Peter Tan-Chi - A Father Like No Other
Greetings! In the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Today is a very special day! We want to honor all the fathers. May I ask you a question? How many of you are still living with a father or your father is still alive? Will you please stand up? I'm watching you. I want you to do something after the end of the message, I like you to say something your father, thank him, say something like "Dad, I want to thank you for being a father to me". Feel free to add whatever you want to say. Today, the message is going to be so special. It has to do with Do you know Him? The reality is there are some of us here who grew up without a father, or there are others who grew up with a horrible, irresponsible father.
How you wish you can have a real good father. The good news is this, today, I want to introduce to you a Father like no other, and He wants you to know Him. For those of you who have wonderful fathers, I praise God. This message will also help you to appreciate your father even more. And to those of you who are fathers, I want you to learn from the perfect Father that you will learn today. In the Old Testament, God is described as Father, 15 times. In the new Testament, Jesus used the term "Father" referring to God, over 165 times. That is from the words of Jesus. If you include the apostle Paul and the other writers of scriptures, 200+ times, you'll find the New Testament describing God as our Heavenly Father. This is amazing, because if you look at Jewish literature, you'll seldom find even the rabbis talking about God as their "Father".
In the New Testament, this was revolutionary. Can you imagine, Jesus telling us the creator of the heavens and the earth is our Father. Not only that, Jesus uses amazing terms, calling our Father in heaven from the word "Abba", that's from the word "daddy", it's a term of endearment. Jesus wants us to know that God is our Daddy. God is our Father. Today, I want to share with you who our Heavenly Father is, what is He like, and how do you have a real relationship with Him? Let's begin by looking at what Jesus has to say. Today, I want to share with you from another perspective. From this prayer that Jesus taught us, what can we learn about God? The first thing I like you to know is our Father is none other than God who is in heaven. Jesus is very emphatic. He says, Do you notice the pronoun ours? All the pronouns here are plural. We are a family. "Our Father, who is in heaven". He's none other than the Creator. He is none other than the sovereign Lord.
I want to share with you a couple of qualities about our Father who is in heaven. The first thing you need to know about our Father is His preeminence. The word preeminence means above others. When it comes to ranking. Supremacy, superiority, ascendancy, most important. In other words, our Father who is in heaven is uniquely superior, there is no equal, preeminence. Question, because of His preeminence. What must you do? Jesus tells us, He tells us because of His preeminence, hallowed be Your name. What does that mean? The word "hallowed" comes from the Greek word. "hagiazo". Hagiazo is where you have the word holy, to make holy. What does it mean? You sanctify, you set apart. God's name is so important, because in the Bible, the name of a person and the very character of the person is linked together.
When the Bible says you set apart, you consecrate God's name it means you glorify Him, you honor Him, you want to dedicate your life. Why? Because our Father is preeminent. He is the most important. The opposite of hallowing God's name is to profane His name. It is to live your life in such a way that you and I bring shame to the name of the Lord. It is not treating Him with respect. To be a good father. you must lead your family to a point where you and your entire family will hallow God's name. In other words, will your family know that God, your heavenly Father, is your priority? Most important, preeminent in your family. What do I mean? Let me give you an example. If I were to talk to your children and ask your children, "What is the most important thing when it comes to your father"?
In other words, I'll ask your children, what is most important to your father? What will your children say? Will your children say "The most important for my father is his career, his money, his social media, his hobby, his sports". The way your children will answer that question is by observing fathers. How do you spend your time? How do you spend your money? What do you talk about? What excites you? That is what will determine their answer. I remember years ago, I asked my children, I asked my son, "what do you like to be when you grow up"? And I was shocked, I shared this with you some time ago. When my son said, "I want to be a businessman, I want to have lots of money. I want to be like you".
And I cried in my heart when I heard it, because for him, the most important thing for me is about money. It's about business. That was when he was in high school. When he went to college, I asked my son the same question, "What do you like to be someday"? And my son said, "I'd like to be like you". I said, "what do you mean"? He said, "I'd like to be like you, a self-supporting businessman who teaches the Bible, who disciples people, and to use my business to honor God". And that my friend is what I discovered. It's never too late to change. You see my priority when it comes to my children's life was different, I was giving them a wrong signal, even though God is my highest priority, they don't see it that way. So I began to change. What about you? A good father will be able to share with his children, a model of making God preeminent.
According to Jesus, So to give God preeminence, "your kingdom will come" knowing He is king. It's about His agenda, His priority. It is one thing to know His will. It is one thing to do what God wants us to do. That is how you show your family, God is preeminent. I'm reminded of the story of one of our CCF members, when his brother was murdered, and they finally caught up, and the murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment. Do you know what our brother did? He went out of his way to visit the murderer and he went there to share the gospel. To share the good news of Jesus. And he told the murderer that he has forgiven him, because of who God is. Friends, our brother showed his family that God is preeminent in his life. To show the preeminence of God is not by talking, it is by our action.
