Father’s Day 2025

Transcribed by Beluga AI.

Praise God. Praise God. Wow, what a packed service already. Just so thankful for the good news for Stephanie. So thankful that she doesn’t have to go through chemo. God heard all of our prayers. That’s the last news we wanted to hear, that she would have to go through that. So thankful to the Lord for lifting that burden and for answering our prayers.

Thank you for Jeremiah. If you knew our… Well, you know Jeremiah and this testimony a year ago, two years ago, just simply impossible. But God has done so much in a short amount of time, and I give God all the praise. He really did it. He really did it.

Jeremiah reminds me of when I was at Berkeley at his age, sitting at the marina along the rocks with the waves crashing, praying to the Lord. And now he is. I had all this poetry coming out, and now I see a poet in Jeremiah. I did not know he had it in him, but he is. He is my son after all. Thankful. Thankful to the Lord for the testimony.

Thank you for Ezra. Yes, you have a great father. I don’t worry about the children in this place because you guys have great role models in your family. Just a huge head start.

And so we do expect spiritually that you have a double portion of the parents’ spirit and you will go farther than the parents ever did. I already see that in Timothy. If I compare myself at his age, he is far surpassing me. If I compare myself with Jeremiah, he’s already far surpassing me at his age. So thankful to the Lord. Elijah, he’s getting there. I won’t say he surpassed me yet, but he is. He is getting there. Praise the Lord.

Thank you for brother Abraham. He’s been a spiritual mentor and a father-like figure for me since I was an undergrad. So thank you. It is special that we can serve God together and be in this church. Not many people can say they have father figures, but you have been that person for me for all these years. So thank you. Thank you.

Let’s read and let’s keep this short. Romans 8:12.

¹² So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:12-17, ESV)

Okay, let’s pray.

Abba Father, what a privilege it is that we can call you Abba. Even as a young Korean boy, we called our earthly father Appa. What a precious thing that is so close in sound to our Abba Father. You are God high above. You are God most high. You are Father.

But the closest title that we can call you is Abba, and we are your child. Thank you for the Spirit of God that adopts us, and we can say this from the depth of our being, although we don’t deserve it. You’ve grafted us into your family, into the vine.

We’ve been called children of God by your grace and by your mercy. Thank you for your love for us. We pray that we want to end this service by praising who you are. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you were to describe Abba Father in a sentence, how would you refer to your Abba Father? And this is not rhetorical. If you have something, please, please share it. Who is Abba Father? Yes, Sophia. Yes. Perfect. Perfect. That’s a great word. He is a perfect Abba Father. That’s great. And let’s, if you can break it apart a little bit more. Perfect is a great summary. One word summary. But if you could break it a little bit more, like, how is he perfect? Like, what qualities does he have?

How would you decide, sum up the Heavenly Father? Josh? He’s constant. Yes. Perfect and constant. That’s great. John. Merciful. Yes. He’s. Yes, Tim. He doesn’t get very angry. It takes a. It takes him. It takes a long time for him to get angry. But there is anger. Yes, but it takes a long time for the Father. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Anybody else? Sophia? Lovable. Lovable. Yes. He’s very loving and lovable. Yes. We want to love him. Yes. For sure. Trustworthy. Yes. Amen. Amen.

I find there’s a tension like when people read the Old Testament. Heavenly Father seems a certain way, like a little bit less patient, a little bit more angry, a little bit more firm. There’s judgment.

And then you read the New Testament and we read Luke 15. He seems so chill, so relaxed, so long suffering. So to put together a summary statement of our Abba Father, I would say he’s loving, but he’s firm. He’s loving, but he’s firm.

If I were to diagnose the problem of our society and of our world today in one word, it is fatherlessness. People have absentee earthly fathers. They have weak earthly fathers. They have bad role models as earthly fathers. And because of these things, it is so hard for this generation to connect with their Heavenly Father because they’ve never seen it.

And that’s why you have the rise of feminism, you have the rise of just bashing men and toxic masculinity. All of this is a symptom of a deeper problem of fatherlessness. And so I just want to brag today about our Heavenly Father. He is loving but firm. Romans 2.

It says in verse 1.

¹ Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:1-5, ESV)

So it is true, God’s qualities are listed there with three adjectives. He is kind, the riches of his kindness. And this is an interesting word, it’s kindness and good. God alone is good. And then his forbearance, meaning he is so self-controlled.

There is wrath, but he restrains the wrath. He is so self-controlled, he’s riches of his forbearance and the riches of his patience. He is long-suffering. He will suffer as he watches the prodigal son storm out of the house and not know when he’s going to come back. He is suffering the whole time, his long-suffering.

These are the qualities of our Heavenly Father. But it says, do you not, do not presume on these things. Do not take these for granted. Don’t trample on the fact that God is this way.

You know, when I read Luke 15, for example, when the Father of the prodigal Son is waiting at the house, you have to understand, the conclusion of this is not the Father and his patience, his long suffering, his forbearance. That is all. For it’s certain, it is true. But that is not why you’re seeing Luke 15 in that chapter.

