The Father

Luke chapter fifteen, beginning at verse eleven, where our Lord Jesus Christ tells us what our Heavenly Father is like.

So many preachers, when they preach from this story, they focus on the prodigal, and they stay on the prodigal.

Everything is about the prodigal, but it is not.

The prodigal is only a, an actor.

He's only part of the story, and that is why we will not leave him out, but he's only part of the story.

We'll look at both sons, as a matter of fact.

The story primarily is about the father of those two boys.

The story is about our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the heart of our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the unique love of our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the character of our Heavenly Father.

Jesus, who's God the Son, who coexisted with God the Father since before eternity, He reveals to us the real heart of God the Father, tells us what it's like, what He's like.

So He begins the story in verse eleven of Luke fifteen by saying, "There was a father of two sons." Now, if you want to know the focus of any church, any church, any church, any church.

Did you get that? Any church.

[laughs] Find out where they begin.

Do they begin with God or do they begin with man? Do they begin where Jesus always began with God the Father, or they begin with man and their needs? Jesus always began with the Father and then applied it to their needs.

Sadly, the majority of modern preachers focus primarily on me and my needs, me and my life, me and my relationships, me and my feelings.

Now, listen to me, nothing wrong with these things, but when God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Triune God is at the center, all these things will fall in place.

Amen.

Listen to me.

To know the indescribable love of the Father is to be truly contented.

To know the extravagant love of the Father is to be truly fulfilled, to experience the amazing grace of God that leads you to a life of obedience.

And that is why the psalmist could say, "The Lord is my shepherd, therefore I need nothing." That's a rough translation, but that's really what he meant to say.

And that is why we need to comprehend the depth of the love of the Father toward those two boys.

And I'm going to explain more about this in the coming messages.

Luke chapter fifteen, beginning at verse eleven, where our Lord Jesus Christ tells us what our Heavenly Father is like.

So many preachers, when they preach from this story, they focus on the prodigal, and they stay on the prodigal.

Everything is about the prodigal, but it is not.

The prodigal is only a, an actor.

He's only part of the story, and that is why we will not leave him out, but he's only part of the story.

We'll look at both sons, as a matter of fact.

The story primarily is about the father of those two boys.

The story is about our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the heart of our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the unique love of our Heavenly Father.

The story is about the character of our Heavenly Father.

Jesus, who's God the Son, who coexisted with God the Father since before eternity, He reveals to us the real heart of God the Father, tells us what it's like, what He's like.

So He begins the story in verse eleven of Luke fifteen by saying, "There was a father of two sons." Now, if you want to know the focus of any church, any church, any church, any church.

Did you get that? Any church.

[laughs] Find out where they begin.

Do they begin with God or do they begin with man? Do they begin where Jesus always began with God the Father, or they begin with man and their needs? Jesus always began with the Father and then applied it to their needs.

Sadly, the majority of modern preachers focus primarily on me and my needs, me and my life, me and my relationships, me and my feelings.

Now, listen to me, nothing wrong with these things, but when God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Triune God is at the center, all these things will fall in place.

Amen.

Listen to me.

To know the indescribable love of the Father is to be truly contented.

To know the extravagant love of the Father is to be truly fulfilled, to experience the amazing grace of God that leads you to a life of obedience.

And that is why the psalmist could say, "The Lord is my shepherd, therefore I need nothing." That's a rough translation, but that's really what he meant to say.

And that is why we need to comprehend the depth of the love of the Father toward those two boys.

And I'm going to explain more about this in the coming messages.