Healing the Father Wound through Faith: Understanding Our Relationship with God. 10/1/2023 Sermon

Welcome to My Father's House Fellowship. Today, we are going to explore the concept of the "Father Wound" and its implications on our lives. We will delve into the ways this wound can affect our relationship with God and how understanding it can lead to healing and a stronger bond with our Heavenly Father.

A Quick Review from Last Week’s Sermon Recalling our discussion from last week, the term "Father" is used numerous times throughout the Bible. In the book of Luke, it is used just over 25 times, in Mark about 10 times, in Matthew just under 100 times, and in John about 250 times. These instances emphasize the significance of God as a father figure and the importance of our relationship with Him. Understanding the Father Wound So, what exactly is the "Father Wound"? The father wound is the absence of love and acceptance from one's father. This wound can be caused by neglect, abuse, absence due to separation, divorce, or death, or withholding of love and affirmation. Some specific instances might include a father who didn't have time for you, one that you were scared of, or one who was physically or emotionally absent. This wound could also stem from a father who was highly critical or had painfully high expectations for you. Effects of the Father Wound The father wound can cause numerous types of damage. Some of these might include poor self-esteem, mental health problems, anger, rigid behavior, poor boundaries, abusive cycles, unhealthy relationships, distancing from others, choosing emotionally absent partners, and unhealthy perfectionism. These damaging effects could also show up in your relationships, manifesting as abusive behavior or violence, one-sided relationships, fear of commitment, shallow relationships, clingy behavior, and projecting. It can also instill in us negative core beliefs, such as feeling unlovable, unworthy, inadequate, or not good enough. If we accept these words as truth, we can end up feeling depressed, anxious, and angry. One Truth: Healing through the Relationship with God However, there is healing and hope. This healing comes through understanding and accepting the most important truth ever: God, as our heavenly Father, loves us unconditionally. You will only be healed to the point you allow Father God to touch you and allow a new birth in your relationship to God as Father. You will experience healing to the fullest extent when you open yourself to Father God’s touch and allow His presence to work in your life. Effectively, the one truth we must receive is that God is good. As written in Psalms 34:8 AMP, "O taste and see that the LORD [our God] is good; How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him." We will never trust anyone we don’t believe is good. One Habit: Laying Down Our Habit of Dismissal One habit we need to lay down is our ability to dismiss God the Father from our lives. This means that we acknowledge something as true but choose to say it is completely irrelevant to this moment in our life. When we are used to taking care of ourselves, it's easy to dismiss God from our situations. But as Psalms 46:1 reminds us, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble." We need to remember this truth and allow God to be present in all aspects of our lives. We will continue this subject next week, delving deeper into the healing process and how we can strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Until then, remember Psalms 34:8, "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"