Our heavenly Father is not a harsh taskmaster waiting to punish you; He is a good Father who wants you to know Him the way Jesus knows Him. In this fourth message of the series, Dr. William P. Hohman teaches that Jesus is the mediator and the way to the Father, not the final destination, and that every believer is invited into the royal family to receive the Father’s goodness and share it.
This message continues from Our Heavenly Father #3: Grace, the Mediator and the Father’s Generous Heart. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was posted on October 15, 2025, and runs about 62 minutes, ending with an invitation to receive Christ. Pastor Hohman begins with a recap of the series on kingdom faith, then builds on 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
The word God in that verse, he explains, refers to the Father. So the verse holds all three together: the grace that Jesus brings, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The rest of the message shows how Jesus the mediator leads us to know our heavenly Father personally.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Dr. William P. Hohman |
| Series | Our Heavenly Father, part 4 of 8 |
| Main text | 2 Corinthians 13:14, John 14:6 and John 17 |
| Key theme | Jesus the mediator leads us to know the Father’s goodness |
| Length | About 62 minutes |
A King, a Kingdom and a Royal Family
Our faith, Pastor Hohman reminds the church, is not in things but in Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus came as Emmanuel, God with us, yet He did His works as a man empowered by God. When we believe, we become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), and every believer is a saint. No one has to wait for sainthood.
Jesus said that whoever believes in Him will do the works He did, and greater, “because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). It is all about the Father, he says. The whole Bible is about a King, a kingdom and a royal family, not a list of dos and don’ts. Every believer has a ministry in what he calls the family business.
Grace means unearned favor, and the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals Jesus. When the Helper comes, Jesus said, “He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). How do you know when the Lord is moving? Pastor Hohman compares it to fishing. You do not see or hear the fish; you just feel a tug on the line. In the same way, you feel a prompting in your heart, and you have to take it and say yes to the Lord. Then God transfers you into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).
He traces the problem back to Eden. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26), and gave mankind dominion. Satan told Adam and Eve that God was holding out on them, when they were already like Him. They fell for the lie and handed their authority over. That is why we live in a corrupt system that is getting worse, like rust behind a car’s paint: by the time you see a speck, there is much more underneath.
Yet in Christ we are brought into a kingdom of love, light and the goodness of God. God’s thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Pastor Hohman adds that God has more plans for each person than there are grains of sand. We only need to agree with Him and walk with Him.
Jesus the Mediator: From a Harsh Judge to a Loving Father
The church reads 1 Timothy 2:3–5 aloud: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” A mediator, Pastor Hohman explains, reconciles two parties who are at odds and brings them into agreement. He teaches that the order of the names is meaningful: Christ Jesus speaks from God to man, and Jesus Christ speaks from man to God.
Jesus came to destroy a mentality. Many religious people did not know God as Father; they saw a harsh judge who would finish you the moment you slipped. People still think that way. God is not the one who causes problems; He is the one who brings the solution and the way out.
He loves the Bible phrase “it came to pass.” Hard things are events, not your life. For a born-again believer, this world is like a movie: you watch it and then you go home. He puts it bluntly: for many unbelievers this is the only heaven they will know, but for the believer this is the only hell we will ever know, and it gets better from here.
In Isaiah 1:18–20, God says, “Come now, and let us reason together… If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” Willing and obedient to what? To receiving God’s love and goodness, he says. Israel wandered forty years because a slave mentality from Egypt made them see God as a demanding taskmaster.
Being devoured by the sword, he explains, does not mean being cut with a blade; it means a hard and painful life. Many live that way because they have never received God as our heavenly Father.
Jesus Is the Way to Our Heavenly Father
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Pastor Hohman draws two points. Everyone who comes to know the Father comes through Jesus, the mediator. And Jesus is not our destination; the Father is. Getting born again is the start. Jesus wants you to know our heavenly Father the way He knows Him, praying that we would be one in Them (John 17:21).
In John 17:1, Jesus prays, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” To glorify, he says, means to honor and to cause others to honor. Nobody honors a taskmaster. They obey a taskmaster only to stay out of trouble, and many Christians live that way. Jesus was saying, in effect: let people see who I really am, so I can show them who You really are.
In John 17:6, Jesus says, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.” He changed the Father’s name in people’s eyes, from hard to blessing, from one who curses to one who blesses. Jesus never made anyone sick. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38). He was good even to people who did not meet the Pharisees’ standard.
