from scientific research of the astronomers. The great milky stars. Beyond your comprehension and mind, but they estimated very accurately as consisting of eighteen million stars. Every one of those stars they fully believe weighs a million times more than our Earth. So great they are. Now look at the existence of God. If you could take all those stars and place them adequately in some bag, it's possible. All of them. God could take them and fling them away as a grain of sand in his might and his omnipotence. And may I insult them? And perhaps properly, today the world is nearing visited by the omnipotent Mighty hand of God in judgment. I command to you only read Revelation fourteen, read Revelation chapter sixteen, read Revelation chapter nineteen, and if your heart and mind will seriously ponder the words that are revealed, you'll tremble at the mighty hand of God. that is coming upon this world. A day of His great wrath, and I say lovingly and earnestly, who recognizes the almighty omnipotent hand of God and does not fear too many? But then again, To Moses, God revealed himself in Exodus, rather, chapter three and verse fourteen, at the burning bush. And God said to Moses, I am, that I am, meaning I am the self-existing one. I had no beginning. I have no ending. I am an eternal being. And as Deuteronomy tells us through the hand of Moses on another occasion, He raises his hand in the starry universe of the worlds completely that he's made and says, These words, I live forever. My friends, God is an eternal being. He had no beginning. Think it through. You had a beginning. I had a beginning. Mankind had a beginning. But please remember, we don't have an ending either. But we had a beginning. Not God. No beginning. And may I give you this thought? The eternality of his being needs to be recognized, considered, meditated upon. Chapter ninety of the Psalms, verse two. Even Moses wrote that Psalm saying, From eternity to eternity, thou was God. He was, he is, he ever will be. Can I ask a question? Do you ever, do I ever consider properly the eternal existence of God? Then to Israel in Exodus chapter six and verse three God revealed himself in another way. By the name of Jehovah in order to deliver Israel out of Egypt. A named regarding his redemptive power which he manifested to bring them out of the deliverance of Egypt long ago. Take those names. Many names, compound names, are used at Jehovah. Jehovah Nifty, Jehovah Rofika, Jehovah Nifty, and also Jehovah Shalom, and Jehovah Seek, many compound names. The Old Testament saints knew them. and God revealed it many other ways did he reveal himself but may I suggest think of those three the Almighty God the eternal self-existing God and then Jehovah the name which he was known to his earthly people and shall yet be known for the word means Savior but may I be very careful to say in regard to our subject this morning God our Father, God never revealed himself to any Old Testament saint in that way. Now let me prove it please. It was an impossibility as well as an improbability for God to reveal himself in that intimate relationship as being to any of his saints, his children, a father. Now may I also be careful to add, five to six times no more than that, you'll find the name father mentioned in relation to God in the Old Testament, but only as the source of life. Not in relationship, but as the source of life. And he could not, and he was not made known as Father until the Lord Jesus came to the earth. Tell me in your Bible, if you have one with you, Matthew eleven in verse twenty-seven. No more definite proof can be given as you read the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew eleven in verse twenty-seven. And I would read them very carefully and emphasize them emphatically. These things that the Lord Jesus says, Matthew eleven, twenty seven, all things are delivered unto me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Father but the Son. Take that in carefully. And let me humbly but very faithfully say, There is in a human person, no matter how long they may have been redeemed and who they may be. Fully knows the Son and all that is but the Father. But then note what the Lord goes on to add. Neither knoweth any man the Father. Take that in. Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and the Son. He to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Until the Son of God came into the world, God was not known as Father in that blessed intimate relationship. Now we have read the words from John chapter one, verse fourteen, verse eighteen. They plainly declare The only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, alone could reveal the Father. As in John one fourteen, maybe quote it quickly, the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. And we behold his glory, writes John. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Note the expression, who he is, the only begotten of the Father. And may I please emphasize, it does not indicate that he had a beginning, but unoriginated, uncreated, dwelling in the bosom of the Father. Let me quote verse eighteen of the same chapter. No man has seen God at any time. the only begotten Son, who is, and emphasize that verb in its present tense, it's an eternal is, who is in the bosom of the Father. He hath declared him. My beloved, may I say again humbly but faithfully, Not until the Son of God came into this world could God be made known as Father in intimate relationship. Now let me bow with you in heart I hope that you and I are blessed to be in a period of time that that is true. I do know how many of you, I hope all of you can call him your Father by relationship. through redemption by the Lord Jesus precious blood but let me repeat the greatness of the fact far greater that is the omnipotent one the eternal one and the Jehovah of Israel the father of all who believe on the Lord Jesus may I go further to state let me quote let me go with you to the scripture On three occasions the Lord Jesus made the statement of revealing the Father. First of all, if I may go with you please, to find what he has to say. In these words of John, you find them first of all in John eight, the eighth chapter of the Gospel of the John. The eighth chapter of John's Gospel? And you find the Lord Jesus. Strange you may think it. He speaks to the Pharisees. He speaks to the Pharisees. To ones who were rejecting him. Verse nineteen. Let me begin verse eighteen. Read it together. I am one that bear witness of myself. And the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him. Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me nor my Father. If ye had known me, you should have known my Father also. Please let me say, the Lord Jesus was speaking to those who were rejecting him and challenged him. Where is thy Father as he spoke of coming from heaven? And he declares unto them, My Father sent me. And if you knew me, you'd know him. May I add, if you're not saved, if you get to know the Lord Jesus, you'll know his Father. But not without that. But then may I go with you to another scripture too. John fourteen in verse seven. John fourteen in verse seven. To his disciples. He said a similar statement, a declaration, that they knew the Father because they knew him. If ye had known me, you should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Thomas had just said to him, Lord, Lord, show us the way. Show us the way. And Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. And he said, if you'd known me, you'd know my Father also. From henceforth ye know him, and see him. He declares, I came from my Father to reveal him. Then take one more scripture, please, in John's Gospel, chapter seventeen, the words of the Lord Jesus at the end of his prayer in verse twenty-six. Chapter seventeen and verse twenty-six, the last verse in the chapter. The opening words. Now he's praying to the Father in view of his finished work. And notice what he says. I have declared unto them thy name. Will you go back to verse twenty five and note how he introduces the name of the Father. O righteous Father, I have declared unto my disciples thy name. And I will declare it. My beloved, let me pause for just a moment to realize the greatness of the sight. No matter how many revelations of God you may find in the Old Testament, the greatest revelation of all is when the Son comes to the earth to reveal him as Father. Very important. May I add carefully, the greatest symbol of Christianity is this expression. Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son. You cannot dissociate the Father from the Son and the Son from the Father. If I may put it in this particular vernacular and the Word of God emphasizes it, they are two in one. They are two in one. Read John chapter ten. On which occasion the Lord said, I give unto my sheep eternal life. They shall never perish. No man shall pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them he is greater than all. Neither shall any pluck them out of my father's hand. I and what? I and my father or what? My beloved, let me repeat again. Too many Christians fail to realize it. Christianity is not associated only with the person of Christ, but it associates the one who believes with the person of the God the Father himself. The Father. I remember years ago, or I would say way back in nineteen twenty about, following the close of an open air meeting, a young man with a little child was standing listening, And afterward came to me and said, I'd like to talk to you about what you've been preaching. He said, I'm a socialist. Now today he would say I'm a communist, but back then he said, I'm a socialist. So I went to his home. I did my best sitting at his kitchen table, taking my Bible. He was completely, in fact he was atheistic, not believing there was a God. And I want to tell you, it's not easy to talk to an atheist who's absolutely... shutting out any knowledge of God. But I never will forget when I made a statement to him, I know God is my Father. That man sat right back in his chair, wheeled back. What? Your Father? He couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand it. Of course he couldn't understand it. But my beloved, please let me say. It's a grand thing to be able to say, My Father. Amen. I think of the words of the Lord Jesus at the end of John's gospel following his death burial and resurrection and his message he gave to Mary go to my brethren tell them I ascend where to my father and your father to my God and your God let me confess please my fellow believer take it in It was the greatest joy of the Lord's heart and now to be able to send my Father is your Father to his disciples. Do you appreciate it? Do I? One well wrote many years ago in the past century, the most noblest understanding is to know God, the mighty being God, as far as he may be able to be known. It is indeed the greatest objective of any noble desire of human understanding. My beloved, let me re-emphasize the great responsibility as well as privilege of intimately knowing God through the Lord Jesus Christ. But we come to the question. We come to the question properly. this mighty God is Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. How did the Lord Jesus reveal Him? How did the Lord Jesus reveal Him? Let me go with you to these words that we find in John chapter fourteen. John chapter fourteen. And may I add, please, I hope those of you who may have read and studied the Gospel of John may well have noticed that throughout the whole Gospel of John, if I recall correctly, studying it, counting it, about a hundred and nineteen, a hundred and twenty times, the Father is mentioned. It predominates, as you have at the beginning, no man has seen God at any time. the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Let me repeat again, no one but the Son of God, the only begotten Son of God, did declare and reveal the Father. And he came to do that. Let me add again, in contrast to the great revelations of the Old Testament. And may I say, please may I say it, all the Old Testament saints, they enjoyed what they knew about God. But none of them could say, our Father, who art in heaven. My fellow believer, listen, do you appreciate it? Do I appreciate it? And if you might be an unbeliever, you need to know it. But how do you reveal himself? Look with me in John fourteen, and I want to read from verses ten and eleven. And note these words of the Lord Jesus. And I go to verse nine, where Philip had challenged the Lord Jesus, saying, Show us the Father. and verse nine Jesus said unto him have I been so long time with you yet hath thou not known me Philip he that hath seen me hath seen the Father how sayeth thou then show us the Father as I read those words I think of an incident that took place at a conference as I was seated at a table dining with some Christian friends one of the Christian ladies said to me Shall we see gone? Someday? Shall we see him? Well, look what the Lord Jesus said to Philip. Philip, have I been so long time with you and saith thou to me, show us the Father? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Could it be possible? Can you and I See, not with our literal eyes, but surely by the eyes of faith, the glories of the Father. The excellent glory of the revelation of the Father to the soul through the Lord Jesus. Now let's read verses ten and eleven. Tells you how he did it. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, in the Father in me? There again let me say, two in one. I am in the Father, the Father in me. The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of or from myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me doeth the works. Emphasize two words whereby he revealed the Father. By his words, by his works. Let me pause and emphasize it again. The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the Father by his words and by his words. And may I add, no person can ever reveal himself or herself any other way either. But by his or her words and their words. And the Lord Jesus says, By my words that I have spoken, the Father is revealed. By the works that I have done, the Father is revealed. Let me read verse eleven with you. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake. Oh, the joy of knowing, the twofold channel whereby the Lord Jesus has revealed his Father to mankind. And to these disciples who had come to know him intimately, He declares that it was all done by His words and it was done by His works. Tell me to John chapter eight, please. I want you to know the tremendous truth in John chapter eight. Reading verse twenty-eight as well as verse thirty-eight. Words that the Lord Jesus even spoke to his enemies. In John chapter eight, reading at verse twenty eight the Lord Jesus is saying and let us notice then said Jesus unto them now please let me say he is not speaking to his disciples here he's speaking to unsaved rejecting Pharisees then said Jesus unto them when ye have lifted up the son of man then shall ye know that I am he And that I do now know that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. Can I put it in this phraseology? Every word that the Lord Jesus spoke, the Father taught him to say it. Let me go back in memory with you. Have you ever dwelt upon the astonishing statement in Luke chapter two when the Lord Jesus as a boy, twelve years of age, was taken by his supposed father and his mother Mary to Jerusalem to worship and carried for three days after the feast was over and his father and mother, Joseph and Mary, had to go looking for him. And do you remember when Mary rebuked him and saying, Son, why hast thou so treated us? Thy father and I have sought thee following. And that boy of twelve said, Wish ye not? Did you know that I must be about my father's business? What was the father's business? Did he not come into the world to do the will of God his father? And as a boy of twelve, he knew it. And in the knowledge of the scriptures, in his upbringing at Nazareth, he knew the word. And he reasoned and talked with the scribes in the temple on that occasion. They marveled at his wisdom and knowledge. But he was occupied with the father's business. Now we have nothing between his boyhood and his manhood as to what transpired during his life. But may I say this? Let's believe it. As the Father taught him, he spoke. Go to verse thirty-eight in the same chapter, please. Now know what he says. I speak that which I have seen with my Father. Let me stop there. He refers to the father of the devil that belonged to them. Who was their father? I speak that which I have seen with my father. My beloved can I say humbly but faithfully. The Lord Jesus never spoke words unless it was by the father's command. And then his works. Similarly, go to chapter five and verse nineteen and verse thirty, where even once again his works were done by the Father's power. Chapter five and verse nineteen, first of all, and again he's speaking to his enemies. In verse seventeen, he tells them, My Father worketh hither to when I work, but now go to verse nineteen. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what thingsoever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. Every work that he did was according to the Father's will. Go with me to verse thirty down in this same chapter. Verse thirty. Please note these words. I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear I judge, my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. May I pause worshipfully to recognize in and during the life of the Son of God upon the earth from boyhood to manhood to the death of the cross by his words and by his works they were all in the control of the Father and according to the Father's will now let me give you one illustration a strange illustration John chapter eleven you may remember in John chapter eleven the Lord Jesus got a message He wasn't in Judea. He was away at that time because of the enmity of the Jews against him, threatening to kill him. But the message came from Daphne that Lazarus was sick, he whom thou lovest is sick. And the two sisters, Mary and Martha, expected that the Lord Jesus would come and heal him. He did not. He carried two days. Why did he carry two days? He would not go until the Father sent him. And knowing that he would glorify the Father in a greater way, he carried two days and Lazarus died. But let me give you that as an illustration. His subjection to the Father's will. in every word that he spoke, in every deed that he performed. Don't you wish you could do that? That's how he revealed the Father in submission to the Father's will. I suggest to you my beloved fellow believer and to myself how it would be helpful to take Matthew, Mark and Luke and John Go through those Gospels and listen to the words of the Son of God that came from the Father every time He spoke. See the Son of God in every act that He performed according to the Father's will. What an example. But let me repeat the premise. All these things reveal the Father. The character of the Father. The character of the Father's heart. The greatness of the Father's heart. But then, not only through his ministry, but greatest of all, we have to confess it was at his death. The complete revelation of the Father's heart was declared. At his death. Go to John chapter ten, please, will you? John chapter ten, if you have your Bible, let me read verse seventeen and eighteen. I want you to recognize how he could say these words even before he went to the cross. Therefore, does my father love me because I lay down my life and I might take it against God for a moment. Here is a statement that tells us how he declares The love of the Father. My Father loves me. Why? Because I laid down my life. And you know He laid it down for you. He laid it down for me. And read on in verse eighteen. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down to myself. I power or authority to lay it down. I have power and authority to take it again. This commandment, have I received of my Father? By my words and by my works, I reveal the Father, but completing the revelation of his love is when I lay down my life. I have heard men say, to my regret that God was angry when his son died. God was not angry. Don't you ever tell me that. I know the Savior in agony cried out a deep experience beyond understanding. My God, my God. He didn't say my father. My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me? Well, in fact, if you want to know how much the Father loved him, here in his love, writes John in First John, chapter four, here in his love, not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his Son to be what? The propitiation for our sins. And my beloved, may I say humbly but faithfully, the greatest expression of that mighty love of the Father's heart was the death of the son on Calvary. You may have read the story of Abraham and Isaac. The greatest expression of Abraham's devotion and love for God was manifested when he volunteered to offer up Isaac, from which God spared him. But God spared not his only son, but gave him up for us all. And what words could greater describe the greatness of that Father's heart than when the Lord Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Go with me to John fourteen again, that great chapter, again in John chapter fourteen. I want you to indeed recognize the full revelation of the Father's Son. Please can I say again, look, the Old Testament saints, they never saw the cross. They never saw the Son. All they could do was as God declared, bring a sacrifice, an animal sacrifice, which never gratified and satisfied the claims of God in respect to the question of sin. But when the Son came into the world, the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, then was expressed the fullness of God's love by His death upon the cross. But I want you to notice three things, particularly that the Lord Jesus says to the believer. In John chapter fourteen, talking to his disciples, Thomas says unto him, Lord, in verse five we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way. And in verse six, please know. Jesus says unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. My beloved fellow believer, can I say it humbly but gladly? you and I have come to the Father. Please can I say, we haven't come to the Almighty God, merely. We haven't come to the one who's the eternal one, merely and only. If I, I'd be afraid of the omnipotence of God, it would strike fear to my heart if that's all I could know of him, as well as eternity, his eternality. But, oh, I've come through the Lord Jesus to God my Father. Do you appreciate your earthly fathers? Should not we appreciate this one who is our Father in heaven? Jesus says, you've come to him. Not only have you come to him, go if you will. Go to the next verse, seven and verse nine. If he had known me, you should have known my father off. I know what Jesus said. From henceforth, you know him. Go to verse nine. And in verse nine, he tells them to Philip. You know me, Philip. You know me. And may I give you the thought? The word no means progressively. You've been learning about me. You've been learning about me. You've come to me. You've come to the Father. And now you know the Father. My beloved, please let me say again, it's the greatest joy that thrills my soul. I can call God my Father. One of the great joys of the twenty-third psalm is that little word mine in the first verse. The Lord is my shepherd. And if you can't say he's my Savior, he's not your Savior. He's not saved. with the joy of that word, possessing him, is my Savior. And I can say of God, my Father. God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your heart, whereby ye cry, Abba, Father. You come to him, and you know him. And what the word means here, Philip, Thomas, you've been with me. And while you've been with me, you've been learning of my Father. And then last of all, third, he says, as you got it in verse nine, Have I been so long time with you, Philip, that thou dost not know me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Can I again repeat? The more you know of Christ, the more you'll know of the Father. the less you know of Christ, even in experience, the less you'll know of the Father. And if you don't know Christ at all, you don't even know His Father. He's the only way to the Father. But what a joy to recognize this wonderful truth. Go with me in the same chapter fourteen. Let me read through verse twelve through fourteen quickly before closing. And I want you to May I put it this way. Jesus is saying to his disciples, You come to the Father. You know the Father. You've seen the Father. Now in verse twelve and fourteen, he says, Keep coming. Keep knowing him. Keep seeing him. Let me read the words. and whatsoever verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me the works that I do, shall he do also, and greater works than thee shall he do, because I go unto my Father, and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Now there you have words telling simply. that the Lord Jesus knew he was going back to the Father. And because I go back to my Father, you're going to do greater works than I've done. Can I just dwell for just a moment? Nearly two thousand years have gone by. More work has been done for the Savior's glory and the Father's honor in this world than the Savior did when he was on the earth. Millions have been saved. Greater works have been done. And the Lord Jesus is saying, Please keep coming to the Father. Ask. Pray to him. Seek his face. Ask in my