6/15/25 “The Father’s Love”
“The Father’s Love”
John 16:1-33
As you all know, today is Father’s Day.
If you’re curious as to how Father’s Day began here in America….
….a lady by the name of Sonora Dodd who lived in Spokane, Washington, came home after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon at church back in 1909…
She thought it would be a good idea to not only recognize mothers one day out of the year, but that Fathers should have their special day as well…
…Sonora contacted her local representatives and soon many people in the Spokane, Washington area were celebrating a day for Fathers each year along with a day for mothers.
Finally, about 5 decades later, Sonora’s idea had worked its way to from Washington state, all the way to Washington DC, - when in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson officially designated the 3rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day across America.
It’s interesting to see how our culture perceives fathers these days…
….especially when leafing through Father’s Day sale flyers distributed by local business during the week leading up to Father’s Day.
For instance, Viking Village’s Father’s Day flyer focuses on ice cream, meat, and enormous chocolate chip cookies…drizzled with icing that reads ‘Happy Father’s Day’
(Show cookie Pic)
Farm & Fleet’s flyer this week focuses on BBQ grills, power tools, lawnmowers, snacks & beverages, and fishing gear….
The Menards flyer has much of the same, but also featured polo shirts & jorts!
(Show Shirt & Shorts pic)
Personally, I am very excited about this…
I am…and always have been… a Jorts fan.
Does everyone know what jorts are?....essentially they are blue jeans cut off above the knee…resulting in blue-jean shorts.
…You get all of the functionality and feel of blue jeans…with the ability to stay cool in the summer….If you ask me, they’re a win-win.
Well…About 15 years ago (Back when I owned multiple pairs of jorts) …
…my fashionably conscientious daughter (Lexy) – who was around 10 years old at the time - pulled me aside one afternoon and politely informed me that jorts are -- so not in style anymore…a serious fashion faux pas.
…She said ‘Dad, look around’…(we were at a restaurant) ’Do you see any other guys wearing jorts?’
…and it was at that moment that I came to the realization that…apparently, I was the last man on the planet still wearing jorts.
…I said to my daughter ‘what do I do?....do a take’em off right now?’...She said “No!” – quite emphatically.
She said “what we need to do here is quietly exit the premises undetected…drive to the nearest Wal-Mart…and buy you a pair of cargo shorts like literally every other man is wearing these days…”
….”And also buy me a pair of earrings for my fashion consulting services”
(This is but a small picture of what raising two daughters was like….)
BUT… this week….Jorts are back at Menards!…I really hope they’re making a comeback.
Unbeknownst to my daughter, I held on to a few pairs of jorts from 15 years ago…hoping they would come back in style…and I can’t wait to wear’em the next time we go see our daughter in Milwaukee…IF they still fit… 😊
Well…Getting back to these flyers…what do they tell us about their perception of midwestern Dad’s these days…?
Just by looking at these mailers, we would assume that all dad’s barbeque their food (Including ice cream, chips, nuts, and monster cookies)…
They spend all day fishing…and operating power tools…
…and – apparently - they now do all of these things while wearing a pair of jorts!
…Dads – if this describes you – don’t feel bad….you are – according to retail marketers – the typical Wisconsin father.
Well…one of the aspects of our passage for today deals – not with earthly fathers - but with our heavenly Father…
In fact, this chapter provides a beautiful picture of how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work in perfect harmony with one another…
…Jesus (The Son) is describing his own earthly mission….a mission that will soon be completed upon the cross…
…He also describes the Holy Spirit’s arrival and upcoming mission of convicting the sinner, comforting the believer, pointing to Jesus….
….and guiding the flock into understanding God’s written word of truth…
But – often missed in this chapter – is the emphasis that Jesus places upon God the Father…and His role in the plan of salvation….
…in fact, Jesus mentions the Father 11 times throughout the 33 verses in this chapter…
…an average of 1 out of every 3 verses in this chapter mentions God the Father….
….so what better day than today to take a closer look at what Jesus is telling us here about our Father in heaven.
The first time Jesus brings up the Father is when he is talking about unbelievers who will persecute Christ followers…
He says this in verse 3 (John 16:3) “They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.”
One thing we can begin to understand about The Father is the fact that He and Jesus share the same divine substance…they are both – God.
