Overview

1. Jesus came to reveal the fullness of the Father’s heart 
2. The Father’s love makes us secure and strong
3. God works beyond what we can see
4. When you reach out, He draws near
5. Your heavenly Father desires to see you soar

Jesus came to reveal the fullness of the Father’s heart

Our God goes by many names, and He reveals different aspects of Himself through them, showing us something of who He is in each. He is Elohim, the mighty Creator; Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God; Yahweh Rapha, the Lord who heals; El Shaddai, the all-sufficient One…

And, Jesus especially revealed a name that expresses the fullness of God’s heart toward us: Father.

In John 17:25–26, Jesus declared:

“O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus did not come merely to tell us what God is like; He came to bring us into His family. At the cross, our Lord bore the full punishment for our sins, made us forever righteous, and reconciled us to God, the Father. Through Christ’s finished work, we have all been brought near as God’s beloved sons and daughters.

The name of “Father” clarifies how we see everything God does for us. He is not just a provider who gives without affection or a protector who acts out of duty. He is a good Father, and His provision, protection, guidance, and care flow from His love for us.

Our heavenly Father does not want us living as though we are alone or responsible for sustaining ourselves. He wants us to take our place as His children—to speak freely with Him, depend on Him, enjoy His presence, and live each day knowing that we belong to Him.

Because of Jesus, we are no longer spiritual orphans. We have been brought home to the Father.

The Father’s love makes us secure and strong

A child who is loved and nurtured grows up secure. He does not have to justify his own significance through achievement or approval because he knows that he is loved and already approved of.

This is what our heavenly Father desires for us. He wants us to be secure in who we are, established in our significance, and strong within.

When the Father’s love is not deeply rooted in our hearts, insecurity begins to shape us. We become harsh with ourselves, sensitive to criticism, afraid of rejection, and dependent on the approval of others. We may carry chronic self-doubt or live with the quiet fear that we are never good enough.

But the answer to this insecurity is not greater self-effort. Nor is it about learning to protect ourselves better or trying to control every outcome. The answer is to receive and experience the unconditional and everlasting love of the Father.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
—Romans 8:15 NKJV

Here, Paul tells us that as new covenant believers, we have not received the spirit of slavery that leads us back into fear but “the Spirit of sonship.” It is when we feel we must watch over ourselves, guard ourselves, and manage everything alone that the resulting fear becomes a terrible bondage. A child with a loving father does not hesitate when he needs help. He simply cries, “Papa! Daddy!”

This is the confidence our Father wants us to have in Him. We can come freely, honestly, and without fear. Even before we ask, He already knows what we need. As His love settles in and garrisons our hearts, insecurity gives way to confidence, fear gives way to rest, and weakness gives way to strength.

God works beyond what we can see

Just as a loving father prepares the way for his children and steps in to protect them, our heavenly Father goes before us, fights for us, and carries us.

We see this when the children of Israel stood on the brink of the promised land. Before them were fortified cities, powerful enemies, and tough battles that they, as recently released slaves, had no experience fighting. Yet God did not leave them to their fears and insecurities; instead, He reassured them and reminded them of how He had carried them all the way from Egypt to where they were.

“The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.”
—Deuteronomy 1:30–31 NKJV

Before they took another step, God also wanted them to know that He had already gone ahead of them. The same God who had delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, fed them in the wilderness, and brought water from the rock would fight for them again.

Beloved, whatever lies ahead—an uncertain season, a prolonged battle, a painful delay, or a storm that has left you weary—the Father wants you to know that He has already gone before you. You may not yet see the way through, but He is at work beyond what you can see.

We must not only know this liberating truth, but must also let it drop from our minds into our hearts. This is because we can believe that God will fight for us and still carry the burden as though everything depends on us. Our Father wants us to release our fears, our need to control the outcome, and our anxious striving into His hands.

Deuteronomy 1:30–31 tells us He carries us as a father carries his son, all the way—when we are tired, when we have no answers, and when we feel that we cannot take another step. His care does not weaken with time, and His faithfulness does not run out halfway through the journey.

And if you are still waiting for your breakthrough, do not measure your Father’s love by the length of that delay. He who has gone before you will fight for you, sustain you, and carry you all the way.

When you reach out, He draws near 

Our Abba Father does not come to us only when we are strong, successful, or flourishing. He comes to us when we are in the wilderness.

“He found him in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of His eye.”
—Deuteronomy 32:10 NKJV

This tells us how God found His people in a barren land, surrounded by heat, howling winds, and danger. They had nothing and could not help themselves, yet He encircled them, instructed them, and kept them as the apple of His eye.

In the same way, when life has left us dry, worn down, or helpless, we can come honestly to Him. We do not need polished words or strong faith. We can simply cry, “Abba, I am lost. I need Your help.”

What often keeps us from coming near is condemnation. We may believe that we must succeed, remain disciplined, or perform well to please God. And when we fail, we become harsh with ourselves and pull away from Him in shame.

But our standing with God does not rise and fall with our performance. Even when we fail, make mistakes, miss our devotional time, or feel weak, our heavenly Father does not reject us.

This assurance does not encourage us to live carelessly. Rather, it frees us to run toward our Daddy God instead of away from Him.

The testimonies in the sermon show the fruit of this freedom. As believers were delivered from guilt, fear, and the pressure to impress God, addictions fell away, anxiety and anger lost their hold, and time spent with Him in the Word became a delight rather than a duty.

What self-effort could never produce, the Father’s love and grace brought about naturally. He restores us by lifting the burden of condemnation and drawing us near again. And in His presence, we discover afresh that we are forgiven, accepted, and free.

Your heavenly Father desires to see you soar

Finally, the Father who finds us in the wilderness does not leave us there. He comes near not only to comfort us, but also to strengthen us and prepare us to rise up.

Deuteronomy 32:11–12 gives us the picture of an eagle hovering over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, and carrying them:

As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
So the LORD alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him.

The young eagle may feel as if it is falling, but the parent eagle never takes its eyes off it. The parent hovers nearby, always ready to carry the young eagle on its wings. So what feels like abandonment is, in fact, part of the process of learning to fly.

In the same way, our heavenly Father watches over us through every season of growth. He does not cast us aside when we feel unsteady or withdraw when we are slow to mature. His eyes remain upon us, and His arms remain beneath us.

He does not want us to exhaust ourselves through anxious self-effort. He wants us near Him. Prayer, worship, and time in His presence are not duties performed to earn His favor; they are aspects of communion with our Father, the response of children who know that their Father desires their company.

As we stay in His presence, regret gives way to restoration, fear gives way to peace, and strength begins to arise within us. Our Father does not draw us close to remind us of our failures, but to heal, establish, and strengthen us so we can move forward.

He is not only preparing something for us; He is preparing something in us.

There may be seasons when little seems to be changing. The answer has not appeared, the door has not opened, and the promise still feels distant. Yet the delay is not necessarily a detour. In the Father’s hands, it can become divine preparation.

And regardless of how small or insufficient what we have may seem to us, we can place them in His hands. Like the young boy’s lunch of five loaves and two small fish, He can take what we bring and multiply it beyond what we could accomplish ourselves.

Even when we don’t yet feel ready to rise, He will not leave the work unfinished. He remains near, carries us in our weakness, and builds strength within us until we are ready to soar.

So, friend, be confident that no matter what happens, our Father’s unconditional and steadfast love will always be with us.

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These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.