Then comes John 17:25–26: Jesus declared the Father’s name “that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” God the Father loves you just as He loves Jesus, on your worst day and your best. That is not an excuse to live carelessly, he says; when He is in your heart, you want to live well. He who began a good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6), because all things are of Him, through Him and to Him (Romans 11:36).
Like our heavenly Father, who sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), we are to want good for everybody. That is the goodness of God he wants the church to carry.
A New Heart and the Good News
Pastor Hohman shifts to Ezekiel 36:23–27. God says He will sanctify His great name, which had been profaned among the nations, and “the nations shall know that I am the LORD… when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.” Why did people think God was a tyrant? Because of the people who claimed Him but did not know Him as Father. When God is set apart in us, the world sees who He really is.
Notice who does the work: God says He will sprinkle clean water on us, give us a new heart and put His Spirit within us. The only labor left for a Christian, he says, is to labor to enter God’s rest (Hebrews 4:9–11), the confidence that He is doing it. He takes out the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh that He can mold.
Under the law there were clean and unclean foods. But on the rooftop, God showed Peter a sheet full of creatures and told him not to call common what God has cleansed (Acts 10:9–15). The rules changed because the heart changed. God now trusts what He has done in you, not what you are going to do, and all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14).
From Ephesians 2:17–19 he reads that Jesus preached peace to those far off and those near, that through Him both have access by one Spirit to the Father, and that we are “members of the household of God.” The Jews, he says, were meant to tell the nations about God’s goodness but kept it to themselves and taught only rules. That is why Jesus began speaking in parables, starting with the sower who sows the word.
Our one responsibility, he says, is to tell people the good news of the goodness of God, not to browbeat them. No child grows up planning to wreck their life; Satan leads people down paths they never imagined. They already know their life is a mess. They need to hear the goodness of God.
He shares his own story. As a drug addict and alcoholic, he overdosed in an apartment in San Diego. For three days, he says, Jesus sat with him: “William, it’s okay. I’m going to use you big. You’re going to go around the world sharing my goodness.” He did not look down on him; He loved him. God is love (1 John 4:8), and love needs someone to receive it. Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8).
He also points to Matthew 5:43–45: love your enemies and do good to those who mistreat you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. The more of the goodness of God you show, he says, the more you receive.
What Our Heavenly Father Does for His Children
The final movement describes how our heavenly Father relates to His children. This table follows Pastor Hohman’s points and the Scriptures he uses for each:
| What the Father does | Scripture he uses | What he says it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Rewards you openly | Matthew 6:3–4 | Do good quietly and look to Him, not people, for your reward |
| Calls the shots | Psalm 125:2; John 10:28–29 | He is in charge but not controlling every event; no one can take you from His hand |
| Prunes you | John 15:2 | He cuts away even good branches to bring special fruit |
| Provides your needs | Matthew 6:26–34 | Seek His kingdom first; worry adds nothing |
| Gives good gifts | Matthew 7:7–12 | Ask, seek and knock; He gives far better than earthly parents |
Our heavenly Father rewards. In Matthew 6:3–4, Jesus says to give in secret, and “your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” If you serve only to be thanked, he says, the thanks is all you get.
Our heavenly Father is in charge. Pastor Hohman disagrees with the saying that God is in control. When a child dies, people blame God because they think He controls everything. He does not cause that; we live in a corrupted world. A parent is in charge of a child without controlling every choice. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people (Psalm 125:2), and no one can snatch you out of the Father’s hand (John 10:28–29).
Glory, he adds, does not come from praying “send us Your glory,” but from living so that He is glorified: producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) and guarding your mouth. Whoever wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil (1 Peter 3:10).
Our heavenly Father prunes and provides. Like a vinedresser, the Father prunes branches so we bear more fruit (John 15:2). He feeds the birds and clothes the lilies (Matthew 6:26–34). “O you of little faith” is not a scolding, he says; little faith in Jesus is enough. Seek first the kingdom, and all these things will be added. God wants you to have good things, but He wants you to mature so they do not take hold of you.
Our heavenly Father hears. On vain repetition (Matthew 6:7–8), he teaches it means empty words without heart, and also asking again and again because you do not feel an answer yet. Instead, believe you have received when you pray (Mark 11:24). If we ask according to His will, He hears us, and we have what we asked (1 John 5:14–15). He shares a personal testimony of five years with cancer, during which he stood on God’s Word until doctors said they could not find it.
