Jesus made an emphatic statement about the GOD of Heaven of earth: HE is our Father. The term “Father” establishes a relationship between the greater and the lesser. Instead of being some distant autocratic monarch who is unmoved by our situations, The Lord God Almighty is Our Heavenly Father and takes personal, intimate interest in our well-being.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
This particular verse denotes conditions- If you don’t ask, be assured you won’t receive. If you don’t seek, you will not find. However as we see in the letter of James:
4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
A father would not give you anything that promotes death and destruction. This is true even more so with Our Heavenly Father:
Matthew 7:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
These are the words of Jesus. You either believe Him or you don’t. He makes it quite clear that Our Heavenly Father’s Divine Intent of Love is directed to each of us. In the Old Testament, HE was known as Jehovah-Jireh (The LORD who sees and provides). Our Heavenly Father told Abraham in Genesis 22:
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Obedience is necessary to blessing. Denying the flesh is a precursor to receiving the blessings from Our Heavenly Father. HE will not reward lawlessness and sin. HE will only promote life. HIS grace and mercy are sufficient for the immature as they grow in stature, but at some point, HE expects maturity. You must become mature and reliable for HIM to see fit to release HIS blessings to further the Kingdom. Our one year-old grandson requires much oversight, our fourteen year-old granddaughter requires minor oversight, and our grown, mature daughter requires no oversight. We love them all but would only give full access to all of our resources to the one who is fully mature.
In the 1990’s, I was called to pray an hour each morning for the entire decade. One morning I was praying “GOD this…, and GOD that…”. Suddenly, HE stopped me and said: “Quit calling me ‘GOD’!”. “You can call me ‘Father” or ‘LORD GOD ALMIGHTY’, but don’t call me ‘GOD’.” I chose “Father”.
Jesus emphasized this relationship when instructing us how to pray:
Matthew 6:9
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
We must not forget the Love of Our Heavenly Father toward us. It is HIS good pleasure to provide for us, but only in accordance with HIS Divine Intent. HE will not reward our sin, but will withhold resources as any Loving Father until we can and will deploy those resources properly. Yes, HIS grace and mercy will prevail until such a time as we come to the end of ourselves. Jesus also warned us that there will be substantial challenges to be overcome in receiving the fullness from Our Heavenly Father:
Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
It requires us to act and take the initiative to enter through the narrow gate. There is only one Way and unfortunately few find it. Why? They are unwilling to die to the flesh. The ego would have you believe that you cannot have an intimate relationship with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. The Sons of GOD truly understand “Fatherhood” and desire to take on that relationship with those of less maturity. Paul emphasized this reality:
1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
PS: The following 5 verses emphasize the point of HIS word of correction to me:
Revelation 4:8 NKJV
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"
Revelation 11:17 NKJV
saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
Revelation 15:3 NKJV
They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Revelation 16:7 NKJV
And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."
Revelation 21:22 NKJV
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.