Remember, the Trinity does not describe 3 different gods…but 1 God…expressing himself in 3 different persons…(The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit)
Does anyone find the concept of the Trinity difficult to understand?
Yeah….and if your hand didn’t go up…I know you’re lying! 😊
The Trinity is extremely difficult – dare I say, impossible - for our limited minds to fully grasp…
…how can 1 God be manifest in 3 different persons…all the while sharing the same divine substance?
…It boggles our minds….but, then again, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that God’s thoughts – and His ways – are infinitely higher than our thoughts and ways…
…And so here in verse 3, Jesus is essentially equating himself with the Father.
Remember back a couple of chapters in John 14, Jesus made this truth even more clear when he told Philip “….Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
….and then back a few chapters earlier in John 10:30 Jesus plainly says “I and the Father are one.”
So…Jesus is telling his disciples here in chapter 16 that those people who have never established a relationship with him – will also never have a saving relationship to God the Father.
You all know John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Folks, this is why it’s so important that when we have the opportunity to express our faith to others….
….make sure they understand that the God whom we serve has a name…
Now…
We can use the name Yahweh (The name He revealed to Moses)
We can use the name Jehovah (Meaning: He will be what He will be)
We can use the name Adonai (A Hebrew word meaning ‘Lord’ or ‘Master’)
We can use the name Abba (A way of saying ‘daddy’)
We can use the name Elohim (The Creator-God in plural form)
We can use the name El Shaddai (The Lord God Almighty)
We can use the name Ancient of Days as Daniel did…
….But the single most powerful name today that we can ascribe to God…
…the name that allows people to understand who specifically commands our allegiance….
…is the name: Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
…When you get to know Jesus…You automatically get to know the Father as well.
Years ago, our family would occasionally attend the Rock County Fair in Janesville..
…One reason we enjoyed that fair was because when you purchased a ticket to enter the fairgrounds, that same ticket also allowed you admission into the grandstand later that evening…
….there was no need to purchase a second ticket to see the main event…
So it is with Jesus…when you accept his offer of redemption through the blood that He shed for you on the cross…His purchasing of your soul…
….then you have also secured a seat in the presence of the heavenly Father for all eternity.
Moving on….In multiple verses of today’s passage, Jesus tells his disciples that He will soon be ‘going to the Father’.
So….what does this tell us about the Father?
Well…because the Father will accept the Son back into His presence, it means that Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for mankind was sufficient…
…it means that God the Father’s wrath was satisfied by the sacrificial blood of the God-man, Jesus.
…It means that those who are in Christ are now – upon death - able to come before the Father….to enter His presence…to approach His throne room of holiness and righteousness…
…but only because we have the name of Jesus tattooed upon our souls.
So…God the father’s acceptance into heaven of His returning Son…means that He will also accept those into heaven who come in the name of His Son.
Jesus also mentions the Father in verse 23 (John 16:23) of our passage for today, “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
The first part of this verse (In that day you will no longer ask me anything) is referring to after Jesus ascends to heaven…recorded in Acts chapter 1.
After Jesus leaves this earth and goes back to heaven, the disciples would no longer be able to physically ask him questions….
…however, they would soon be permanently indwelt with the person of the Holy Spirit…
…and one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to lead believers into the understanding of God’s Word…the truth of Holy scripture.
But Jesus is also telling us something else about the Father in this verse…
…he says that the Father will give them whatever they ask in the name of Jesus.
How many of you learned at a young age to end your prayers…“In Jesus Name”?
Yeah, me too.
This is one of the verses that is usually referenced as to why we ought to end our prayers by invoking the name of Jesus.
…And this isn’t the only time Jesus says this.
In John 14:13 He says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”
…also in John 15:16 Jesus says, “….Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
So…Obviously praying in the name of Jesus is important…
Why?...Why is it so important?
Well, first of all, its not meant to be some empty tradition - or ritualistic exercise….
…where it simply becomes a mindless habit to recite the name of Jesus as a tagline to all of our prayers…
…It also is not meant to be some magic formula of expecting to get everything we ask for in prayer…
…God is not a genie in a bottle…and if we treat Him that way…it actually demonstrates that our hearts are – in reality – far from Him.