He is clear that he is not telling anyone to refuse medicine or doctors; if you need them, use them. His point is that our heavenly Father hears the first time.
Our heavenly Father gives good gifts. In Matthew 7:7–12, ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened. If you would not give your child a stone for bread, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Jesus then tells us to do to others as we want done to us. Repent, he says, simply means change your mind about who God is.
Living as the Father’s Child This Week
Pastor Hohman ends by inviting anyone who feels the tug to receive Christ, confessing Him with their mouth (Romans 10:9). These steps come from his teaching:
- Say “Yes, Lord” to the tug. When you sense the Holy Spirit’s prompting, respond instead of waiting to see or hear more.
- Treat hard things as events. Remind yourself that this came to pass; it is not your life.
- Go past Jesus to the Father. Ask Jesus, your mediator, to show you who our heavenly Father really is, as He prayed in John 17.
- Receive His goodness out loud. Declare, as he led the church, “God loves me, and all His goodness is for me, and I receive it.”
- Do good in secret. Give or serve this week without seeking thanks, and look to the Father for the reward.
- Pray once, then thank Him. Ask in faith and thank Him for the answer instead of repeating the request.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 Kingdom faith recap: Jesus the author
- 1:04 A King, a kingdom and a royal family
- 2:05 2 Corinthians 13:14
- 4:16 The fishing tug of the Holy Spirit
- 5:13 Creation, the fall and a corrupt system
- 7:31 1 Timothy 2: one mediator
- 9:35 Not a harsh judge; it came to pass
- 11:50 Isaiah 1: willing and obedient
- 14:02 John 14:6: the way to the Father
- 16:13 John 17: glorify Your Son
- 17:21 I have manifested Your name
- 19:34 The Father loves you as He loves Jesus
- 21:42 Ezekiel 36: hallowed in you
- 26:14 Hearts and changing rules
- 30:41 Ephesians 2: members of the household
- 34:29 His testimony in San Diego
- 39:34 The Father rewards in secret
- 41:46 In charge, not in control
- 46:42 Pruning and provision: Matthew 6
- 50:50 Vain repetition and believing you receive
- 54:01 Matthew 7: ask, seek, knock
- 59:56 Invitation and prayer
Our Heavenly Father Series
This message is part of an eight-part series at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:
- First message: Our Heavenly Father #1: An Introduction to the Fatherhood of God
- Previous: Our Heavenly Father #3: Grace, the Mediator and the Father’s Generous Heart
- You are here: Our Heavenly Father #4: Jesus the Mediator and the Way to the Father
- Next: Our Heavenly Father #5: Jesus the Mediator and Forgiveness, the Love Language of Heaven
Frequently Asked Questions
If God is good, why does He let bad things happen?
Pastor Hohman teaches that God is in charge but not in control of every event. Since Adam handed his authority to Satan, we live in a corrupted world where the enemy acts at his own will. He compares it to parents who are in charge of their children without controlling every choice they make. The Father does not cause tragedy; He brings the way out, and no one can take you out of His hand.
What does it mean that I am a saint?
According to this message, every person who believes in Jesus becomes a new creation and a saint immediately. Pastor Hohman says no one has to wait for sainthood. Believers are members of the household of God with the power of the Holy Spirit, and each has a part to play in what he calls the family business: sharing the goodness of the Father.
Does doing good to others really change anything?
Pastor Hohman says yes, because the kingdom works by sowing and reaping. He admits loving your enemies is harder to live than to preach, but teaches that the more goodness you show people, the more you will receive. Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets as treating others the way you want to be treated, and doing so, he says, lets people see the Father in you.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 — the grace, love and communion of God
- 1 Timothy 2:3–5 — one Mediator between God and men
- John 14:6 — the way, the truth and the life
- John 17:1, John 17:6 and John 17:25–26 — Jesus reveals the Father
- Isaiah 1:18–20 — willing and obedient
- Ezekiel 36:23–27 — a new heart and My Spirit within you
- Ephesians 2:17–19 — members of the household of God
- Matthew 6:26–34 — your heavenly Father provides
- Matthew 7:7–12 — how much more will your Father give
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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