Can your family see that God is priority? How do you spend your time? What excites you? What do you talk about? I pray that your children will say, "God is preeminent". Next, God is the provider. What do I mean? The word "daily bread" comes from the word "epiousios", the need for the day. This is an amazing word. This word was not used by classical Greek writers. In fact, this word only occurs twice in the entire New Testament. It has to do with this prayer of Jesus. "Give us this day, our daily bread". Why? Because this word is so unique. Many scholars tell us, this was probably invented by the gospel writers. It's a combination of "epi" and "ousios", meaning "today". "When today comes, whatever's my need for today, please provide".
A good Father will provide. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us, God expects fathers to provide for their family. I know there are exceptions. There are some fathers who are not able to work, but as a general rule, it is the responsibility of fathers to provide for their family. A good father will provide. How does God provide for us? What can we learn? Matthew 6, Jesus tells us, Don't worry. You see the truth is, we worry. Here is Jesus, reminding us we have a Heavenly Father. He tells us, He tells us if God will provide for the birds, how much more will he provide for you and for me? You see, Jesus wants us to know our heavenly Father is an amazing provider. I was surprised to learn that the average father will only spend 20+ seconds a day with their children.
Now, this is US statistics. How will you know what are the needs of your family, if you only interact on the average, 20+ seconds with your children? You see, for most fathers, our focus is physical needs, but the reality is this, there are also spiritual needs, emotional needs. It is so important that a father is willing to spend time with their children. I remember one night when my daughter came to my room crying, I asked her, why are you crying? My daughter said "I'm afraid to die. I don't know if I'm going to heaven". At that moment, I realized my daughters need, it is a spiritual need, an emotional need. She was afraid to die. And by the grace of God, I was able to spend time and share the good news about Jesus and led her to accept our Lord, Jesus Christ. as her Lord and Savior.
Fathers, do you know the needs of your children? Our heavenly Father is amazing. He knows our needs. Not only does He know our needs, He's able to provide. This verse tells me something about our heavenly Father. He not only knows our needs. He is not only able to provide for our needs. He knows what is best. What do I mean? Here is the contrast, What Jesus is saying is simply this, if you ask for something, and that something is not good, God will not give it to you, because God will give you something that is good. If you ask for something, and God isn't answering your prayer, is it possible that His answer is "Not now". "You're not ready", or "I'm sorry, it's not good for you".
You see, God knows what is best, when it is best to give it to you. How does God provide for us? There are many ways. I'm reminded of a story in 2 Kings 4:1-2 The husband of the widow died. Now you have to understand, in the Old Testament, up to the time of Christ, widows are helpless. There's no system to take care of them. So here's the story of a widow whose husband died. The widow was in deep trouble, she was about to lose everything, including her own children, and they'll be sold as slaves to pay for her debt. Now, this is the amazing thing about our heavenly Father, He provides. And what did God tell this widow to do? Here's what Elisha said, Imagine, the only thing she has is a jar of oil. Here is a solution. This is what Elisha told this widow, She was asked to do something: to borrow empty vessels, as many as she can. To visit as many neighbors as she can, that is her part. In other words, the sons were doing their part, borrowing empty vessels left and right.
Now the Bible tells us, Wow! How did God provide? God provided by asking her and her sons to do something. You see God provides for us, but many times, we don't do our part. In this case, God told her "you borrow as many vessels, as many empty jars as you can". Can you imagine what would have happened if the sons were lazy, or the sons were embarrassed to borrow empty vessels? You see God provides, but we must do our part. So what have we learned so far about our heavenly Father? He is preeminent. He is our provider. The next thing we can learn about God is He pardons. What do we mean? Our God is a forgiving heavenly Father, Matthew 6, the word forgive comes from this word, "aphiemi". Aphiemi is a compound word. "A", away. "Phiemi", get rid of. So when the Bible says, Jesus wants us to know our heavenly Father is a forgiving Father. That's why He tells us, "we are to forgive".
In fact, forgiveness is so crucial, that a few verses down, Jesus tells His disciples, But you notice something? You see forgiveness is not an option, it's a command. Why? First of all, our Father is forgiving. He pardons us, but because we are forgiven people, God expects us to forgive others. That's why forgiveness is not an option. I realize there are many families, they have problems in their relationships with each other, you know why, they don't understand that our heavenly Father is forgiving and He wants us to be forgiving. Fathers, have you developed a culture of forgiveness in your house? In our family, I praise God, we have a culture of forgiveness, because none of us are perfect. I know I'm not perfect. I'm going to disappoint my children. What do we mean when we say God is forgiving?
