We all struggle with something that keeps us from fully entering into all the Jesus paid to give us. Something hovering in the background that trips us up when we finally feel we are making progress. Or we’ve been struggling with some physical infirmity for years and no matter how many prayers are lifted up we don’t get healed…. We carry emotional, physical, and even spiritual scars…. That never seems to heal… Join us this journey of discovering the secret to true and lasting healing: The Father’s Love
Kingdom Community TV Podcast
Finding The Healing Power of The Father's Love Episode 1
(upbeat music) - Good morning, everyone. It's Pastor Joaquin again. I know for those of you who've been following on ministry, it's been a while. We've had a lot of things going on here. But thank you for joining us once again and being a part of, as many of you have been reaching out to us in our broadcasting absence. But we're still here, we're still doing the Lord's work, we're still moving on in spite of losses and other things that have been going on, personal loss that we've experienced. But welcome. So I know that you were probably expecting for me to continue the Galatian series. We've kind of put that on a bit of a pause and the Lord's really impressed upon my heart to just start a new series called Making the Journey from Distant Deity to Dear Daddy, Finding the Healing Power of the Father's Love. In my time of prayer and in looking at things, I thought about what really, what is the, what's the most important ingredient, if you will, that we need in the Christian life, that we need in our walk in order to be successful, not from the world standpoint of successful, but successful in the sense of being able to be all that God made us to be, all that God intended for us to be, to experience a life of wholeness and healing. In spite of our circumstances, in spite of the difficulties that we go through, in spite of the losses that we go through, each one of us has a decision that we have to make in terms of how we choose to live our lives, whether it's on our own terms or whether it's a life that's surrendered to the Lord completely. And one of the key ingredients as I did the searching is, as a disciple, what is the most important thing that we need to know? And looking at the disciples, the 12 disciples of what were Jesus, I started to look at these things and began to see that they were like you and I, they had their ups and their downs, they had their, you know, their pride, their anger, all these issues that they had, yet they were whole, physically, in the sense of they never lacked, they were never sick, but they were like you and I. They had the same issues and the same struggles that we all face every day. And they had, we have something that they didn't, which is actually having God Himself dwelling inside of us. So I began to look and I began to search the scriptures and I began to ask the Lord about how did that happen? How were these guys who were a mess and came from all sorts of different sorts of backgrounds and had all different sorts of issues? How were they kept more or less? How were they preserved, if you will, during that period of time that the Lord was on earth? And we can say, well, you know, Jesus was with them. Jesus was there with them. But I think that sometimes we think like, well, Jesus was there with them so they didn't lack anything, but Jesus wasn't just there. He wasn't just somebody who was in their midst. He was somebody who dialogued with them, who had a social dialogue with them, who spoke to them, who talked to them, he slept with them, he ate with them and begin to unveil the Father's heart and began to show a God that had, to this point, not been revealed so far by any of the prophets, all right? So much so that when we talked about, many times we talk about, you know, Jesus went about healing and doing good, you know, doing good and healing all those who are oppressed at the devil and that he would speak at synagogues. But, you know, even the Sermon on the Mount, we have this thing like he went up on the mountain and started talking to the crowds. And we see that in movies and even in Christian movies, but the reality is that that is not correct. The scripture says that Jesus went up on a high mountain and sat down and then his disciples came to him and that he began, he opened his mouth and began to teach them. So he began to teach them. They came and sat and he was speaking to his disciples. It would be inappropriate to say that he got up on a mountain which he was not the kind of person that drew attention to himself. We see that he would move and sort of move through the crowd. He wasn't somebody who was looking for the spotlight. So it would be out of character for him to go up on a mountain and then start talking to a bunch of people. That's out of character for him, right? He came to serve, not to be served. He came to make us the focus of attention, not to make himself the focus of attention. So he taught them and people gather around and they listen and when you think about things that he went about teaching, think about the level of teaching that he did that caused people, created sufficient faith in people for them to get healed. And the proof of that is the fact that Jesus would say to people, people would come to him and say, he would say in one particular, what would you have me to do for you? And then the person said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And he said, do you believe that I can do this? I said, yes, Lord, according to your faith, be it unto you. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God. So what the Lord Jesus had to have said to them was sufficient to awaken faith in them and give them hope for whatever it is that they needed at that particular time. And why am I saying all of this? Because I think we've been missing something. I think that we've kind of call him the call father, call the father father, and we pray to him. But I don't think we know him as daddy, but as father God, right? So let's begin. Let's dive in and let's look at the first verse, if I can get my thing here to work, sorry. Okay. Now, this is Jesus. He starts this dialogue in the beginning of the chapter, which I'm gonna get into more into next week. But I wanted to specifically focus in on these two verses for today. Jesus said, and now I am no more in the world. He's speaking to the father now. But these are in the world. And I come to thee, meaning he's coming to the father. Holy Father, keep through thine own name, those whom thou has given me, that they may be one as we are one. So the concept is here that the father would keep them through his own name, those who the father gave Jesus as disciples, that they may be one as we are one. So that revelation of that name, that name, right? That name of God, that name that the father has, that Jesus came to reveal, that that name brings unity. It causes a oneness. As the Jesus and the father are one, we too can become one in the revelation of that name, and an understanding of what that name is. Then verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them, so Jesus is saying I kept them in thy name, in that name, right? Those that thou gave us me, I have kept. Again, he says kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scriptures might be fulfilled. So of the 12, only Judas was lost, excuse me, and Jesus is saying, but that was to be fulfilled. So one of them was lost, which was the son of perdition, but otherwise the other 11 were kept and they were preserved. So let's just take a look at the word keep. The word keep means to guard from loss or injury, and by keeping the eye upon. So basically what he's saying, so keep, meaning keep, let's look at the first part, keep through thy own name. So the father keeps the disciples, keeps us through his own name, which we're gonna get to what that name is here in a minute, to guard us from loss or injury, and by keeping the eye upon. So the eye is constantly upon the person, through the revelation of that name. The revelation of that name of God, that Jesus came to reveal, that Jesus revealed to the disciples, is what kept them and preserved them to this point in time, where now the next day Jesus is going to be crucified. Okay, so keep that in mind. Now through, that word through, so keep through, means denoting a fixed position. It's sort of like in Christ. When we've seen that many times, if you've heard been following this ministry any length of time, you've seen that I've mentioned that. Keep in, you know, in Christ, in Christ is, is denoting a fixed position in place timers or state, or by implication instrumentality, which instrumentality means the belief that the Bible is the actual word of God and was inspired by God, right? And it's a relation of rest. So again, the revelation of the name of God, that Jesus came to reveal, that he revealed to his disciples, created a relation of rest. There was a sense of rest, there was a sense of security and protection through that name, through the revelation of who Jesus revealed the Father to be, to reveal that name. That name was sufficient to guard them, to protect them. It made them feel like the Father's eyes were upon him, upon them all, and they were in that fixed position, right? Through, in the fixed position in that name, they were unmovable and unshakable in the revelation of that name. And one of the things that I see is that we can see how Christ talked a lot about the Father, because we see in one of the synoptic gospels where I believe it was Philip who said to them, "Just reveal to us the Father and that'll be enough." He had been talking so much about the Father and the Fatherhood of God and the heart of God. The Philip was like, "Yeah, we want to meet him." You know, it's like somebody who you hear about so much about and you hear all these wonderful things about them, you know, and you're like, "Wow, I can't wait to meet this person." I'm like, "Wow, this is just gonna be awesome "to meet this person." And then Jesus was like, "Philip, all this time "I've been with you and you haven't been able "to recognize me." He said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." So basically, who Jesus is is who the Father is and who the Father is is who Jesus is, because they're one. And I gotta tell you, that should bring us tremendous amount of comfort because Jesus loved all of us sacrificially. He loved us in a way that he didn't hold anything back. He gave all of himself, poured himself out completely on that cross with a tremendous demonstration of love. And I think sometimes, you know, we think of God as a distant deity. He's so far away. He's not interested in me. He doesn't care about what I'm going through. But because I think that we, unfortunately in the church, have done a very poor job of unveiling the Father's heart, of really making that correlation between Jesus and the Father, that they're one. And if you see Jesus, you're seeing the Father, that the heart of God is Jesus, and Jesus is the heart of God. And so we can, when we begin to see that, we can move from seeing God as this far away deity, who is not interested in our problems as to someone who is close and near. You know, very close and near. And that name, that revelation of that name, I'm going to tell you what that name is, it's Abba. It's Daddy, Abba. Paul said it by the Spirit, we cry Abba Father through the Holy Spirit, Abba. If you go to Jerusalem or go to a community, a predominantly Jewish community where there's a park and there's children playing and the Father is present, you will hear all throughout that part, Abba, Abba, Abba, which means Daddy. It means Daddy. So the revelation of God as Daddy, and I know like it probably will assail your mind. It's something like what, like Daddy? Like, you know, because he's so, you know, it's like we need to speak to him so formally. So, you know, with respect and all these other things. And, but he's Daddy. See, the concept of fatherhood, although preached in the church hasn't really translated to where you feel all warm and fuzzy, that you can go to him and, you know, he'll give you a hug and you feel like, you know, like he's cuddly and approachable. We haven't really made him to be that way. We talk a lot about Jesus, but we don't talk about the Father and there is a correlation. There are two distinct persons, but one God. Just like the Holy Spirit is a distinct person of the Godhead, but the three of them, the triune God, they've become, they've become, they're one, they've become, they're God, right? But, so he was selling them, listen, I'm not gonna be in the world anymore. But these, my disciples, the ones you gave me are in the world. And so I'm asking you, Father, that you keep