MICRONESIA 2013 - Receiving the Love of the Father through Hugs

Madolenihmw, Pohnpei

Sunday, January 20, 2013

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Receiving the Love of the Father through Hugs

This Sunday I spoke at the Every Home for Christ fellowship in Pohnlangas, Madolenihmw. The message was on the Father Heart of God. After the message, nearly the entire congregation came forward to receive the love of the Father through hugs from two respected men of God who I see as father figures. It was so beautiful. Tears filled the faces of those who have not been able to connect with Father God because of the relationship they had with their earthly fathers. So much love and healing took place. Here are the main points of the message:

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I believe that many, if not all of us have a distorted view of Father God because of our relationships with our earthly fathers.

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We read the story of the "Prodigal Son" from Luke 15:11-32

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We think that Father God will do this or that, or think this or that because that is what we would do or think as a father.

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Psalm 50:21, "These things you have done, and I have kept silence; you thought that I was like yourself, but I will rebuke you."

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Isaiah 55:9, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts."

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TYPES OF EARTHLY FATHERS (acted out during the message):

(1) The absent father: Left when the child was young and wasn't ever involved in the child's life. The child experiences feelings of abandonment. After coming to Christ it is hard to even imagine the existence of a heavenly Father.

(2) The distant father: Too busy for the child. Not interested in what the child is interested in. Not affectionate with the child. After coming to Christ the view of Father God is that He is too busy for them, or not interested in them, and definitely not affectionate toward them.

(3) The strict father: Performance driven and harsh on the child when even the smallest mistakes are made. After coming to Christ they try to perform for Father God in order to receive His love. And if they screw up, they believe they will be severely punished by Him.

(4) The permissive father: Let's everything go without disciplining the child, giving the child whatever they want, causing them to be spoiled. After coming to Christ they believe they can do anything they want without being disciplined by Father God and they have a skewed sense of entitlement.

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1 John 3:1, "Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God."

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Is there anything that we can do that would cause God to stop being our Father, or us to stop being His children?

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Most Christians serve and obey our Father out of fear rather than out of love. We need a revelation of the Father's love for us.

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Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature (incuding ourselves), shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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We all need inner healing from the scars left by our earthly fathers, and we need to forgive them from our heart, so that we can truly understand the love of our heavenly Father, and run to Him, embrace Him, and place our lives in His hands.

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The greatest demonstration of the Father's love was sacrificing His only Son Jesus, so that we can live eternally and abundantly.

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Christian Young