​​The Father Who Wants to be Found​ – Sermon – Pastor Dave Page

Good morning everyone. As you know, today is Father’s Day. And on Father’s Day, churches often spend time talking about fathers. We celebrate good fathers. We honour faithful fathers. We encourage fathers. And those things are important. But this morning I’d like to take a slightly different approach.

Instead of spending our time talking primarily about fathers, I’d like us to talk about The Father. Because regardless of our experience with earthly fathers, every one of us has been invited into relationship with our Heavenly Father.

For some people, Father’s Day brings warm memories. For others, it brings grief. For some, it highlights gratitude. For others, disappointment. Some had fathers who reflected God’s love beautifully. Others had fathers who were absent, distant, or perhaps wounded themselves. The reality is that every earthly father is imperfect.

But Scripture introduces us to a Father who is not. A Father who is faithful as we discussed last week. A Father who is always present. A Father who knows us completely and loves us fully. And one of the greatest invitations He gives us is the invitation to be in relationship with Him.

You know, I think that one of the most remarkable things Jesus did was change the way people thought about God. People then who were followers of the one true God, knew God as Creator. As King, almighty, true and sovereign. But when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with a word that changed everything: “Our Father.” Today I want us to explore what that means because I think one of the greatest needs in the Church, and our church is no exception, is deeper intimacy with the Father.

Before Jesus Did Anything, He Received the Father’s Blessing

Read Mark 1:9–11

Jesus comes to the Jordan River. He is baptized. The heavens open. The Spirit descends. And the Father speaks. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Think about when this happens. Jesus has not yet preached a sermon. He has not healed anyone. He has not called disciples. He has not gone to the cross. He has not performed a miracle. Yet before any accomplishment that we know of the Father speaks blessing.

“You are my Son.” “You are loved.” “I am pleased with you.” Belonging came before doing, and, pay attention this, relationship came before achievement. That matters because most of us live the opposite way, don’t we? We spend our lives trying to earn what God freely gives. We think: “If I work harder…” “If I serve more…” “If I perform better…” Then maybe God will be pleased.”

The Gospel says something different. The Father begins with love. Not because we’ve earned it, but because we belong to Him.

Finding the Father Begins with Identity

Matthew 6:9

When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, He begins: “Our Father in heaven…” The first thing Jesus wants us to remember is who we’re talking to. Not a distant ruler. Not a reluctant authority or a cosmic examiner waiting to grade our performance. Jesus wants us to remember is who we’re talking to; A Father. Every time we pray, we are reminding ourselves of something that is easy to forget: I belong, I am known and I am loved.

Prayer is an important way of remembering both who God is and remembering who we are. Remembering whose we are. Many of our fears, anxieties, and insecurities grow when we forget our identity. Understanding identity, the Father’s and our own, brings us back to the truth.

The Father’s Voice Competes With Many Others

That’s where prayer becomes so very important. One reason prayer is difficult for so many people today is because our lives are full of noise. We are constantly hearing voices. The voice of culture and comparison. The voice of criticism or fear. And sometimes, the harshest voice is our own. Too many people spend their entire lives listening to voices that God never intended to define them.

You know those voices, they’re the voices that say: You’re not enough. I see how you’re failing, which is why you’ll never measure up. But the Father, the Father speaks differently. The challenge is that His voice is often heard in stillness. In quiet. In prayer. Again, not because God is absent, but because we are often distracted.

For the Father to truly be found by us we need to learn to recognize the Father’s voice amid all the noise. “Researchers tell us that when a room is full of noise, we are remarkably good at recognizing the voice of someone we know well. Not because their voice is louder. Certainly, not because they’re the only person speaking. But because familiarity creates recognition. The more time you’ve spent listening to them, the easier it becomes to hear their voice amid the noise.” Isn’t that true spiritually as well?

The Father isn’t always shouting. The problem is often that there are so many competing voices. Prayer is where we learn the Father’s voice well enough that we begin to recognize it in the middle of life’s noise. And that’s exactly where we’re heading in our next series, “Hidden in Plain Sight…”

Next Sunday we’ll begin exploring some of the parables of Jesus, stories that many of us have heard dozens of times. Stories about seeds and farmers and sheep. Coins and mustard plants. Everyday, ordinary things in the Ancient near east time. Things people walked past every day without a second thought. And yet Jesus kept saying, “The Kingdom of God is like…” some of these things.