them in a, that you guard, protect and keep your eye on them in a fixed position. Through your name, daddy. That that revelation of daddy would be so strong that would keep them, that no matter what they go through, no matter what difficulties they may encounter, no matter what pains they may endure, that they know that you will never leave them though, forsake them, that you're their father and you're their daddy. There are many things in life that we go through that make absolutely no sense. There are some things that we will not understand on this side of eternity. There are, but our lives are constitute choices. There's the will of God and then there's choices. God's will for us is what it is. It's his, you know, I know the thoughts and the plans that I have for you, the plans and thoughts for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. But sometimes, you know, those plans and those purposes, the journey to get to those purposes are fraught with disappointments, with pearls, difficulties, losses. And we think like, well, God doesn't care and God isn't interested in me and, you know, I'm just abandoned. Well, you know what? Nothing could be further from the tooth because you, my friend, you and I are not orphans. We are not adopted. We have been born again. And John chapter three, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. You've heard me say this before. He told them, you must be born again. And Nicodemus said, how can a man go back into his mother's womb? He understood what Jesus was saying. And Jesus said, let's you be born a warrior in spirit. You cannot enter into the kingdom. Water and spirit, the waters of baptism and the spirit, the born again, the birth. There's that correlation that the new birth always followed baptism. A baptism, we said, well, what's the importance of water? Jesus himself, when John told them, I need you to baptize me and you want me to baptize you. And he said, allow it so that, you know, scriptures may be fulfilled. So listen, there are things that God has ordered and structured in our universe that to the rational mind makes absolutely no sense. But again, obedience is more important than sacrifice. Samuel told, soul, the king, has the Lord as great delight and sacrifice, or that you hearken unto the voice of the Lord, for to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fad of rams. So God isn't looking for something out of you. He's not looking for you to give him something. He's looking to impart and to give to you, but your will needs to line up with his will. You need to surrender to his will. And many times, things may not make sense, but the revelation of God as daddy is a huge game changer, because you know that whatever you're going through, and if God is allowing it, it is for your good. And so you can find comfort and solace in that knowledge. But if you don't have a revelation of God as a father, as daddy, beyond being a father, but as daddy, if you don't have a revelation, it says, hey, I'm not an orphan, I am born again, right? I am the son of the Most High God. I am a child of God, and he lives inside of me. And so whatever I'm going through, he's going through it with me. And although this is hurtful and painful, I trust him. See, many of the things that we find ourselves in, particularly as children, you know, our parents have a lot of dominion over us while we're children and while we're growing up. And they form the basis of our psyche as adults when we become, when we become adults. Unfortunately, you know, many of our parents, were not instructed properly on how to raise children in the Lord, in the kingdom, and how to raise them in a manner that's mature and healthy, that would allow the individual to grow up, to reach a certain point, and then be able to, to move on and have their own children, their own families. But the thing of it is this, regardless of what your home life was like, regardless of what, whether your relationship with your parents was good or not, it could have been phenomenal, could have been great. You need a revelation of God as daddy, that supersedes whatever your opinions were the good or bad of your parents were or are. Because that revelation of daddy, that revelation of God, that, you know, and I can tell you right now, I know that in saying this, you are probably going through, you might be going through the worst period of your life. And you may be saying, how in the world could God be in all this? How could God be allowing this to happen? I don't have an answer for that. I don't. But I do believe that the answer to helping you get through that is the revelation of daddy. It's the revelation of God as daddy, as dear daddy. Even though in your mind, you may saying, you know, I would never do this to a child of mine. I would never put a child of mine through this. Okay, true. But this is where faith comes in. This is where you even in spite of the pain and the sorrow and the suffering and all the difficulties and everything that you're going through, you still trust Him anyway. You still say, you know what, this is painful. I don't understand why this is happening to me. It's really terrible and I wish it would go away. But in spite of that, you say, Lord, I trust you to give me the strength to bear up through this trial, to bear through this, to be able to get through the other side of this, right? And you know, maybe it may take a while for you to have this revelation of God as a father. But the other caveat to is that you're not adopted, but neither are you a slave. You're not a slave, you were not created to be harnessed to the plow and to just work, right? That unfortunately is another thing that we as, you know, leaderships have, we fail than that. And that we make people think that God relates to us only as much as what we can give Him and what we can do for Him. As opposed to receiving from God his love and that level of intimacy and unveiling the heart of a daddy, we unveil the heart, we unveil a God who seems very distant and that only wants my money, my time, my attendance, not interested in anything else. And that's unfortunate and that's sad because God did not put Jesus on that cross to make you a slave. He put Jesus on that cross to free you, to liberate you, to bring you into an intimate relationship with Him, to come and be inside of you, to dwell inside of you and to be with you and to encourage