Do you need to heal from wounds in your past before you can look forward to the future with hope and not fear? In this practical sermon from the Win Your War series, Pastor Mark describes how the way you relate to your earthly father can affect the way you see your heavenly father and how to move forward into your future with freedom, not fear.
Heal from Wounds In the Past and Fears for the Future
- Past – Father Wound; Future – Fear
- The biggest variable in life apart from God is who your Father was/is
5 Kinds of Fathers
Malachi 4:5-6 (NKJV) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
1. Tragic dad
2. Terrible dad (broken, selfish)
3. Tough dad (push, performance, punish)
4. Tender dad
5. Terrific dad
The Father Wound
Ephesians 4:27,31,32 (NIV) do not give the devil a foothold. Get rid of all bitterness…Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 6:4,11-12 (NIV) Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord….take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2 Kinds Fathers
1). Physical (genealogies)
2). Spiritual Paul (1 Cor. 4:15 Tim/Titus/Ones) John “my little children”
= Father Wound – Unforgiven/Unresolved/Unhealed hurt from physical or spiritual father
View of Heavenly Father Often Projection or Rejection of earthly father
- Atheism – I have no Father.
- Agnosticism – I may or may not have a Father, but I’ve never met Him, don’t care to
- Deism – I have a Father but He lives far away and we don’t have a relationship.
- Reformed theology – I have Father who is distant, controlling, and not very relational
- Arminian theology – I have Father who is passive and lets me make my own decisions
- Liberal/Progressive – I have Father who acts more like an enabling older sibling.
- Feminist theology – I don’t need Father as men are dangerous, worship God as Mother
God the Father
John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said…“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
JESUS
· #1 name for God – 65X Matt-Luke; 100X John = 165X
· Abba – no indication this word used before Jesus of God
· John 14:9 “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”
· Colossians 1:15 “the image of the invisible God”
God as Master vs God as Father
Lk 3:22 a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.
Romans 8:14-17 all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
A master uses a slave A father blesses a son
You serve them They serve you
Beats you down Builds you up
No inheritance Full inheritance
Motivate you by fear Motivate you by love
8 Reasons Most Fear is a Fraud
Genesis 3:10 (ESV) I was afraid
2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
- Most fearful people think they are loving – a lie.
- Fear – anxiety – or even phobia – “you are not safe” – reveals who/what we love/hate
- Something triggers our fear = stronghold
- Fear is the counterfeit to discernment.
- Fear makes us selfish. (self-consumed)
- Fear makes us ineffective. (paralyzed, stuck, inactive)
- Fear causes us to lose touch with reality. (fears layer & driven by emotions)
- Fear causes us to seek to be God. (knowing & controlling)
- Fear robs us. Jesus – thief “steal and kill & destroy” (sleep, health, adventure)
- Fear makes us double-minded and unstable – James 1:5-8; step forward & back
- Fear turns us into false prophets
You create an environment of fear or love (e.g. parenting – same issue love vs fear)
Bring Your Fears To Your Father
Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Focus one eye on each track – “rejoice” “thanksgiving” (naïve vs scared)
- Make your will your rudder – “reasonableness” emotions sail, fear hurricane, will rudder
- Replace panic with prayer – “do not be anxious about anything” prayer and supplication”
· Release valve/Lightning rod/Verbally process privately
- Tell the Father what you want – “your requests” know what you don’t want vs do want
· He wants to hear you; tightrope vs highway
- Enjoy God’s peace and presence – “guard” 150’X? “fear not, I’m with you”
Haiti & our Rambo
1). What you fear may not happen
2). Your fear may be more harmful to you than what you fear
3). Even if what you fear happens, you might be fine
Jesus Gethsemane – fear, anxiety, prayer, “if”, “your will be done”
Jesus endured all of our worst fears
Even if you get buried God can raise you up, I said “we’re good” Grace said “we’re better”