Look at the Old Testament, Psalm 103, Everything you see, in the teachings of Jesus about our heavenly Father, is because of His love for us. Because He loves us He forgives us. Because He loves us He provides for us. This word, "His lovingkindness", this is an amazing word, this is a special word given to God's chosen people. And the whole emphasis is God's willingness to forgive us. Notice, I praise God, that God has not dealt with me, according to my sinfulness. God has not rewarded me according to my iniquities. Why? He tells us, God is compassionate, God is gracious. You see, the forgiveness of God is based on His compassion, it's based on His grace. And because God is forgiving, God is slow to anger, abounding in love. That's what the Bible verse is saying.
Notice. I remember this verse was explained some time ago, east and west, will never meet. That's the meaning of forgiveness... You let go. You don't count it against them anymore. You don't keep a record of their wrong. As far as the east is from the west, that is eternity. Forgiveness is letting go. Our heavenly Father forgives. I'm reminded of a story, written by Ernest Hemingway. He talks about a father and a son who had problems in their relationship. The rebellious son left home, of course the father was angry. After a while, the father realized he really loved his son and he wanted to look for his son. He placed an ad in the local newspaper, and this is what he wrote: "Dear Paco," Paco is the name of his son, "meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father". The next day, in front of the newspaper's office, he got the shock of his life, there were 800 Paco's who showed up. Why 800? Is it because there are many teenagers whose names are Paco? Or is it because there are many teenagers who are looking for forgiveness and love?
Friends, I don't know about your family, we all long for forgiveness, your children long for forgiveness. Our heavenly Father forgives. What can we learn about our heavenly Father? Preeminence, give Him your highest priority. He is a provider, you can trust Him. He forgives, He pardons. He is patient, you can come to Him, you can be honest with Him. He protects. What do we mean our heavenly Father protects? A good father protects, look at Matthew 6:13, Notice, I want to emphasize the word, Do not lead us into temptation. The word "temptation" comes from this word "peirasmos". Peirasmos means what? Trials. It means hardships. The word evil is "poneros", pain, suffering. This is a legitimate prayer. It is okay to expect your Father to protect you, to guide you. This is a prayer of prevention. It is a prayer requesting God for our future needs. We need protection from bad choices, from bad decisions. How is that word used? Peirasmos.
First of all, I want you to know that word peirasmos can be positive and negative, what do I mean by negative or positive? In James 1:13, The word "tempted" comes from the same word peirasmos. You see this same word peirazo, peirasmos is used in a negative way. God does not tempt us to commit sin. But there are certain peirasmos, certain trials that He allows. What do I mean? Notice, you are supposed to greatly rejoice, Same word used by various peirasmos. Now this is something that is necessary, The purpose of this trial is going to benefit us. The proof of your faith. You see, God wants us to know whether your faith is real or not. Why? Because faith is so crucial. The Bible tells us, your faith is more precious than gold. Because your faith has to be genuine. It will impact your eternity. And God is saying He allows trials, What kind of trials? These are trials that are not meant to destroy you, they're meant to refine you, to build you up.
The objective is to bless you. When God allows us to have trials, it is calibrated clearly. Proper amount, not too much, not too little. Peirazo, same word, but grammatically, one is a verb, one, is a noun. This truth is a great comfort to me, you know why? It tells me whatever trials that God has allowed in my life, He knows about it, it is there to build me up. And God will not give me trials that is beyond His strength to help me endure. I don't know what's going on in your life today, especially during this pandemic, but fathers, can I tell you something? It is your job to protect your children. It is your job to prepare them to face trials. Our heavenly Father is protective.
Our heavenly Father knows what we need. What does a good father do? A good father wants to protect his children from unnecessary harm. So how does a father do that? Many times, a father will discipline us. The Bible tells us, What do we mean by this verse? Many times, God will allow the consequences of bad choices as part of His discipline. Why? To teach us precious lessons. So the way God protects us is often through discipline, and discipline is not always pleasant. What do I mean? So God allows trials, sometimes we confuse trials as punishment. It is not punishment, it is for our good. It is to discipline us. Many fathers don't know how to discipline their children. You overprotect your children, you spoil them, the Bible tells us, a good father will discipline their children. But the purpose is never to punish, the purpose is to train.