you and to comfort you. And you may not feel that right now. You may be going through, we all go through things, but whatever your situation is, I promise you that God wants to embrace you as daddy. He wants you to see Him as daddy. You know, a lot of times, you know, many, many, the decisions of other people, particularly as children, the decisions of our parents, the decisions of our leaders in church affect us, they have an effect on us that perhaps may warp the sense, the perception of God as daddy. And man, but I'm here to tell you, if you stick with me for the coming weeks, I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna go right through the Old Testament, right? Because Jesus was hidden in the Old Testament and is revealed in the New Testament, but Jesus and the Father are one. And I don't wanna be able to show you glimpses of that heart, of that intimacy, of that desire to be in the middle, right, of his people, of his children. His desire for you is good, is not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. That's his plan for you. And I know right now it may be absolutely, like, I can't even see that. That's okay. You know, something I've learned over the years, of 50 years of walking with him, is that even though I may not see something, and even though I may not perceive something, and even though I may not understand something, it doesn't change the fact that it's true. And my hope is that you'll be able to see that because you are his child, you were born of water and of spirit, you're his child, and he loves you. And I know that right now, whatever that circumstance is, that you may find yourself in, you may be by. I don't even, I don't feel very loved. And I know I've been there where it didn't feel very loving. But later on, over time, as I went through those trials and those tribulations and those storms and why I felt like, where were you in all of this? I began to see his fingerprints. I began to see him in my life, and I began to see him moving through my life. And, but I didn't see it then. And I'll tell you that the revelation of God as a father, as a daddy, not just as a father, because I think, with the church, we said, okay, God the father, but then we have to struggle with this, I'm adopted thing, right? And although adoption is a wonderful thing, it is an act of love. I'm not, I'm not despairing natural human adoption. But the fact of the matter is that if you or I, which would adopt a child who was homeless, who was orphaned, a beautiful thing, we give them a home, we nurture them, we love them, and that's great, and that's wonderful, the genetic makeup of that child is whoever their parents were, right? You can't change that. So the fact that you or I adopt a child, bring them into our home, bring them into our family, give them our name, doesn't change who they are intrinsically. It doesn't change their DNA. If their father or mother was predisposed with some kind of genetic default, the child might get it. Whatever those things, even characteristics and temperaments and things like that, medical science is beginning to now see that those things can be genetically inherently passed, right? So you and I, if we had been adopted, we would still have the same genetic makeup, spiritually speaking, of Adam, the first Adam. And because of that, we could not enter into the kingdom. That's why Jesus said, let's you be born a water and spirit. You cannot. Our spirit needed to be born again. So you are born again, my friend. You are not adopted and you are not a slave. And whatever difficulty that you're going through may seem terrible and it's horrible, but it does not constitute the sum total of who you are. If you believe and you trust him and you keep an open heart and you begin to see him as a father, you'll be able to see things and things will become more clear to you. That prior to that, you may have been there but you never made that connection. Some of us are so broken and so scarred. It's very difficult for us to perceive God as daddy. But I promise you that if you stick in the coming weeks with us here and start to begin to see and take the time to meditate on scriptures like, you know, John chapter 17, verses 11 and 12, and the whole chapter itself, you're going to begin to see a side of God that you hadn't seen before. And you're going to be surprised at what that side of God is going to show you. Because at the end of the day, Jesus on that cross settled it once and for all. Whatever was going on, whatever was, whatever enmity existed between us and the father, Jesus put an exclamation point, a period, an end to that story. He wiped away all of our sins, all of our iniquities for all time once and for all. Wiped it all away, gave us a new spirit. We are now God's dear little children. And your circumstances may not seem that way and it may not even come close to biblical. I don't feel very loved right now, but I promise you, as someone who's been through a lot in my 50 years and has been in very dark places, I can tell you that the only reason I'm still here today to share this message with you is because of that, because of my daddy and heaven, my papa, who loved me so much. And you know, I went through some difficult times, but I learned from it and I grew from it. And the thing that you always need to keep in mind and remember is this, is that the gospel is Jesus Christ plus nothing else, anything else that someone wants to try to add to it and say that you need to do this or that or the other thing, it's not true. Jesus did everything for you so that you could become a child of God. And enjoy Him as daddy. And so let me just pray for you, Father, I pray for all those who are hearing this message or who will hear this message. And Lord, I know the concept of you being a father is probably something that's very alien to them, very foreign to them. Something that they cannot process and even accept. But I pray to the power of the Holy Spirit that whatever situation they find themselves in, that they may see the light of hope in your fatherhood, that you may comfort them, that you may be with them, that you may shine your light into their heart and then they can see you as daddy so that they can experience the healing and the breakthroughs that they've long waited for. And I pray this in Jesus name, amen. All right, my friends, I will see you next week. God bless you.