Righteous Father

Righteous Father 05/06/14

Bible Reading John 17 vs 24-26 Vs 25:

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. We will be looking into the Gospel as we know it and try to discuss on what the gospel should be. What is the gospel? What is the gospel centred on? What does the world most need to hear about God? Some people’s gospel is that “God is good”. And it is true that God is good. The word ‘good’ however is so debased and degraded nowadays… you talk of good meal, good weather you even talk of good dog. Is it enough to just say good God? Like a symbol of surprise; “good God”! Shall we just tell people God is good? Is it enough? The answer is No. Another word freely used is “God is love”.

The word “love” itself is broadly used by so many that it has lost its meaning. In the Greek language, they are often courteous when using the word love. In the bible, there are 3 types of love used: Eros- love of attraction; based on desire & longing; love between sexes, often arouse romantic feeling; it’s a selfish kind of love; this is never used of God (Storge- family and friendship love; parents love for their children) Phileo- love of affection; platonic love; nonsexual; it is love in the Noun-form; based on how you feel about someone; not used of God either. Agape- love of action; demonstration love; mostly used to describe God; unconditional love; it sees beyond the outer surface; love in the verb-form; you may not like someone’s behaviour but you decide to love them anyway; love that meets someone’s need; Often the emotion behind this love is compassion!

Somebody’s action on our behalf due to His compassion for our need- this is the love God displayed when he gave His only begotten son (Jesus Christ) to die on the cross for us… God is Agape. The only problem with that gospel is “tell people God love them unconditionally with their flaws and fault; he wouldn’t judge them and they will carry on as before=- unlikely to repent or change for the better.  Even though God is good and God is love. What do we need to tell the world about God? What does the world most need to hear about God? What do we need to settle in our mind about God? Can we find another word rarely used? “Righteous” God is Righteous! This is infact, Jesus’ personal address of God as it reads in our text; John 17 vs 25 Vs 25 Righteous father!….

God’s righteous and his demand that we live righteously and upright before Him- is the gospel. God is Righteous. What does it mean? 1. It means that everything He does is RIGHT! This is a vital truth and even as believers we must learn to trust God, that whatever He’s done or doing in our lives is right! We may not understand Him but we trust him. And there are times we have to trust that God will do what is right and that He will never do wrong. Remember, when Abraham was pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah not to be destroyed… Abraham’s conclusion was … Gen 17 vs 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked …will not the judge of all the earth do right? You can trust God if you know He is Righteous. Trusting God will do what is right is Faith! Example was when God said to Abraham kill your son Isaac as a sacrifice… even though Abraham could not ration it in his mind the only conclusion his mind could come to is that “God cannot do wrong and He is right! (Righteous) that trust became faith and that faith was credited to him as righteousness. God cannot do wrong! He is not capable of doing wrong because it’s not in his nature. He has the power to do anything but his nature will not permit him to do what I can easily do. For example; Lie- God cannot lie; Cheat-God cannot act unjustly (He cannot cheat) Heb. 6 vs 10; Unstable-God cannot change Mal 3 vs 6; unfaithful-God cannot break a promise; It is important to say at this junction that “God loves righteousness more than people”. The proof was the Noah’s flood- God actually destroyed an entire human population because they were not righteous; even though He has not done it again in the course of history, the bible says that He will do it again in the end. (As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the end… Jesus’ remark to his disciple)

Our world need to hear that although God is good and God is love; God is first and foremost and most importantly our “Righteous Father” who demands that we all live righteously before him. We all need to appreciate that God is not only the creator from whom we came; the God who has put everything in place for our sustenance so we can have a being/existence; He is the God who is going to judge all human race in the end. The reason is; if He is righteous, he is obligated to punish all evil one day. There is one day God will settle the account. I often say especially when I hear or read about one atrocity or the other that people do to another human, I often say that God should just punish evil and bring an end to all these. Until I understand through the scripture that God’s holding back is not a sign of indecisiveness but a demonstration of his love and mercy room. If God will punish evil right here, right now, this room will be empty. Thank you the Righteous father for His compassion, His love and His mercy shown to the worst of all sinners like me; bringing me out of my miry clay; my horrible pit; transferring me from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His son in light; His love based on His compassion for me and my pitiful state prompted an action that set me free today. This is the gospel! The gospel that has its power originate from God as a righteous father and whose desire is to see us change from bad to good; from evil to righteous; from lawless to the obedience of Christ. We live in a democratic world, where evil behaviour can be punished but the evil man cannot be changed. What the law was powerless to do, Jesus did. He transforms a bad man to a good man and on his way to being perfect in preparation for the new world/ new Jerusalem of God where all tears will be wiped, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed.” Rev 21 vs 4 because not only will God judge all evil he will banish it; the coward, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderer, the sexually immoral, those that practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars.

Rev 21 vs 8 This is why we preach the gospel; the true gospel not that God is good although he is; or that God is love as evidentially true as it may sound but above all that God is Righteous!. Our world, our friends, our children are all in desperate need of this gospel. God has got a date in his diary to bring all things to a conclusive end, when all opportunity will be over and too late. The day for you to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour as never been sooner. Make the day today. Prayer Righteous Father! Though the world does not know you and for this purpose you have brought into your presence this day your people that you may raise us up to preach the gospel. To make known to this generation that you O God are a Righteous; and your patience is a proof of your love that has stemmed from your compassion for us. You do not desire that any one should perish but that all may come to repentance.

However, your nature will not condone sin and evil forever; you are too righteous to let evil reign forever and this is why you have set a day by yourself when you will judge all mankind. Our conclusion this afternoon is that you are right O’ God and you cannot do wrong. So we pray that this conclusion will become our conviction. We will leave this place persuaded that “God is Righteous” and he will do what is right and this will encourage us to trust you and trust you more. Over the United Kingdom, we trust you, God, to do what is right. We don’t have the answers to many things but we trust our Righteous Father to do what is right; on our behalf, on behalf of our children, on behalf of our loved ones and on behalf of the people that you are interested in saving even during this prophetic era in the church and in the world at large. Amen.