Who’s Your Daddy?

There are literally millions of people who claim to believe in God, and Jesus Christ. Millions of people claim to be part of a vast spiritual family, and claim to be brothers in Christ. The question that I want to pose to you today in this study, is the one in the title… Who’s Your Daddy? Do you know who your daddy is? Do you know His character? Do you know His love? Are you simply existing in a spiritual family that you don’t really know… and if so, what can you do about it?

I had a conversation recently with a person who claimed that they didn’t really know what the will of God was… they didn’t really know what He would do (this happened to be in regards to healing, but the same could be applied to anything really) – this seemed strange to me, because if you have a close, personal, intimate relationship with someone, you get to know them, and you get to know their character and how they respond to things. If you see a couple that has been married for a long time, you find that they know one-another so well that they finish each-others sentences!

So what I want to share with you today, are some things about the character of God, the way in which He has revealed Himself, and how you can get to know Him in a more personal way.

I named today’s study “Who’s Your Daddy?” specifically because, a lot of people claim that God is their Father, but just as the person whom I mentioned in the opening, they aren’t really sure about His character, and it always saddens me to see people in that state. I don’t say that in a judgmental way, in-fact I was in that exact same place for many years, and I never even knew what I was missing.

Many people are in-essence “living below their means” simply because they aren’t sure about God, they aren’t sure of His willingness to help, so many times, they don’t even ask… and when they do ask, they don’t actually expect anything, again because they aren’t sure of His intentions or His goodness.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Healing. Specifically, physical healing. I have talked to many people who say that they just aren’t sure of whether God is willing to heal them or not… and they have the attitude that asking for healing is pretty much just a roll of the dice; a gamble. I’ve heard this kind of thinking from many individuals, and I have also heard it preached from church pulpits many times, and quite frankly I think it’s sad, because it poisons people against God and maligns His character, His generosity and His goodness.

So let’s look at how God describes Himself in regards to healing… beginning with Exodus 15:26:

“And said, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases on you, which I have brought on the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that heals you.”

Now this is directly following an amazing event, where the people were continually complaining against God, and against Moses… if God would have behaved the way that most people expect Him to, then He would’ve let the people die in their ignorance – but God, ever-merciful, tells Moses to toss a tree into the bitter water and it became sweet and drinkable… and this is where we find this verse.

God revealing a new aspect of Himself to them… and a new name by which they can know Him.

This new name יהוה רפה is the very first compound name revealed to the Israelite’s as they came out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt. It doesn’t just mean that God will bring you healing, or that He will heal you… instead the name actually means “The LORD is your healing”… and healing in every way; figuratively and literally, spirit, soul and body.

Healing is part of His very nature and being, and since this is the first name that He revealed to His people as they left bondage, it is obviously important to Him. He wants us to know this fact about Himself.

Now, the question becomes… that was God’s will back then, during the exodus; has God changed His mind? Numbers 23:19, says very plainly that God does not lie, and God does not change His mind. He speaks and He acts. He promises and He fulfills. We should rejoice in this fact, because it allows us to have absolute confidence. Humans can lie… Humans can break promises… Humans can fail to deliver – but not God. He is divinely reliable; divinely consistent.

Jesus is the perfect demonstration of this. Take a look at John 14:7-11:

“If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from now on you know him, and have seen him.

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us.

Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father?

Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works.

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.”

Notice what Jesus is saying here… Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. Let’s meditate on that for a moment. Jesus is saying that He is the perfect manifestation of the Father. By seeing Jesus, you see the Father. Verse 10 continues this theme by saying that whatever Jesus speaks, is actually the words of the Father, and the Father Himself is the one doing the works that Jesus does.

Colossians 1:15 says it this way: Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. So in-short, if you want to see the Father; if you want to see His character, His intentions, His motivation, and His will, you don’t need to look anywhere else other than Jesus, because if you see Jesus, you see the Father.

Now, notice that Jesus said that the Father does the works… so let’s take a look at some of the works of Jesus.

Just three chapters back in John 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. If you want to talk about healing, it doesn’t get any deeper than that!

In Matthew 8:16, we can see that the people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed, and Jesus cast the demons out and healed all who were sick.

In Matthew 9:35, we see that Jesus went around to cities and villages teaching and also healing every sickness and every disease.

In Luke 8:54, Jesus raises a girl from the dead.

Luke 13:16, Jesus heals a woman who was bent-over for eighteen years.

In John 5, Jesus heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda.

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth.

There are many, many more examples… but these are just some of the works of Jesus regarding healing, and these are the works of the Father.

Now you may be thinking that you don’t qualify for the healing of God because of your past, or bad behaviors, or whatever reason that men have come up with to disqualify themselves. But again, allow me to direct your attention back to your Daddy God, and show you the truth straight from Heaven, in Hebrews 1:1-3:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”

You see, God in the times before Christ, spoke through the prophets, but in these last times, He has spoken through Jesus. Again if you want to know what God thinks about something, or how He would act, or what His character is, if for whatever reason you just aren’t sure… just look at Jesus.

Verse 3 says that Jesus is the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person, and notice what Jesus has done here… it says He had by Himself purged our sins.

Now that one statement is totally packed with all kinds of good information for us! Because it tells us some more about who our Daddy is.

Think about it: Jesus Himself purged our sins.

This tells us who the agent was that did it (Jesus, and not ourselves) and it also confirms that it has already been done. It is not an ongoing process, something that we must strive for, or something that we must wait to become.

This eliminates the dangling carrot. This destroys the religious treadmill that so many people are on. Trying to earn something that Jesus has already done, and that He gives as a free gift.

This is who your Daddy is. This is His character, His goodness, His mercy, and His love for you… on display in the best way. You qualify for every blessing in Christ – including physical healing – because Jesus qualified you.

So today, you don’t need to wonder about God’s will, you can proceed with confidence, and righteous boldness in Christ Jesus, and now that He is the same today as He always has been.

His love has not waned, nor Has His power ceased.

That is your daddy.

Be blessed.