“For the Joy of the Lord is your Strength” Nehemiah 8:10

“Father Knows Best”by Pastor Fee Soliven

Proverbs 23:22-25Sunday Morning

June 16, 2013

Proverbs 23:22-2522 Listen to your father who begot

you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also

wisdom and instruction and understanding. 24 The father of

the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 25 Let your

father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.

Nurture: as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,

means “to supply with nourishment; to educate; or to further the development of.”

 

1. Our Heavenly Father nurtures us by comforting us

when we are troubled. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-43 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4

who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to

comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with

which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 7:6"Nevertheless God, who comforts

the downcast..."

John 14:27-2827 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do

I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'

If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the

Father,' for My Father is greater than I.

Psalm 119:49-51 (New Living Translation)

49 Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. 50 Your promise

revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles. 51 The proud hold me in utter contempt, but I do not turn

away from your instructions.

2. Our Heavenly Father nurtures us through His tender

care.

Isaiah 49:15-1615 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have

compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually

before Me.

Matthew 9:35-3635 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in

their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and

healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But

when He saw the multitudes,

He was moved with compassion for them, because they were

weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

 James 5:1111 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the

Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

 

Matthews 10:28-3128 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your

Father's will.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value

than many sparrows.

3. Our Heavenly Father us by providing for our needs.

Nehemiah 9:15-2315 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And

brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which

You had sworn to give them. 16 "But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks,

And did not heed Your commandments. 17 They refused

to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You

did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You

are God, Ready to pardon,

Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And

did not forsake them. 18 "Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, 'This is your

god That brought you up out of Egypt,' And worked great

provocations, 19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not

forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not

depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. 20 You also gave Your good Spirit to

instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their

mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years You

sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. 22 "Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And

divided them into districts. So

they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of

Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You also multiplied

their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into

the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess.

Matthew 6:25-3425 "Therefore I say to you, do not

worry about your life, what you will eat or 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? 26 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 than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can

add one cubit to his stature?  28 So why do you worry about

clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither

toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not

arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the

field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not

much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not

worry, saying,

'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?‘ 32 "For after all these

things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you

need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His

righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for

the day is its own trouble.

Isaiah 40:29-3129 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might

He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly

fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their

strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run

and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

4. Our Heavenly Father nurtures us through personal

instruction.

John 14:26"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My

name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all

things that I said to you..."

1 Thessalonians 4:99 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one

another;

5. Our Heavenly Father nurtures us through

encouragement. 

 

Romans 15:4"For whatever things were written

before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope"

1 Peter 2:1-31 Therefore, laying aside all

malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that

the Lord is gracious.

"desire the pure milk of the word"

6. Our Heavenly Father nurtures us through loving

discipline. 

Hebrews 12:5-11 (New Living Translation)

5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?* He said, “My

child,* don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up

when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”* 7 As you

endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you

as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never

disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that

you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we

submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live

forever?* 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few

years, doing the best they knew

how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No

discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But

afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those

who are trained in this way.

1. Why should believers not lose heart when our Heavenly

Father disciplines them? 

Hebrews 12:5-75 And have you forgotten the

encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?* He said, “My

child,* don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up

when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he

accepts as his child.”*

7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?

2. What purpose does our Heavenly Father have for disciplining His children?

Hebrews 12:1010 For our earthly fathers

disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his

holiness.  

3. What does discipline ultimately yield?

Hebrews 12:1111 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But

afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those

who are trained in this way. 

“For the Joy of the Lord is your Strength” Nehemiah 8:10