God The Father | The Father Who Provides
About this series:
‘The First Person is commonly called "Father" because he is the initiator and source of heaven's love. In biblical times, a father was seen as the source of life in a family (as the begetter) and also as the source of provision and leadership to sustain and give identity to the family…Some Christians mistakenly imagine that the name “Father” refers to some kind of “inner biology” within the Godhead…Father is the preeminent title for the First Person primarily because it teaches us that he is the source of all the Trinity’s purposes’ (Ryken & Lefebvre).
The truth that God is our Father and we are his children is one of the most precious things we can ever contemplate. J. I. Packer wrote: ‘To be right with God the judge is a great thing. But to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater…Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers; higher than justification…adoption is the apex of redemptive grace and privilege’.
The Father who Loves (1 John 3:1-3)
The Father who is Sovereign (Isaiah 46)
The Father who is Present (Deuteronomy 31:1-8)
The Father of Mercy (Luke 15:11-32)
The Father who Adopts (Galatians 4:4-7)
The Father who Provides (Matthew 6:25-34)
The Father who Disciplines (Hebrews 12:5-11)
About this talk:
Of all the things people find difficult, perhaps none is more so than Jesus’ instruction repeated three times in Matthew 6:25-34, “Do not worry.” People worry about all sorts of things and, depending on their personality and circumstances, can do so much of the time. Someone once said, “There are only two times I’m anxious and three things I’m anxious about. The times I’m anxious: day and night. The things I’m anxious about: the past, the present and the future.” And very often, worry is directly related to the fear that we may not have what we believe we need.
In many ways, to be human is to worry. And we all experience particular circumstances or seasons that tend to increase our anxiety levels. Just one example from the recent pandemic highlighted on the BBC website was, ‘Money worries in pandemic drive surge in anxiety…The survey's finding suggested that more than 25 million people (in the UK)…rated their anxiety as “high,” more than double the [number] at the end of 2019. Those suffering the greatest level of worry were an estimated 2.6 million people who said they were struggling to pay bills.’ It has been well documented that pandemic led to an increase in anxiety levels in the UK population generally.
There are health concerns, decisions that need to be made, children, parents, work, church, neighbours, global issues, and so on. Worry can lead us to develop physical, mental and spiritual symptoms. It can lead us to procrastinate and even paralyse us into inaction. It can affect our relationships, our sleep patterns, our eating habits and our social interactions.
So how can Jesus say so simply, three times in a few sentences, “Do not worry?” With Paul encouraging us likewise, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6). The key to understanding Jesus’ instruction is to grasp the reasons he gives for not worrying, which range from the logical to the profound:
v 27: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” This is no less significant because it is logical. As we all know, nothing is to be gained by worrying; in fact, things usually deteriorate when we worry.
v 34: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” To worry about future things (that often won’t happen) is to pay the price of the cares and stresses of tomorrow before their time.
v 25: “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Worry tends to upset the reasonable estimation of the value we put on things. When I worry about what I don’t have, I forget to be grateful for what I do have. When I worry about what I will wear, I can forget to be grateful that I have a body that works (even if, for some, severely limited). Worry often turns the minors into majors.
v 32: “The pagans run after all these things.” To worry is to live without confidence in our Father is to live as orphans, which is just how those outside Christ live.
vs 26-30: “Your heavenly Father knows.” This, of course, is the most profound reason Jesus gives and the true antidote for the child of God when they worry. Jesus says, similarly, in Matthew 6:8, “Do not be like them (the pagans), for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” The great privilege of God’s children is to know they have an all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful perfect heavenly Father who cares and provides for them.
v 33: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (clothes, food, drink - the basic cares of life, vs 25,31) will be given to you as well.” This extraordinary promise is given to all who, by God’s grace, are enabled to submit their cares to him.
Paul’s words in Philippians 4 are very similar as he gives the reason for living out his instruction: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Learning not to worry is not only the result of mental techniques, finding distractions or thinking positively, helpful though those are. It is the fruit of taking all our cares to Almighty God, our Father, who knows us, cares for us and loves us perfectly; the fruit of trusting that he is the God who provides all that we truly need. In his arms we can rest and be still. It is then that peace can come and guard our hearts and minds from anxiety that otherwise will take a firm grip.
And that peace can be found in knowing that he provides not only in the basic necessities of physical life, but in all our needs - from being loved to finding meaning and purpose; from identity to forgiveness of sins.
Audio only
Life Group activity: Understanding Adoption
Read together: Galatians 4:4–7
In the Roman world, adoption had a very strong meaning.
An adopted child:
Received the full legal status of a biological child
Lost all ties to their old life
Became the legal heir of the father
Had the father’s name and inheritance
So when Paul says “adoption to sonship”, his readers would think:
Full status.
Full belonging.
Full inheritance.
1. What do we learn about God's heart in the fact that He didn't just forgive us but also adopted us?
2. In verse 7, it says, “So you are no longer a slave, but God's child.” What might be some of the contrasting differences between being in a slave status vs. son or daughter status?
Breakout Discussion: Living as Adopted Children
Before breaking into 4 groups (or 2 groups, depending on numbers — ideally around 4 people per group), remind everyone:
If we forget we are adopted sons and daughters, we often drift back into a slave mindset — trying to earn approval, fearing failure, or comparing ourselves with others.
Ask each group to discuss the following areas. If there are only 2 groups, give each group two areas to discuss.
Note: You may want to print these questions or take a photo and share them in the WhatsApp group.
1. Identity — How We See Ourselves
1. If we truly believed we were adopted children of God, what difference should that make to how we see ourselves? (Think about how God sees us — that's how we should see ourselves.)
2. When we forget we are adopted, we often drift into two traps:
Self-righteousness — trying to prove ourselves worthy, or thinking we are better than others
Self-condemnation — feeling like we are never good enough, or thinking everyone else is better than us
Which of these do you fall into more easily — and how might remembering that we are adopted help you (or us) overcome that?
2. Prayer Life — How We Relate to God
Paul says the Spirit leads us to cry “Abba, Father.”
1. What is the difference between approaching God as a slave versus approaching Him as a son or daughter?
2. How might our prayers change if we truly believed God delights in us as His children?
3. When do you find it hardest to approach God as Father, and what helps you return to that place of trust?
3. Relationships with Other Christians
If God adopts us, that means every believer becomes part of the same family.
1. How should remembering that we are all adopted change the way we see and treat other Christians?
2. What attitudes or behaviours show up when we relate to others more like competitors or strangers rather than brothers and sisters?
3. What would it look like for our church or small group to really live as a family of adopted children?
4. Representing the Father — Living as His Children in the World
1. In the ancient world, a child carried the family name and reputation.
If we belong to God's family, what might it mean for us to represent our Father well in the way we treat people around us?
2. Think about a situation in your life right now — perhaps with a colleague, neighbour, family member, or someone who frustrates you.
If you remembered in that moment that you are representing your Father's name, how might that influence the way you respond?
3. Are there areas of life where it's easier to represent the Father
(for example church or Christian friends) and places where it's harder (workplace, family tensions, online, etc.)?
What do you think makes the difference?
Optional Closing Question (Back Together)
Bring the whole group back together and ask:
Which area do you most need to grow in this week?
Remembering your identity
Approaching God as Father
Treating other believers as family
Living out your faith from freedom rather than pressure
Closing Prayer
Finish by praying in pairs or groups of three, thanking God for adopting us and asking that we would remember and live in the fullness of that amazing truth.
