Father Heart of God: 3

God's Father Heart - Session 3 - Beliefs and Strongholds

Dictionary:

·        hubris - overbearing pride or presumption, arrogance.

·        shame - A painful emotion from guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.

·        fall - to lose an upright or erect position suddenly - to hang down - to be cast down - to experience defeat or ruin - to give in to temptation and sin - to lose one's chastity.

Theological Definition - The Fall

·       To lose the primordial innocence and happiness of humanity as a result of sin.

·       For the first pair, Adam and Eve, the Fall was the result of sin unfolding in disrupted relationships resulting from their self-serving exercise of autonomy in God's world, a world in which they could not be gods.

(Genesis 3:6-7) . . she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband, and he ate. The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked . .

THE FALL - Satan Attacks

The Fall came from sin. Satan tempted Adam and Eve. They thought they could be as God. They fell, and creation fell with them. Humankind became separated from God. Pain and death came to the world. You and I were born into this world of death and sin.

Where now is God's plan of Him being Father and the Son sharing His sonship with all people?

Until people become Christian the sinful world is their home, they are part of the kingdom of darkness, and Satan is their father. (Why does Scripture say he is "father" and not "boss" or "chief" or "ruler"?):

(John 8:44) You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. 

Satan is a thief. He steals our peace, he tells us that we don't measure up, that we aren't worthy. He tempts us, and pours sickness over us. (John 10:10) The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

Satan really wants you to NOT take your rightful place as a son or daughter of God, and NOT exercise your Kingdom authority, NOT be free, NOT to be healthy.

Billions of people are hurting; (a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive on the Earth), that is a great many hurting people!

Satan attacks men: His objective is to destroy the family. Husbands and fathers are essential to all humankind. Studies show the truth of this in kids' behaviour, relationships, mental health, citizenship.

Satan attacks women: Dr James Dobson ran a survey of thousands of Christian and non-Christian women. Their single biggest problem was poor self esteem.

Anyone who knows the children of divorced parents knows that these things are true.

Is Father God's heart broken?? No!! He sent Jesus ..

(Hebrews 2:8) "[Father God] put all things in subjection under Jesus' feet". The Father subjected all things to Him, and left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we don't see all things subjected to Him, yet. (See also Psalm 8:6 and 1 Corinthians 15:25).

CONSEQUENTIAL BELIEFS

Children

Our fridge has lots of brilliant photos of happy family times. Our kids are very special to me and to my wife Trish, always.

Not every childhood memory is good. My mum encouraged, but my dad would say "that doesn't look like an octopus to me", and point out the faults in the picture, (isn't it sad that I still remember this moment all these years later?)

How we see our self and God comes from our family, upbringing and culture.

Universal Childhood Beliefs

·         Children see their parents as infallible, mighty, successful.

·         A child sees every family problem as being rooted in them self.

Natural Flow Of Thinking

Life shapes us, in our body and health, and also in our soul (that part of our person where our emotions and will are centred). This shapes our thinking and responses.

We may have trouble with our back or a knee after an injury. In the same way we can have severe long lasting pain in our emotions after traumas in childhood and adolescence. Or after divorce or betrayal. Or being sacked. Even from physical trauma.

Surprisingly, love and forgiveness do not fully repair this damage to the soul. Human love alone is not enough for this. Neither is simply understanding the problem. This is why secular counselling, psychology and psychiatry seem less than 100% effective.

We have all experienced pain from our families, from classmates and teachers, from the bullies at school and at work, from cruel teenage crushes, and from foolish things we have done or terrible decisions we have made.

(To some this list will seem very pale compared with the awful things they have known).

Parenting Influences Our View Of God

·        A parenting trait of "Being Distant, not taking notice and always being too busy" may produce a Consequential Belief in the child of "I'm insignificant". This may lead to the belief that "God is busy elsewhere with others, and I should not expect to receive attention or love".

·        A parenting trait of "Abuse (verbal, physical, sexual ..)" may produce a Consequential Belief in the child of "I'm dirty, it's my fault, powerful people may abuse me". He or she might go on to believe that "God doesn't care what happens to me".

·        A parenting trait of "Spoiling - always giving in, in every situation" may produce a Consequential Belief in the child of "I can name and claim, blab and grab". The growing child may then believe that "God is transactional and; formulaic; works and demands bring rewards".

·        My own earthly father was mean and selfish (see my testimony in FHoG Session 1). (Consequently) I grew up believing that I would have to make my own way in everything and could not rely on others. For years I believed that God always had a closed hand towards me; I saw that everything I touched turned to ashes. At the same time I saw that others were treated well, materially and in their self-esteem. This was tough to live with.

More parenting traits to consider: Disappointed, Uncommunicative, Harsh, Un-affirming, Non-tactile, Argumentative, Unloving, Unpredictable, Critical, Controlling, Overprotective . .

We Live According To Our Beliefs

Wrong beliefs build strongholds. We put our trust in these strongholds. This is deception. We are free to take on wrong beliefs (being made free in the image of God). But we are equally free to take on and appropriate truth!

Only we ourselves can change what we believe. We can find the truth, then appropriate it. God our Father gives us Jesus, God's Word. Jesus is truth, God's plumb-line:

Jesus has abundantly equipped us:
(2 Corinthians 10:3-4) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds.

Cleave to Jesus:
(John 1:14) The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus has already brought us to Father God:
(James 1:18) Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Jesus brought us to freedom as Children of Father God:
(Galatians 5:1) Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Jesus himself made us for love, from love. He longs to bring us to his Father, fully as children of God (Romans 8:16), sons and daughters in fullness forever, the same as Jesus knows it.

Father God sent Jesus to "bring many 'sons' to glory" (Hebrews 2:10).

RESTORATION

Dictionary: redeem - to regain possession by paying a price.

(Galatians 4:4,5) . . God sent his Son. . that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as children.

(Titus 2:13,14) . . our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.

(Romans 8:21) the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

We are forever covered by Jesus' righteousness.
(Romans 10:4) For Christ is the fulfillment of the law of righteousness to all who believe.

(1 Corinthians 1:30) . . you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption . .

We are justified when we are saved. Fully. Completely. All our sins are washed away and we are set free from sin and death. Now, men and women, boys and girls, Jesus has brought us into sonship, the same precious Sonship that He knows, and has always known. Jesus' daddy is our daddy! Abba is a grown-up name of choice for a real father.

Jesus Restores Us

He brings us into the "original" design, the "original" relationship.

As Christians, we became a new creation in Jesus Christ, we are adopted by a new father; the Father of Heaven and Earth. Our spiritual DNA is replaced. We become sons and daughters. Biblically we are in God's inheritance.

(2 Corinthians 5:17) . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . all things . .

(Galatians 4:6)  Now as his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to cry out, "Abba! Father!"

(Romans 8:15)  For you did not receive a spirit of fear, but the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father".

(Romans 8:16) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

(Romans 8:17)  Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

"Is it lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath"? (Matthew 12:10). Yes, it is! Always.

Amen.

(Great song: "Healing in His Wings" from "Singing in the Spirit" by Diana Longwell)

Praise Jesus.

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Amen.