Jesus was sent by the Father to bring us back to Him. God wants a close, "Abba" daddy relationship with us like He had with Adam and Eve in the garden. They walked together int he cool of the day—as a close family of a Father and His children. God wants all of His children to have that kind of relationship with Him. That's why He sent Jesus!

1. The Amazing Benefits of Knowing God as Your Father
The One Minute Summary of the Bible and All Human History: A Father & His
Kids
A loving Father God made us to be His beloved children, to love us and to give
love to Him as our Father. The Father loved intimate closeness with us. The Father
walked in the beautiful Garden of Eden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve.
That is a picture of heaven.
But Mankind sinned and our sin separated all mankind from our Father—as He
had warned Adam and Eve. Separated and weakened by sin, mankind was
hijacked by the god of this world, Satan, who took control over most people. The
rest of the Bible and all of human history is God trying to get His kids back!
Finally, He sends His ownSon, Jesus, to erase the penalties of sin against us,
rescue us from the devil and adopt us back as His children.
Jesus Came to Bring Us Back to the Father
Jesus came to reveal the Father’s love to us through His words—which were all
from the Father and His actions—which were all directed by the Father—so that
we could connect with the Father through Jesus. Jesus is the Way and the Father
is the Destination!
So what are some of the benefits of knowing God as Father? Primarily, the
benefits are about a change of identity and status.
We Were:
1. A slave to sin. Now a son or daughter of the King of Glory.
2. A stranger and enemy to God. Now we can call God, Abba, Daddy.
3. Someone who belonged to the kingdom of the devil. Now we are a citizen of
heaven
1. We were sinners, condemned to hell by our sins. A holy saint, forgiven, saved
& alive forever by by grace.
a. We were doomed live to hell. Now, we are given a mansion in eternal
glory in heaven.

2. As the Father’s child, we are:
2. Saved by the Father: We are a follower of Jesus only because the Father drew
us to Jesus (John 6:44, 65)
3. An adopted child of the Father, a choice of us He made from before he made
He world ( Eph. 1:4-5)
4. A joint-heir of the Father’s inheritance He gave to Jesus. (Rom. 8:17)
a. A disciple and sibling of Jesus, the King of Kings
5. A temple for the Father’s Spirit inside us
6. Guaranteed that The Father always knows all our needs and will meet them
because He loves us more than we love ourselves.
7. Never alone when we are hurting. Ps. 34:18: “The LORD ( Father) is close to
the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
8. Never without His Fatherly care: Ps. 27:10—"For my father and my mother
have forsaken me, But the LORD (Father) will take me up.”
a. Never fatherless: Ps. 68:5—The Father is “A Father to the fatherless, a
defender of widows.”
b. Always treated with a Father’s tender care: Is. 40:11—"He (Father)
shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with his
arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are
with young.”
c. Filling that spot in our hearts that hungers to know God as a father.

3. Because all of the above is true:
9. You are more protected from seeking self-destructive things to satisfy your
heart. Knowing God as Father brings a deeper level of satisfaction in knowing
who you are and Who He is to you. This is what saying Augustine and when he
said that “Our hearts are restless the Lord until they find the rest in Thee.”
a. You don’t need to become addicted to work or possessions or money or
fame or sex or alcohol or drugs. Many people use these addictions to
satisfy their hunger for the love of God the Father.
Living without a close relationship to God the Father is living far below our
capacity to experience His love.
Remember:
Jesus came to bring mankind back to the Father. That’s why He said he’s the only
way to the Father because God the Father wants everyone of us to come to him
as a little child comes to its Father. God is a Father Who wants to fill heaven
with own, beloved children
Big Point
You can have a great father-child relationship with God even though you may
have had a deficient earthly father. God’s Father love can heal wounds you carry
from a deficient relationship with your earthly father.
Your earthly father may have been harsh, emotionally broken, addicted to
something or just passive and emotionally absent.
When you encounter God the Father, most of the pain and loneliness and sense
of rejection that you carry from your experience with your father can be taken
away as you experience the personal love of God the Father for you. He love heals
and sets you free to enjoy being you!
You are able to love your self and be satisfied with yourself because now you
know that your Heavenly Father delights in you—like Zephaniah 3:17 declares.
Now you know that experientially!
Tom Payne Testimony

4. Friend: God held his face in his hands.
Let’s Ask God the Father for more experiences of His love for us as our Father.
1. Let’s close our eyes and come before God the Father with confidence, as
the Bible says we can.
2. Let’s agree with the Bible out loud:
1. I and a follower of Jesus only because God the Father drew me to Jesus.
2. I am a follower of Jesus because I was chosen by God the Father before
the world began
3. God is my Father. He has always loved me. He promises to always love
me. He wants me in heaven as His child forever.
4. God the Father is the best father. He is always looking out for me to
nurture and protect me.
5. God the Father chose to adopt me even though he always knew my sins.
6. I am safe, loved, chosen and fabulously rich in eternal blessings because
God made me His child through Jesus.
So, I come to my heavenly Father now as a little child to thank Him for all He has
given me as His child.
Father, I want you to pick Me up and hold me.
Father, what do you want me to know about me now.
Thank you, Father, for being my Father…forever.