Our Heavenly Father #2
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Discover the transforming truth that God is your Father, and learn how Jesus mediates your way into the fullness of His love, protection, and eternal purpose.
Description
Our Heavenly Father Overview
In this powerful second installment of his series on the Heavenly Father, the pastor of NTC Ministries explores one of the most transformative truths in all of Scripture: that through faith in Jesus Christ, God becomes our personal Father. Drawing from Ephesians 3:13-15, the pastor unpacks the Greek word “patria,” revealing that the entire concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives its name from God the Father. He walks through 1 Timothy 2:3-5 and John 14:6-11 to show that Jesus serves as the one mediator between fallen humanity and a loving Father, not as our final destination, but as the way to the Father Himself. Through vivid personal illustrations, including a story of a bride walking a highway in her wedding dress and decades of faithful marriage, the pastor demonstrates that relationship with God deepens over time. He challenges believers to reject wrong thinking about God, embrace repentance as a change of mind, and trust that the Father rewards those who seek Him in secret. The sermon closes with a powerful altar call, inviting everyone present to confess Jesus as Lord and declare boldly: God is my Father.
Our Heavenly Father Outline
- 0:00 – Opening Declaration: God Is My Father: The pastor opens by centering the entire message on the greatest term Jesus taught in prayer: calling God Father. He invites the congregation to declare aloud that God is their Father and reflects on how this truth transforms identity and demeanor.
- 5:30 – Ephesians 3:13-15 and the Meaning of Patria: An in-depth look at the Greek word patria, translated family, which the pastor explains means fatherhood. He shows that every person on earth exists under the covering of a divine fatherhood, whether they know God or not.
- 14:00 – The Trinity Working Together for Revelation: Using 2 Corinthians 13:14, the pastor explains how the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit all work in concert to reveal the fullness of God’s love to believers.
- 22:30 – Jesus the Mediator: The Way to the Father: From 1 Timothy 2:3-5 and John 14:6-11, the pastor establishes that Jesus is not our destination but our mediator, the one who brings fallen humanity into understanding of and relationship with the Father.
- 33:00 – The Parable of the Good Samaritan and True Fatherhood: The pastor retells the parable of the Good Samaritan as evidence of how distorted religious thinking about God had become, and how Jesus used stories to restore the true image of a kind, generous, and merciful Father.
- 42:00 – Matthew 5:43-48 and Becoming Like the Father: A careful study of Jesus commanding His followers to love enemies and do good to those who hate them, culminating in the call to be complete, the word telios, just as the heavenly Father is complete.
- 50:00 – Charitable Deeds, Hidden Rewards, and the Humble God: Drawing from Matthew 6:1-4 and Psalm 37:25-26, the pastor teaches that the Father rewards in secret what is done in secret, and that God’s rewards extend to our children and descendants.
- 57:30 – Altar Call: Give Your Life to Jesus Christ: The sermon closes with an invitation to salvation. The pastor leads the congregation in a prayer of confession, declaring Jesus as Lord and affirming the new identity of every believer: born again, with God as Father.
Scripture References
Ephesians 3:13-15, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Timothy 2:3-5, John 14:6-11, John 15:26, Hebrews 12:2, Romans 8, Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 2, Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 6:1-4, Psalm 37:25-26, Malachi 3:6
Key Takeaways
- When you give your life to Jesus Christ, God Almighty becomes your personal Father, and that truth alone is enough to change your identity, your security, and the entire direction of your life.
- Jesus is not our final destination but our mediator, the one bridge between fallen humanity and a loving heavenly Father who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- The Greek word patria in Ephesians 3:15 reveals that every concept of fatherhood in heaven and earth draws its very name and origin from God the Father, meaning no person exists outside His covering.
- Wrong thinking about God is the primary barrier to receiving His blessings; repentance, which means changing the way you think, is the gateway to experiencing the fullness of the Father’s goodness.
- God rewards what is done in secret openly, and those rewards are not limited to the individual believer but extend generationally to their children and descendants, as Psalm 37 confirms.
- Being made complete, the Greek word telios in Matthew 5:48, is not achieved through personal effort but through continually looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who mediates an ongoing transformation into the Father’s character.
- The Father’s plans for every believer are more than the grains of sand on the earth, and nothing will be withheld from those who open themselves to knowing Him as He truly is.
Our Heavenly Father Notes
God the Father as Ultimate Destination
One of the most clarifying insights in this message is the distinction the pastor draws between Jesus and the Father. Jesus is not the destination; He is the way to the destination. John 14:6 is not merely a salvation verse but a directional one. Jesus mediates, reconciles, and continually brings believers into a deeper understanding of the Father’s character. This means the Christian life is not simply about holding Jesus precious, though that is essential, but about allowing His mediation to bring us into the fullness of knowing a Father whose love, power, and goodness surpass all human comprehension.
