friends in the name of the Lord Jesus our wonderful Savior we heartily and warmly greet you we welcome you to the continued study the meditation and the ministry of the precious word of God we do thank God that we have a theme of consideration that is precious regarding God the Father and his children his family that belong to him We do rejoice that when the Savior was upon the earth, and his disciples came to him and asked, Lord, teach us to pray. He answered them, saying, After this manner, pray ye, saying, Our Father, which art in heaven. You may be very well acquainted with this so-called Lord's Prayer, which we often quote, and may be able to recite it from memory. But have you ever considered what is the greatest truth in that prayer? I believe the greatest truth in that wonderful prayer, that the Lord taught his disciples to pray, the greatest truth can be found in the first two words, Our Father, to have the relationship of the soul with God in such a manner that you can address Him in proper intimacy, and true relationship as his child and call him father now beloved let me be very careful and frank to state that you cannot call God father unless you are in the right relationship as his child we are now studying the children of the father we have covered some scriptures very faithfully I trust as well as clear to reveal that God has, through Christ, who came into the world, made himself known as Father. If you will read the Gospel of John alone, you will find about one hundred and nineteen or one hundred and twenty times the name of the Father. For Christ came, as we have already stated, and sufficiently, to reveal His Father. How wonderful to realize. God the Father desires men and women, boys and girls, to be in that intimate, as well as eternal relationship as his children, to call Him our Father. I ask the question, my friend, can you genuinely call God your Father and say, My Father, which art in heaven? Today we continue the consideration of God wanting and obtaining the children for his family. We have noted in the preceding message in Ephesians chapter one, verse three through verse seven, the predetermined will of God and his predetermined purpose to obtain the family. Now let us pause for just a moment of meditation to remember the amazing fact that he desired and that he obtained that family from the human race. I am amazed, I am overwhelmed, that such one as I, and even you, my friend, should be the object of God's desire to be taken into his family. Now if you are not a child of God, may I add, God wants you in his family. and for that reason he gave his son. And thus we noted the predetermined will of God, as well as the blessed truth that he sent his son, that you and I might be accepted in the Father's family through the beloved alone, the one who gave himself for our redemption, and that by the power of his blood our sins may be forgiven. according to the riches of God's grace. Today we would like to read a short portion from the eleventh chapter of John's Gospel, verses forty-seven through fifty-two. And consider further the purpose of God through Christ coming into this world and dying, not only to reveal the Father, but to gather from the world and out of this world the Father's children. John chapter eleven, we begin in verse forty-seven, then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees at council, and said, What do we? For this man, meaning Jesus, doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them named Caiaphas, Being the High Priest that same year said to them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself, meaning not from himself. But being High Priest, that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Now may we look at this portion of Scripture very carefully. From the context of this story in this eleventh chapter of John, we are fully aware that one of the greatest miracles the Lord Jesus ever performed upon the earth was the raising of Lazarus from among the dead. It was not only and merely that he raised a dead person, that he had done before, but this man had been dead four days. By the fourth day the body had begun to corrupt, and corruption in that body, within the grave, within the tomb, corruption had already set in. But the great miracle that gave evidence that this same blessed one was not only the Messiah, but it was also the Son of God. That miracle manifested his glory and gave evidence as to who he was as well as what he was. Many of the Jews believed on him when they saw this miracle. Some of them went their way to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. And the chief religious leaders, and may I repeat that again, the chief religious leaders They plotted the life of the blessed Savior. For Santa stated that those who should have welcomed him and given him a place of honor and led the nation in acceptance of the Messiah. They led the nation in rejection of that blessed Son of God. And in plotting, and their counselors we have read, they said, Listen, we must do something. This man does many miracles. What are we doing? If we let him alone, many will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away our place as a nation. And may I say frankly, these religious leaders were more concerned about the political situation than the spiritual condition of God's people, Israel. How that is evident today The rulers of the people and of the nations of the world today are concerned not about the spiritual state, but the political state of things in the world. And may I say very frankly, the political conditions of the world are so morally corrupt, and they smell with a great stench in the heart and mind and the nostrils of God. And when it comes to His only beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, no room for him. And thus they plot the death of the Son of God. Caiaphas, the high priest of that year, very sarcastically must have spoken in verse forty-nine, as he said to the council, You're a bunch of dumbbells. Literally that's what he implied. You don't know anything. And you're not even considering. It would be far better that one man should die for the nation. that the whole nation perished not. One may recognize, again it was politically expediency, they plotted the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. But may I add before going further, with all their plotting of the death of the Lord Jesus, it did not save them from political judgment. For you cannot cheat a moral God in a moral universe and expect to get away with it. You can only prove yourself to be fit for the judgment of God. And I say very frankly, the day came not many years hence, following the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and his departure back to heaven when the Romans did come, though the nation had crucified the Messiah. And the Romans did destroy and scatter the people of Israel over the world. And the nation did perish. beloved may I say this be careful what you do with the Son of God for the world will ultimately perish because of what they've done to the Son of God John three sixteen declares very faithfully God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have what everlasting life and he see that taking Christ as your Savior or perishing is either acknowledging the Son of God or perishing. Make your choice, my radio friend, but choose Christ. And so we find in verse fifty-one, John adds these amazing words. The high priest, when he spoke thus, was not speaking merely of or from himself as the high priest, but John recognizes, and the Word of God recognizes this fact, he was speaking in an official capacity. And what he stated was really a prophecy. Jesus did die for that nation. But please know what John adds in verse fifty-two. But Jesus not only died for that nation, but he died that he also should gather together in one family the children of God that were scattered over the world. My beloved, may I point out to you The purpose of God sending his son into the world to die upon the cross of Calvary was that the father might gather together his children. And the father could not gather those children together until the son had died for them. And he would only find those children and gather those children through the value of the death of his dear son. And so we can recognize, please let us recognize it, the Son of God came himself into this world to find the children, to save the children, to bring the children to the Father. May I raise a question? Has the Son of God brought you to the Father? For he says, I'm the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Father, we pray, bless the truth of thy word. Use it for thy glory in Jesus' name. Amen.