What I believe Jesus is saying here is that prayers to the Father that come in the name of Jesus are prayers that demonstrate a heart of humility and subservience to the savior.
Years ago, Kings would often send a representative to deliver a message to a subordinate of some kind…
…These representatives would be described as ‘coming in the name of’ whatever King’s they served…
With this responsibility, the King’s representative would be able to invoke the authority of the King himself….but only to the extent of what was included in the written message from the King.
The representative had the full authority of the King as it pertained to the specific message he was conveying…
…If the representative assumed to have authority beyond what was spoken of in the correspondence, he would be extremely out of line – and usually asking for a swift flogging…or worse…when the King found out.
When we come before the Father in prayer….we are like representatives delivering a message….
….except – in our case – the message is not going from one of authority to one of subordination….
…But from one of subordination – to one of authority….
With this being the case….we are presenting requests before a sovereign God…
….who’s perfect Will may or may not be aligned with the request that is conveyed in our correspondence with Him…
Therefore – to protect ourselves from being out of line – to pray in the name of Jesus is to pray with our requests in full submission to the person – and Will - of Christ Jesus….whatever His will may be.
It’s a way of saying to God: “This is what my will looks like and desires….but, ultimately, I want my will to harmonize with the will of my savior….
…because He always has what’s best in mind for me.”
Does anyone remember that old Garth Brooks song “Unanswered Prayers”….
…It’s about a guy in high school who keeps praying that he could end up with a certain girl for the rest of his life…
….just to realize years later, that God had different – and better – plans for a future spouse.
Praying without being in submission to the name of Jesus opens us up to taking on spiritual authority that we don’t have…
…therefore – as Jesus teaches us here in verse 23, remember to format your prayers through the name of the savior.
Finally, Jesus teaches us in verse 27 (John 16:27) that the Father is full of love for His children who believe upon the name of His Son.
It reads, “…The Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
To me – this is the most important verse in this entire chapter….
…It reminds us that God the Father deeply loves those who have acknowledged Jesus as savior….
….and who have made the decision to live their lives by faith in – and submission to – God the Son.
Notice the foundation of the Father’s acceptance of man – and the conveyance of his love – are predicated upon truly understanding who Jesus is
On several occasions, Jesus was recorded asking His disciples who they believed he truly was…
Here’s one example from the book of Matthew:
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ He asked, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.’” (Matthew 16: 13-17)
Despite Peter’s failings, he loved Jesus….and he understood that Jesus was not only human…but that he was God as well.
He recognized that following Jesus was his only hope in this world…
…and that is what God the Father wants every single one of us to realize as well.
Jesus truly is the only path out of the savage wilderness of this world…He is our only protection from the evil one who wants nothing more than to devour us – body and soul.
Jesus is the light of this world…and we are protected by His light.
I’ve heard stories of individuals who have been on African safaris…people who tell me that during the day – in the light – you’ll be alright….the animals will generally leave you alone…
…but at night, under the cover of darkness….. if you are alone and defenseless….you most certainly will be devoured before daybreak.
So it is with each of us….
If we live in the light of Christ….if we submit to the illumination of the Holy Spirit…if we fear the glorious radiance of our heavenly Father….our souls will be safe for eternity…
However…
…if we aimlessly wander off into the darkness of this world…
…if we get lost in the pitch-black trappings of man’s deceptive distractions…
….If we are drawn away into the midnight of man’s self-indulgent traditions….
…If we lust for the murky nectar of man’s poisonous addictions…
….if we linger in the shadows of a lifestyle of sin….
…then all that awaits our soul is eternal torment, pain, and regret.
This day. Today.
Make sure that you have established a relationship with the one person who can save your soul from a world that is increasingly falling into darkness…
Jesus’ final words to his followers before going to the cross were these in verse 33 (John 16:33) “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Despite the pain of this world…
Despite the physical ailments…
Despite the moments of emotional turmoil
Despite the potential sources of stress and worry…
Despite living in a broken world of sin….
…You can still have hope!
…You can still live victoriously!
…You can still enjoy divine peace!
…You can receive all of these things through meditating upon your heavenly Father’s beautiful plan salvation found in His eternal Word of Truth…
…and through the knowledge that Jesus died for you…and by so doing….He overcame the world.
Let’s Pray.