As we’ve starting through the first 3 Steps of Celebrate
Recovery, I’ve noted the frequent significance of The Father, in recovery. Who
He is, where He fits, what He can do… Does He care?
A key factor in our victory over our Hurts, Habits, and
Hang-ups can be who we see the Father as. Not only that but WHO the Father is… God, or the impression I have of my
biological Dad overlaid onto God.
Understanding WHO God is, who HE says He is, and what
He desires for our lives has such an impact on our Relationship, our Trust, our
Faith in our Creator – not the helps or hurts caused by our Dads.
This devotional lesson come from a Prayer Request we received
at SLP CR back in August. “I really want
to understand who God is as a Father and not confuse Him with bad memories of
my real father.”
Since that time, we heard Testimonies, lessons, and
sometimes just plain conversations about the impact of The Father and our
fathers… I pray that this helps your see the difference between the features
& flaws of the creation - Dad, and the Power, Majesty, & Love of your
heavenly Father
*** As with our Fearless Moral inventory (Step 4), we must keep a
balanced view of Man, as God created us with Free Will.
Each of us has the choice to come close to God, or seek relationship and satisfaction in our own ways (which brings many of us here tonight). God’s intention for Man, and Man’s choice can sometimes be 2 different things – a choice that Satan will exploit to destroy man and family, any time he can.
Each of us has the choice to come close to God, or seek relationship and satisfaction in our own ways (which brings many of us here tonight). God’s intention for Man, and Man’s choice can sometimes be 2 different things – a choice that Satan will exploit to destroy man and family, any time he can.
This is intended as a brief, balanced biblical view of who God created
our fathers to be and who they can chose to be.
THEN, who HE is...
Ask Him to reveal His desire for your
relationship with Him, as you read these verses.
The creation and the Creator – aka “Who’s your daddy?”
*God created Man for relationship with
Him – who is MAN…
Genesis
1:26
Then
God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over
the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on
the earth…
31 God saw all that he had made,i
and it was very good.j And there was evening, and there was morningk—the sixth day.
Genesis
2:7
Then
the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis
5:2
He
created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day
when they were created.
*God
created Man for relationship with Him – God gave Man Free will, to choose …
Genesis
3:7-11
“She also gave some to her husband,l who was with her, and he ate it.m 7 Then the eyes of both of them were
opened, and they realized they were naked;n…8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walkingp in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hidq from the Lord
God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are
you?”r 10 He
answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraids because I was naked;t so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told
you that you were naked?u Have you eaten from the
tree that I commanded you not to?”
*Disobedience, Shame, Guilt, … Sin came by Man’s
choice. As did the consequences…
Genesis 3;22-23
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become
like one of us,r
knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take
also from the tree of lifes and
eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Edent to
work the groundu from
which he had been taken.
This is not
a one time thing…We Are All Sinners…
- Isaiah 64:6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
- Psalm 58:3
- The wicked are estranged from the womb;
- Ephesians
2:3 - among whom we all
once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the
body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the
rest of mankind.
· Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
*But God’s plan
wasn’t done there… he has a long term plan…
Psalms 119:73
Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me
understanding, that I may learn Your commandments
Psalms 138:8
Isaiah
17:7
(in
reference to the disobedience of His People in Damascus, God Sent Isaiah to
warn them) In
that day man will have regard for his Maker And his eyes will look to the Holy
One of Israel
John
3:16:
16 For
God so lovedw the world that he gavex his one and only Son,y
that whoever believesz in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.a 17 For God did not send his
Son into the worldb to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him.c
So that’s who God says MAN is – He’s a boyfriend, a brother, a
husband, a father, a grandfather – or he can be anyone of us…”Male &
female, He created them”
Who does God say HE is…
(this
comes from a reading we did at our Church, last Christmas, I apologize, I do
not know who the author is)
In
Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In
Leviticus, He is your Sanctifier.
In
Numbers, He is your Guide.
In
Deuteronomy, He is your Teacher.
In
Joshua, He is the Mighty Conqueror.
In
Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
In
I Samuel, He is the Root of Jesse;
In
2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In
1ST and 2nd Kings, He is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
In
1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your Intercessor, and High Priest.
In
Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
In
Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies.
In
Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In
Job, He is the Arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the
power to do something about them.
In
Psalms, He is your Song - and your reason to sing.
In
Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it
successfully.
In
Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity.
In
the Song of Solomon, He is your Lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In
Isaiah, He is the Mighty Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting
Father. In short, He's everything you need.
In
Jeremiah, He is your Balm in Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
In
Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful One upon Whom you can depend.
In
Ezekiel, He is your Wheel in the middle of a wheel --the One who assures that
dry, dead bones will come alive again.
In
Daniel, He is the Ancient of Days, the everlasting God who never runs out of
time.
In
Hosea, He is your Faithful Lover, always beckoning you to come back - when you
have abandoned Him.
In
Joel, He is your Refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In
Amos, He is the Husbandman, the One you can depend on to stay by your side.
In
Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
In
Jonah, He is your Salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In
Micah, He is Judge of the nation.
In
Nahum, He is the jealous God.
In
Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In
Zephaniah, He is the Witness.
In
Haggai, He overthrows the enemies.
In
Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In
Malachi, He is Merciful.
In
Matthew, He is King of the Jews.
In
Mark, He is the Servant.
In
Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In
John, He is the Son of God.
In
Acts, He is the Savior of the world.
In
Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
In
I Corinthians, He is the Rock that followed Israel.
In
II Corinthians, He is the Triumphant One, giving victory.
In
Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
In
Ephesians, He is Head of the Church.
In
Philippians, He is your joy.
In
Colossians, He is your completeness.
In
1st and 2nd Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In
I Timothy, He is your faith.
In
II Timothy, He is your stability.
In
Philemon, He is your Benefactor.
In
Titus, He is truth.
In
Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In
James, he is the Power behind your faith.
In
I Peter, He is your example.
In
II Peter, He is your purity.
In
I John, He is your life.
In
II John, He is your pattern.
In
III John, He is your motivation.
In
Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In
Revelation, He is your coming King.