This chapter is contrasting the Pharisees, who know no repentance, and those of us who are in Christ, who are very familiar with repentance and the fact that the Father and the prodigal son comes home. That is the sign of his repentance.

And we covered not too long ago Acts 26:20, that we have to prove our repentance. And here we have an example. It’s in Romans 2 that you have people judging others while they are practicing the very same things that they’re judging, meaning there is no true repentance. And these people are presuming that.

Isn’t God’s kindness going to come my way? Isn’t God’s forbearance going to come my way? Isn’t God’s long suffering and his patience going to come my way when they have no intention to repent and to prove through a changed life that they are indeed children of God who know repentance?

So God is loving, meaning while we’re sinning, there’s a lot of grace. And as earthly parents, when we watch our kids sin, we react because we don’t have the same heart as the Father. And we panic because we see, okay, this sin may lead into something that will derail them for the next 20 years. And so that might be true. And so we react out of our earthly concern.

As earthly fathers, we try to discipline. And that was, that was our attempt to protect the children from addictions and from problems that will plague them into their twenties and their thirties.

In Hebrews 12, it mentions earthly fathers did this, and we respected them. When our Heavenly Father does this, we kind of don’t expect it. Like, you’re not supposed to do this. We’re not supposed to be disciplined by our Heavenly Father. you’re just supposed to embrace me and show me grace and just, just let things go. But. But no, our Heavenly Father, it mirrors this earthly father who tried their best to discipline the children.

Now our Heavenly Father will. Will have a long leash, and he will let us fall and let us stumble. He will wait. But there comes a point where he steps in and says, enough is enough. I’ve let this go on for long enough, and now I am stepping in. There is a fatherly discipline because he wants to bring us back and teach us how to repent.

And so we don’t take God’s love for granted. We don’t trample on his grace. We don’t presume that I will be forgiven in the end, when throughout our whole life, we just kept sinning.

And there are people who are stuck in the Old Testament, and they just think God is harsh and he’s going to pounce on you. And maybe you had spiritual leaders who are like that very religious, very, very legalistic and they pounced on you. They’re living in the Old Testament.

Then you have others who live on the far end of the New Testament who say, well, God is different now. He’s not angry like he was in the Old Testament. He is gracious, and he is long-suffering, and he will let you get away with it. And if you sin, it’s okay. You take that all the way.

Some people say there is no hell because how can God, who is loving, send people to hell? That is the most unloving thing. And so there’s an extrapolation of this tendency to focus on only one side of the Lord: His grace, his forbearance, his patience, his long suffering.

If we only focus on that, we miss out on these verses that say, don’t abuse it. God is loving, but he’s firm. Eventually, the truth, if you are his son, you are his daughter, the truth will come out. He will bring it out. If you’re not one of his children, you’ll get away with it. And you’ll die in your sin, and you will miss out on eternity.

But if you’re one of his children, you’ve been hiding or you’ve been sinning, and you think you’ve been getting away with it, he will bring it to light because he is disciplining his child. So he’s loving. There’s a long leash. He restrains himself. He lets you get away with it. He’s not twisting your arm and forcing you to obey. But eventually, he says, enough is enough.

I’ve had some conversations with the boys as they were younger, and they pushed the boundaries. I’m an imperfect earthly father, so I will react a little bit differently maybe than my Heavenly Father. I will say, okay, that’s enough. Okay, you don’t like this? There’s a door. I’ve said that. I’ve said that. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

There is a firmness that earthly fathers try to the best of our ability. Even Jesus. I’m amazed by Jesus. He is as a perfect Son of God. When he’s at age 12, he is at his Father’s house, and he reconnects with his parents who lost touch with him for a while. He submitted himself under imperfect, sinful parents, Mary and Joseph, until Joseph is no longer in the picture.

Because how difficult it would be if he had an earthly father and a Heavenly Father, and they’re both giving advice. Somehow, when Jesus begins his earthly ministry, the earthly father is no longer there because he’s clear. He is submitting under his earthly Father for a season. But now, when it’s time to go and minister, it’s only the Heavenly Father who he listens to, even his mother. No Heavenly Father. Only I will hear his voice. I will do what he says.

In some sense, all of life is training in that sense to obey sinful, imperfect earthly parents. It is training for you. Because if you can’t obey somebody who is trying their best to discipline you and to help you and to love you, do you think you will do well listening to an invisible Heavenly Father who is trying to get your attention?

I say no. Everything you’re doing as a child, all the way, if you’re a rebellious child, likely you will be a rebellious child to your Heavenly Father. It will take a lot of effort from the Father to get you to listen. And so while you’re young, young children, listen to your parents. Even if they tell you things that you don’t agree with, listen to them. It is your training.

One day you will have to listen to the Heavenly Father. And he is loving, more loving than any of your parents, obviously. But his love and his grace have a limit. And he will let you get away with a lot because he’s not forcing you to stay in the Father’s house.

You must stay. And he’s locking the door. No, if you want to leave, he’ll let you leave. If you want to. If you want to ruin the next decade, two decades of your life, there’s the door. He’s not forcing you as an adult to stay in the Father’s house. He will let you go. There’s a long leash.