In other words, God’s activity is often closer than we think. His voice is often quieter than we expect. His work is often happening in places we overlook. The challenge for us isn’t usually that God isn’t speaking. The challenge is that we’re not always paying attention. That’s why prayer matters. Prayer trains our hearts to notice. To listen. To see what God is doing in ordinary moments. And as we explore these parables together, I think we’ll discover that God’s kingdom is often “hidden in plain sight” and that brings us back to what Jesus is teaching here. If we’re going to recognize the Father’s voice in everyday life, if we’re going to notice His activity around us, then we need to spend time with Him. Because, as we’ve said before, relationships shape recognition. The people whose voices you know best are the people you spend the most time with. And the same is true with God.

Prayer Is Where Blessing Is Received

Throughout Scripture, blessing is more than good fortune. Blessing is the declaration of identity. The affirmation of belonging and sometimes the reminder of purpose. People need blessing because people forget who they are and perhaps more importantly, they forget whose they are.

Now when we hear the word blessing, we often think about receiving something from God. A good day. A new opportunity. Health. Provision. Answered prayer. And certainly, God does bless us in those ways. But in Scripture, blessing is often much deeper than receiving something. Blessing is always about receiving a declaration. Receiving an identity. Receiving a word from God about who we are and how He sees us.

One of the primary biblical words for blessing in the original Greek is the word eulogeō (eu-log-eh-o). It literally means: to speak well of, to bestow a good word. At its heart, blessing is not primarily about possessions. It’s about a spoken word of favour. In other words, blessing is often something that is spoken before it is experienced. And, throughout Scripture, fathers bless children. Patriarchs bless families. God blesses His people. And again and again, blessing involves God speaking something true over someone’s life.

Which means that one of the great gifts of prayer is that prayer creates space for us to hear the Father’s blessing again. Not because He changes His mind about us. But because we forget. We forget who we are. And prayer brings us back to those truths.

Listen to what happens in Mark 10. (Mark 10:13–16)

People are bringing children to Jesus. The disciples think Jesus is too busy. Too important. Too occupied with bigger things. But Jesus responds differently. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14)

Then Mark records something beautiful: “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:16) The word used there is a strengthened form of eulogeō. It means Jesus intentionally and personally spoke blessing over them. Now, Think about this scene with me for a moment. The children hadn’t accomplished anything. They weren’t being rewarded for exceptional behaviour that we know of. Jesus simply welcomed them. He held them and then He blessed them. Why? Because that’s what loving fathers do and that’s what our Heavenly Father does. Before achievement or accomplishment or performance. There is blessing. There is belonging. There is love. There is acceptance.

Prayer is where we stop listening to every other voice. Prayer is where we remember that before we are workers, volunteers, leaders, parents, grandparents, retirees, students, or anything else, we are children; children of the Most High God. And it’s where we hear time and again the Father’s blessing: “You are loved.” “You belong to Me.” “I am with you.” “Do not be afraid.” “Keep going.” Prayer is where identity is renewed. Prayer is where blessing is received.

Response

This morning I want to invite you to a simple moment of reflection. Take a moment and ask yourself: what do I most need to hear from the Father today? Perhaps: “I am loved.” “I am forgiven.” “I am with you.” “Do not be afraid.” “Trust Me.” “Keep going.” “Rest.”

Allow a few moments of silence right now. Not trying to force an answer. Not trying to manufacture an experience. Simply creating space to listen. Because sometimes the greatest gift we can offer God is our attention.

Conclusion

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He could have begun anywhere but He began with: “Our Father.” Because everything flows from that truth. Before we are successful or struggling. We are children. Beloved children of God. Living from God’s love. Not trying to earn blessing, rather receiving blessing.

This Father’s Day, perhaps the greatest gift all of us can receive is the reminder that we have a Father who knows us, welcomes us, loves us, and continually invites us closer. And every time we pray, we step into that invitation. Every time we say: “Our Father…” We are coming home to the One who has loved us all along.