No wonder Ephesians 6:4, tells us, What is this verse saying? In other words, it is possible for fathers to overdiscpline, and by doing that, you provoke your children to anger. It is possible for fathers, who may not know how to discipline their children, and your children is now harboring anger. It is possible for your children to be angry. Yes. But if you do not know how to discipline, I know fathers who are overcontrolling. When you overcontrol your children, you provoke them to anger. And don't be surprised, someday, when they want to leave home, because you're overcontrolling. Fathers fail in this area of discipline, you go to one extreme, overcontrolling. Everything is "no, no, no". "You cannot go out and play, you cannot be with your friend," that is the meaning of you will provoke your children to anger. The other one, no discipline at all. you spoil your children. Either way is wrong.
The Bible tells us how do you protect your children? Remember, a good father protects. He not only provides. He's not only pardons. He protects. How do you protect? And I tell fathers, you have only so much time with your children. Someday, your children are going to say goodbye to you. And it is during those moments, I pray that you would have trained them, you have disciplined them, in such a way that they will internalize values. My wife reminded me how her parents, father and mother, thought her certain principles. How not to be alone with the opposite sex in a house, or in a room. Praise the Lord, my wife, heeded the instructions of the Lord through her parents. She was telling me years ago, when she was still single, my wife was a flight attendant.
And when they landed in Alaska, there was a group of stewardess, a group of them, they were invited by a group of military officers to show them the wilderness of Alaska. And somehow they paired up with different cars. And the one that was driving my wife was driving a Ferrari. Guess what my wife did? My wife began to share Christ with the military officer and the military officer said "of all the girls, I will meet today, It has to be you, a Christian". Not only that, when evening time came, they wanted the girls to stay overnight with them because they were able to rent a nice big cottage. But my wife learned this principle, my wife does not want to be alone overnight with the opposite sex. My wife said, "bring us home". She was very firm. "Bring us home". I praise God for my wife, because my wife heeded the instructions of the Lord through her mother.
Friends, how are you doing in protecting your children? Do you warn them? Do you guide them? A good father is passionate about his children. Our heavenly Father is passionate about us. You may not realize this, God loves you so much. Everything that you see, what He is doing is because of His love. The Bible tells us, The Bible is very emphatic. The Bible says, It is not just love, it is an amazing love. Do you know God loves you? Do you know that God loves you so much that He is calling you to be His child? How does He become your Father? The Bible tells us, in John 1:12, What do you notice about this verse? This verse tells me, not all of us are automatically children of God. He tells us as many as received Him– you have to do your part. You have to receive Jesus Christ.
Why should you believe in Jesus? Why should you receive Jesus Christ? Well, the Bible tells us, in Galatians 4:4, God sent forth Jesus. I want to emphasize the following, the Bible tells us, in Galatians 4, Jesus Christ. For what purpose? The very reason why Jesus came is so that you and I can become the children of God. Don't take this lightly. To become a child of God is an amazing privilege, it's an amazing honor, and it's an amazing blessing. My prayer and my goal is to help all of you to get connected with our heavenly Father. He's the Father who is in heaven. He is perfect. He is eternal. He is the best Father. My role is to connect my children to the One true eternal Father who will forever be their Father.
You see, I am their earthly father, my role is temporal. I want my children to know, that I will not always be their father. The day will come when we say goodbye to each other, but I want my children to know that they have real Father, that they have the eternal Father who is in heaven, the perfect Father who can provide better than I do. Who can protect them better than I do. Who can love them better than I can. And my prayer is that all of you will come to know our heavenly Father. Do you know Him? He is the Father that you have always longed for. And the amazing thing is He wants to be your Father. My prayer, is that my life, will be lived in such a way that it will not hinder my children to want to know their heavenly Father.
My prayer, is that I will live my life in such a way that my children will be able to trust, even more, their heavenly Father. My prayer, is that this message will inspire you to know that we have a Father like no other. If you are a father today, you can become a better father, it's never too late to grow. If you don't have a father, I want you to know you have a Father like no other, He wants you to know Him. And if you have a father who has disappointed you, I'd also like you to know, it's never too late for your own father to change. And it's also important for you to know, that you have a Father that you have always longed for. The perfect Father who is preeminent. A perfect Father who provides, who pardons, and who protects. And above all, is passionate. about you. Today, we honor all fathers, but more than that, we want to honor the greatest Father. If it's your desire to want to know our heavenly Father, you can pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, I want to claim Your promise today. That as many has received Him, You will give them the right to become children of God. So Lord Jesus, I claim Your promise. I receive You today as my Lord and my Savior. Thank You for the opportunity of inviting You as my Lord and my Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross to pay for my sins so that I can have a relationship with a holy God, holy Father. So thank You, Jesus. I now invite You, as my Lord and my Savior. I accept Your gift of forgiveness. I accept Your gift of eternal life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.