But eventually, if the prodigal son stayed there, I don’t know what the father would have done. But we know what our Heavenly Father would do. If you’re staying in sin, if you’re unrepentant and you’re just living the way you want to live, the Father eventually says, enough is enough. And he will discipline you if you are his child.

And so when I understand God’s love is, I used to think he’s more on the disciplinarian side. So I needed to see. No, he is so loving. Perfect love casts out fear. Fear has to do with punishment.

I don’t have to be afraid that when I sin and I mess up, that I’m approaching God, not knowing, is he going to accept me? Is he going to beat me over the head with a stick? I don’t have to think that way.

My Heavenly Father is not like that. I’ve had to learn the other side, that he is loving, he is patient, he is long-suffering. He is rich in forbearance. But I don’t abuse that kindness and that forbearance and that patience. I don’t abuse it. He wants me to repent.

And I need to prove through a changed life that I have indeed repented and that I live righteously and holy, a holy life that pleases him. That is what the Father wants for all of his children. Not just to always be forgiven and you always mess up and you’re always forgiven. No, he does all this. That kindness should lead us to repentance, as it says in Romans 2. We don’t abuse this kindness, this forbearance, and this patience.

As you see the kindness of the Lord, don’t you want to repent and stay close by his side and listen to His Son and live a life that is pleasing in the Father’s eyes, like Jesus Christ, so that you are a delight to the Father, not just because you’re covered with his grace when you mess up, but because you really want to please Him.

You really want to live for Jesus. You really want to live holy and righteous. You really, really want to prove that you do repent.

You have come back to the Father’s house through a life that is changed. The Father, he is loving and he is firm. And I’m glad that he is much more on the loving side than the firm side. I’m more on the firm side than the loving side. But he is much more on the loving, loving, grace side.

You never have to fear. Perfect love casts out all fear. Fear has to do with punishment. 1John 4:18. You can always go to the Father, no matter how much you’ve messed up, but your heart is.

¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18, ESV)

I never want to do this again. I want to prove that I am repenting. This is the last time, Lord. I will not blow up again. I will not commit this sin again. I will. I am fully repenting. Let me prove it to you, Father. I don’t take your forgiveness for granted. I’m not trampling on your grace. That is somebody who understands that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It will keep you from doing evil. There’s a reverential fear of the Lord.

Like, if he walks into the room, like, we just know, okay, I got to get my act together. When the prophets are in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the Heavenly Father walks in, there is a holiness. Just like Peter, when they’re miraculous, catch of fish, he says, woe is like, away from me, Lord. I’m a sinful man.

Like, in the Lord’s presence, you’re just undone. you’re just, you just. I just got to get my act together. He is holy. I want to be close to Him.

How can I approach him with this sin? And so if you understand who he is, he is loving. He is like that grandfather who just embraces you no matter what you’ve done. But he’s also holy. And we don’t disrespect him. That’s another way to say it. We honor Him. We don’t complain and think, okay, it’s okay for me to complain all the time and just be greedy and ask for things all the time. No, we have a respectful understanding of his holiness. And when I’m in His presence, I feel my sin.

I, I, I, I should get my act together. I shouldn’t be this way. He embraces me through Christ. The curtain has been torn. I have access to him, but when I approach Him, I’m not doing it so casually, so flippantly while sinning. And my intention is, okay, I. Even if I sin tomorrow, no big deal. I just. He’ll take me back. No, we don’t treat God disrespectfully. We honor Him. He is holy. He is like the lion of Judah. Ferocious, but loving.

Okay, let’s pray.

We thank you, Lord, for your passages today about the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience. We know you’re summarized as a loving Father who is perfect in all of your ways. you’re steady, you’re consistent, you’re faithful. You never change. There’s no shadow of turning, no shadiness, no darkness in you. You live in an unapproachable light.

And so, Lord, if we want to draw close to you as a child, we can only do this with surrender and repentance, with a deep sadness that we grieved you and caused you to suffer all the years in which we casually sinned.

We don’t presume on your riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience. We don’t take it for granted. We don’t assume it’s always there for us. you’re loving, but there’s a line we must not cross. You are firm. Earthly fathers tried their best to do this. We are imperfect.

But children who grew up under that discipline and instruction, they respect their fathers. How much more when you discipline us? We respect you, Lord. We don’t want to disrespect you, Lord, by sinning and having no intention of changing. Just assuming and presuming that forgiveness is here. Help us, Lord, to understand who you are. You are loving, gracious, long suffering, patient and kind. But you are also firm.

There comes a point where you discipline us here because you don’t want us to undergo wrath on the Day of Judgment. We want to get our act together. When I get our lives in order. Before we meet you, we want to repent of all of our sins and prove through our changed life that we indeed have repented.

Help us, Lord. Please meet us as we come before you. Minister Lord Jesus to us in our brokenness. We plead the Blood of Jesus over us. Minister to us. Heal us. Forgive us. Love on us. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.