fiber of our being, we are loved sons and loved daughters. That's who we are, and that's how we're going to live our lives. That's the power of the gospel.
A lot of the uncertainty, lack of confidence, lack of self-identity and self-worth, aimlessness, anger, relational conflict, and emotional instability is tied back to the gap and not having your dad say things like, I love you. I am proud of you. I am here for you. I'm not perfect, but I am going to teach you the best I know how. I will provide a safety net for you if you make a mistake. You have potential. You are somebody. I am so happy that you are on this planet. I want to stand by and applaud and cheer, with parameters and guidance, as you become everything God has created you to be.
As of 2019, 1 in 4 children are growing up in fatherless homes. The other 3 of 4 may have a father in the home, but it's not always a great situation. We are reaping the harvest of no-fault divorce. So, the fatherless generation is trying to find our way, make our way, and we've been invited by the Church and by the gospel into a relationship with God, who wants us to know Him as a Heavenly Father.
The dilemma is that so many think, "If God is like my dad, I want nothing to do with Him. But God is on the move, and through history, God has hand fatherhood on his radar."
In the Old Testament, Malachi was a prophet and the last book of that section. He calls us up to what we can be in life and promises hope, but he also ends the entire Old Testament by telling the people to return to the faith of their fathers, and God wants to restore children to their fathers, and their fathers to their fathers. Malachi 4:5-6 says that one will come in the spirit of Elijah, and He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents.
In the opening of the New Testament, Luke 1:17 says about John the Baptist that he will come in the spirit of Elijah, and He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children. The Bible is consistent and this is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.
The big picture is God wants to restore a relationship with God as Father to His people, and in that, there is the possibility to restore earthly fathers to earthly children.
None of us is going to have to live with our story as it is right now. God isn't going to leave you in the state that you are in with the collateral that happened to you because of your relationship with your earthly father. No, Jesus is coming and is now here. He's going to move you forward and transform your life into the fullness of what He has planned. He's going to break every curse and restore everything that's been stolen, and that includes things that were stolen from you by your relationship with your earthly father.
Everyone has the potential to live in the blessing of a Perfect Father: approved, loved, with His participation, and His belief in you.
Psalm 27:10 says that even if my father and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me. This is a promise. You will not have "abandoned" be the story of your life.
What does the gospel have to do with your dad?
Read Matthew 27:45-46. From noon to 3pm, creation was shrouded in darkness by the Cross because it was too horrific for anyone to comprehend. Some of us have a dark cloud over us. But in the darkness, about 3 pm, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Right before He dies, Jesus experiences something He's never experienced before...being separated from His Father. He, in all of time, had not known what it was like to not be with His Father. Jesus is experiencing the penalty of sin, which is spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God. Death is not just pain and physical death. He was forsaken—forsaken means to be left behind in the most vulnerable time of your life. Jesus became sin on our behalf. He wasn't just a fill-in on the Cross, He became sin on the Cross and bore the penalty of our sin. He experiences what we should have, which is God not being able to have fellowship with us. See 2 Corinthians 5:21. There is no getting around the fact that the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23.
But another reason God forsook Jesus on the Cross is so that we could know that because Jesus was forsaken, God will never forsake those who put their faith in Him. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave or forsake us. He forsook His own son for you. When you look back over life, you can see how God has not forsaken you during your hardest moments. He is the reason you even got through it. The Cross is in the middle of our story.
- The Gospel story of Jesus is not just about you getting to Heaven. It's really about getting you to a Heavenly Father.
- Some of our earthly relationships might not get fixed, but you can get fixed by the power of the risen Christ. Do not let the enemy convince you this will always be your story. God is more powerful.
- God is not moving on without you. He nailed His Son to a tree to prove to you that He's not forsaking you. God is in the gap with you today.
Discussion Questions
- What was/is your relationship with your father? How has this shaped your view of God?
- What is the innate desire in every human being when it comes to our dads?
- It's very hard to face the "gap" that Louie talked about. What is the risk of us not dealing with it?
- What are some of the most foundational things a child needs to hear from their father?
- What is so special about Malachi 4:8 and Luke 1:17? Think about where the books fall in the canon of Scripture, what those verses say, what the implications are.
- What is the promise found in Psalm 27:10? How is that connected to Hebrews 13:5?
- How do Romans 6:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 support each other?
- What does Jesus experience in Matthew 27:45-46? Why is this significant?
- What is the true goal of the Gospel story?
- It's a reality that not all earthly relationships may be fixed, but what do you need to be aware of as far as what the enemy is trying to convince you of and what God says is true?
Scripture References
