The Names of God

Part 7: ABBA: God Our Father 

December 3, 2023

(Isaiah 52:6 NLT) I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power.

“Abba” – God our Father

(Mark 14:36 NIV) “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Abba is not just a name of intimacy,

it’s a name of honor and obedience.

(Matthew 6:9 NIV) Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

The angry father

The critical father

The absent father

The arrogant father

The fault-finding father

(John 14:18 NIV) I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Orphans struggle with feelings of inadequacy.

Orphans continually compare themselves with others.

Orphans secretly compete with people around them.

Orphans are always trying to do something that gives a sense of validation.

Orphans are haunted by rejection and failure.

(Luke 15:17-19 NIV) When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

(Galatians 3:26 NIV) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

(Galatians 4:4-7 NIV) But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. 

The slave has a .

The son has a . 

(Romans 8:15-16 NIV) The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 

(Matthew 10:41 NKJV) He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

The slave is an .

The son is an . 

(Romans 8:17 NIV) Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ… 

The slave is driven by .

The son is driven by . 

(Luke 10:38-42 NIV) As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better…” 

1. Allow God to .

(James 5:16 NIV) Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

(Psalm 68:5-6 NIV) A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing.

2. See God as .

(Matthew 7:9-11 NIV) “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” 

3. Approach God through .

(Luke 15:28-31 NIV) The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”

4. Give God my .

(Jeremiah 29:13-14 NIV) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.

(Luke 15:22-24 NIV) “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’