Patria: Every Family Named After God
The Greek word patria, found in Ephesians 3:15 and translated family, carries the root meaning of fatherhood. The pastor explains that this word reveals something profound: every expression of fatherhood that has ever existed in heaven or on earth derives its name and nature from God the Father. This means no human being is an accident, no life is without divine purpose, and no person exists outside the scope of the Father’s original intent. The difference between believers and unbelievers is not that God loves one more but that one has entered into relationship and the other has not yet turned toward Him.
Repentance as a Change of Direction
The pastor offers a memorable illustration of repentance by describing someone standing with their back to a camera. The audience cannot see who the person really is until they turn around. Repentance, he explains, is not self-condemnation or religious performance but simply turning toward the Father so He can be fully seen and known in your life. This reframes repentance as an act of trust rather than shame, and it connects directly to the call for all men everywhere to repent, not to earn God’s favor but to position themselves to receive what He has already purposed for them.
Secret Giving and Generational Reward
From Matthew 6:1-4 and Psalm 37:25-26, the pastor builds a compelling case that the Father’s reward system operates in secret and flows generationally. He shares how, years before planting the church, he began giving financially to Christian universities not as a congregation but as a family, sowing quietly in faith that his children would receive Christian higher education. Every one of his children later graduated from a Christian college. This testimony illustrates that what believers do in obedience and hiddenness is seen by the Father, and its fruit often appears most visibly in the lives of the next generation.
The Distorted Image Jesus Came to Correct
A recurring theme in this sermon is the danger of a wrong image of God. The priests and Pharisees of Jesus’ day had developed a theology that permitted hatred of enemies and neglect of the suffering, as illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan and in documented Talmudic teaching the pastor quotes. Jesus came to dismantle that distortion through teaching, healing, and ultimately sacrifice, paying with His life for simply telling the truth about how good the Father is. This history calls believers today to examine any lingering wrong beliefs about God and allow the Holy Spirit to replace them with truth.
A Father Who Rewards and Never Changes
The sermon closes with a vision of the Father that is both intimate and majestic. Malachi 3:6 declares that God does not change, and the pastor anchors the entire series in that immovability. Because the Father never changes, believers can build their lives on His goodness without fear that circumstances, other people, or personal failures will alter His disposition toward them. He rewards diligent seekers, He does not withhold good things, and at the marriage supper of the Lamb He will personally serve those who trusted Him. This is the Father believers are invited to know, and knowing Him changes everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to call God your heavenly Father?
Calling God your heavenly Father means entering into a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself taught His disciples to pray beginning with the words Our Father, signaling that salvation opens access to an intimate, familial bond with God Almighty. This identity reshapes how believers see themselves and how they navigate every challenge in life.
Who is the one mediator between God and man according to the Bible?
According to 1 Timothy 2:5, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus does not simply point to the Father from a distance; He actively reconciles fallen humanity to God by breaking down the misunderstandings and barriers that sin has created. His ongoing work as mediator means believers grow continually in their understanding of who the Father really is.
What is the meaning of the Greek word patria in Ephesians 3:15?
The Greek word patria, translated as family in Ephesians 3:15, carries the root meaning of fatherhood. It reveals that every concept of family or fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives its very name from God the Father. This means God is not merely like a father; He is the original source and definition of fatherhood itself.
What does repentance really mean in the New Testament?
In the New Testament, the Greek word for repentance means to change the way you think or to turn in a new direction. It is not primarily about guilt or religious ritual but about reorienting the mind toward God and His truth. The pastor illustrates this by describing someone turning to face a camera, making themselves fully visible; repentance is turning toward the Father so His goodness can be seen and received in your life.
How does the parable of the Good Samaritan reveal the Father’s character?
Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan directly in response to a distorted religious understanding of who deserves love and care. The Samaritan who stopped, healed, and generously provided for the wounded stranger reflects the heart of the heavenly Father, who makes His sun rise on the evil and the good alike. Jesus was challenging His listeners to abandon a narrow, exclusionary image of God and embrace the truth that the Father’s kindness extends to all people.
What does Matthew 5:48 mean when it says be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect?
The Greek word translated perfect in Matthew 5:48 is telios, which means complete, mature, or finished in one’s growth and labor. Jesus is not demanding moral sinlessness through human effort but calling believers to grow into the fullness of the Father’s character, including His unconditional kindness and love for enemies. This completeness is achieved not by self-effort but by continually looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, as Hebrews 12:2 instructs.
Does God reward believers who give and serve in secret?
Yes. Jesus explicitly teaches in Matthew 6:1-4 that when charitable deeds are done without seeking human recognition, the Father who sees in secret will reward openly. This principle extends beyond finances to every act of obedience and service done quietly in faith. The pastor also draws from Psalm 37:25-26 to show that these rewards often flow generationally, blessing the children and descendants of those who walk faithfully before God.
How can someone give their life to Jesus Christ today?
According to Romans 10:9-10, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. This is a personal declaration of trust, surrender, and new identity. The moment you do this sincerely, you are born again, the old passes away, and you step into a living relationship with the God who is now, and always will be, your heavenly Father.
