A young man was to be sentenced to the penitentiary. The judge had known him from childhood, for he was well acquainted with his father--a famous legal scholar and the author of an exhaustive study entitled, "The Law of Trusts."

"Do you remember your father?" asked the magistrate.

"I remember him well, your honor," came the reply.

Then trying to probe the offender's conscience, the judge said,

"As you are about to be sentenced and as you think of your wonderful dad, what do you remember most clearly about him?"

There was a pause. Then the judge received an answer he had not expected.

"I remember when I went to him for advice. He looked up at me from the book he was writing and said, 'Run along, boy; I'm busy!' When I went to him for companionship, he turned me away, saying "Run along, son; this book must be finished!'

God the Father is often misunderstood.

• Often misunderstood because of our own picture of a father.
• Distant/Not really caring about us.
• Angry
• Exacting
• Required appeasement from Jesus.
• Another reason that the Father is so misunderstood is because there is so little information directly relating to Him in the Bible.

What is God the Father really like?

One of Jesus’ Disciples wrestled with this question in John 14:8-10

"4:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Show us the Father?

14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

The key to understanding the Father is found in this statement from Jesus.

Jesus and the Father are so much the same that what Jesus does the Father does. They are in total agreement. So when you look at Jesus you see what The Father is like.

Hebrews tells us that the Father and Jesus were both involved in creating the world and us.

Hebrews 1:1, 2 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God cares deeply about What He has made especially Mankind.

The Old Testament doesn’t often specify between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But since "If you’ve seen Jesus you’ve seen the Father" We can understand the Father by looking at the Stories about God in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament where it does specify.

God created us for Love. But after Adam and eve sinned, because of His love, He had to create a separation between Himself and us. Exodus 33:20

Sin and disobedience causes a natural separation between God and us.

{Match and paper soaked in fuel} Fire naturally consumes paper.

God’s pure Holiness naturally consumes Sin.

But He still longed to have a relationship with mankind. So He began to speak to, and reveal His character to chosen people such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Then after He had rescued Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites from slavery He brought them out into the wilderness where they would be totally reliant on God.

There were 3 or 3 1/2 million people among the Israelites. This many people are going to require a lot of food.
According to the Quartermaster General of the Army, it is reported that
Israelites would have to have

• 1,500 tons of food each day.
• Did you know that to
  bring that amount of food each day, two freight trains, each a mile long,
• They would need 4,000 tons of wood to cook the food in the wilderness.
• Requiring a few more freight trains, each a mile long, for one day.
• It would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, if they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes,
• and a freight train with tank cars 11.8 miles long, just to bring water.

• Every time they camped at the end of the
  day, a campground 2/3's the size of Rhode Island, or a total of 750 square miles, was needed.
• That comprises an area 25 miles wide and 30 miles long.

There is no way they could have provided for themselves out there. So everyday they had to rely on God to supply their needs.

This should have helped them to know God and enter into that relationship with Him and to realize that God really does care for us, but they didn’t seem to get it.

Once when God was talking to Moses He said, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Exodus 25:8

God wanted to live right with His people.

As we just read in Exodus 33:20 God couldn’t actually be there face to face with his people for their protection so He chose this sanctuary to symbolize His constant presence. Overshadowing the Sanctuary was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.

Within this Sanctuary God illustrated His plan of salvation that would eventually bring us into full communion with Him.

Another way of helping us to know and understand Himself and help us to know Him was through the Holy inspired writings, which we now call the Holy Bible, that God inspired His chosen people to write. Within these pages God’s true character becomes clear.

God of Mercy,

• Each of us has done many things that could invoke God’s wrath. But God created us for Love and He has too much love to go around. So He takes pleasure in showing mercy to those who accept it and even to many who reject it.
• When Moses asked God to show him His glory God began his self-description in this way.
• Exodus 34:6, 7 "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
• 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation].

• In Luke 6:35, 36 Jesus told us something about how we can emulate His Father. "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil. 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."

King David was known as a man after God’s own Heart (See 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) He had a very real relationship with God. let us notice some things He and the other Psalmists found about God.

• God Is eager to establish relationships with individuals

• Psalm 8:3, 4 NIV "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

The Apostle Peter wrote, 1 Peter 5:6, 7 NKJV "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

• A refuge
• Psalm 18:1, 2 NIV "I love you, O LORD, my strength. ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

• Psalm 27:5 NIV "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

• Psalm 46:1 NKJV "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

• Sustainer

• Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

• God told Isaiah the Prophet, Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'"

• An understanding and Forgiving God.

Ps 103:11-14 "For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; ¹²As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. ¹³As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. ¹⁴For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."

Ps 146:7-9 "Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. ⁸ The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. ⁹ The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down."

• God’s main trait is Love.

We see this in His desire to have a relationship with us.

God didn’t have to be Appeased with Jesus’ Sacrifice rather we find that this was as much a sacrifice of Love for the Father as it was for Jesus. John 3:16

Yes, God the Father desires a close Relationship with us. He wants to live with us and Us with Him. So, very soon Jesus will come back to take us to live with Him. Then He will recreate the earth, perfectly this time and We will be reconciled with Him and we will be able to be in His presence.

Notice the loud Victory shout ringing through Heaven at that time

Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged.

The son ran away, and the father set off to find him.

He searched for months to no avail.

Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper.

The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.

On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

God has Placed an add in the Bible:

There’s no limit to this invitation.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Reply to the Father’s invitation of fellowship by setting aside a special time this week to talk to God in a personal way. Remember He cares personally for you.
2. Identify a large problem in your life and ask your Heavenly Father to take care of it. Claim the promise in 1 Peter 5:6, 7
3. If you are a Christian, ask yourself if you are doing a good job of reflecting God’s character to those who look up to you. Then ask God to help you improve where needed.
4. Write a response letter back to God the Father expressing your feelings for Him.