For as many are led
by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Foy you did not receive the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry out "Abba, Father". The Spirit Himself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer
with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:14-17
KNJV)
 "Abba"
is an Aramaic word that Hebrew children have used for centuries to convey
the affection of "Daddy" or "Papa". It is found three times in the New
Testament. One of these was in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed
"...Abba, Father... take this cup away from me.." Mark 14: 36, At the most
crucial moment in His earthly life, this was the title Jesus used for His
Father.
And in another passage
we find that the apostle Paul linked the Christians cry of "Abba, Father"
to the "Spirit of Adoption" See the verse from Romans above. In yet
another Scripture, Paul wrote "Because you are sons, God has sent forth
the Spirit of His Son into you hearts crying out "Abba Father!"
Galatians
4:6
This endearing term
was common in the mixed dialect of Palestine and was used by children in
addressing their father. Servants were not permitted to use this title in
addressing the head of the house. In daily usage it really is like a
personal name, that in contrast to the term "Father", which is always
connected to "Abba" in the New Testament.
This joining of the
two terms is due to the fact that "Abba" had practically became a proper
name, and Greek speaking Jews added the Greek word
pater, "father", from the
language they used. "Abba" is the word framed by the lips of infants and
shows unreasoning trust.
"Therefore I say to you , do not worry
about your life, what you will eat and what you will drink; nor about
your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow
nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are
you not of more value then they? Which of you can add one cubit to his
stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and
tomorrow thrown in the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith?
Therefore do not
worry, saying, " What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink, or what
shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles (pagans) seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things. But
seek first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you"
Matthew
6: 25-33 KNJV
The greatest thing in
the world is the love of a father. There is nothing that rivals a fathers
power to heal, restore, mend, and make all things new. A fathers love
surpasses all virtues.
 Is
there anything better than to be embraced in the tender and loving arms of
a father? Nothing makes us feel safer than to be curled in the embrace of
ones father.
I will (for sake of
time and space) ask you to read the parable of the prodigal son in Luke
15; 11-32, this is simply saying that we have all left our father, yet
despite ourselves, a truly loving father will always welcome you and
embrace you. Praise God that our "Abba" Father, Almighty God in heaven is
the loving father Jesus is referring to in this passage of scripture.
Perhaps you are
reading this and you never knew your father, or he left you when you were
a child, Maybe your father died and you never knew his heart, possibly you
knew your father, but he never had anything to do with you, basically an
absentee father who was in the home, but never paid any attention to you.
You missed the joy of celebrating your game winning hit, or first
touchdown, the thrill of introducing your first date to "DAD'. You will
never get to know the power of a fathers hug or reassuring hand on your
shoulders when you messed up, knowing that through it all, Dad had your
back and you could always lean on him for support.
I was blessed by God
in the fact that I had a wonderful father. If you will bear with me I
would quickly like to tell you about him. My dad had nine kids, a loving
wife, we had a close family, and dad was always eager to instill in us
that God was the head of the house. My dad was raised in what could be
called the original dysfunctional family! As a poor boy in Hoboken New
Jersey, he had to help support the family, his dad was an absentee father
as described above. Yet my dad, with all
odds against him, went to church, loved and served the Lord, climbed the
cliffs of the
Palisades on
the banks of the Hudson River, and was
always a loyal son, and brother.
My dad went into the
army and when he got out he married my mom, and set out to have a family.
He labored many years in the Post Office as well as many, many side jobs,
to insure that his growing family was taken care of. In the 70's dad felt
the call of God and despite all the demands of his time, traveled to
Newark twice a week to study to become a Deacon in the Catholic Church.
After years of study, dad was ordained and every Sunday dad was on the
altar serving the God he loved so much. However, dad was raised Protestant
Dutch reformed, and never forgot the salvation message and soon was
bringing his oldest son, (myself), to visit the infirmed in the hospitals,
giving dollar bills to the needy in New York City's "Bowery" district. My
dad always made you feel like the most important person in the world when
he would talk to you.
As I got older, I went
my own way, and did my own thing, many terrible things, that I know deeply
hurt this man who loved me so much. I was rude and disrespectful, and
sometimes, even ashamed of him, because of his love and service to God.
Yet in spite of my numerous and continuous failings, this man never turned
his back on me. While I was in the military serving in Germany, dad came
over to spend time with me, this is the kind of man we are talking about.
"Train up a child in
the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it"
Proverbs 22:6
 My
dad impressed on me the need to teach the ways of God to my own kids, and
he was doing that to them due my selfishness. My dad delighted in his
grandchildren and lit up whenever they came by to see "Pop-Pop". In 1999
when I rededicated myself to Jesus Christ, my dad was ecstatic, we would
share bible stories and how he would witness to other Catholics who never
heard the salvation message of John 3:16, oh they would be faithful to the
church hierarchy, but miss it because personal salvation, as well as
personal relationships with Jesus were just plain old never taught. My dad
brought numerous people to meet his friend, Jesus, and many are in heaven
today thanks to his efforts and faithfulness. Dad went home to be with the
Lord in February of 2002, and a great sign of how loved he was at his
wake. Each night a section of the street had to be shut down by the police
just to accommodate the amount of people who came to bid farewell to this
mighty man of God!
My joy is that my dad is with Jesus
NOW, and that one day I
will be able to be held in dads strong loving reassuring and forgiving
arms. And a great day that will be when I stand before "Abba", "Daddy"
Father, and my earthly daddy as well.
If you did not have a
man in your life like my dad, let me tell you that your "Abba" Father in
heaven seeks to have the same relationship with you right now! Just talk
to him in prayer like Jesus did. Jesus gives you more admonition in
Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray,
go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward
you openly" Your Father knows all your secrets and loves you
inspite of it! It doesn't matter what you've thought, what you've done, or
what places you've been that you are ashamed of. The Father has seen it
all and loves you anyway. His love and grace cover
ALL SIN!!He knows the
worst about you and still loves you, He knows your secrets and He still
loves you, and for that you ought to shout!!
If you have your
earthly dad still with you today, call him, hug him, love him, and if
necessary, forgive him! In Ephesians 6:1 Paul tells us"Children,
obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right". I thank my
Abba in heaven for the godly men he put in my life not just my dad, but my
maternal grandfather as well, chapters could be written on that wonderful
man who mentored my life so marvelously as well! And to the dads out
there, let us love our children with all the love we can give them because
Satan, who knows his time is VERY
short, is seeking to devour them. I know I need to do better, how about
you???
Rev Joe Hildebrandt
Sr.
Thanks to Dr. Ron
Phillips for outtakes.
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