R.C. Sproul

I've had people tell me of incestuous rape and that sort of thing where the fathers had abused their children sexually, and they say, after that experience, how can I possibly address God as Father for the whole Word is repugnant to me? And I can understand that, and I can feel what they're saying when they make that complaint. And I say, well, you know,

I've had people tell me of incestuous rape and that sort of thing where the fathers had abused their children sexually, and they say, after that experience, how can I possibly address God as Father for the whole Word is repugnant to me? And I can understand that, and I can feel what they're saying when they make that complaint. And I say, well, you know,

Even in the pain and torment that you bear in your psyche from these miserable experiences from your earthly father, you still understand that part of the reason that pain is so severe is because it didn't come from your next door neighbor. It didn't come even from your uncle. It came from your father.

Even in the pain and torment that you bear in your psyche from these miserable experiences from your earthly father, you still understand that part of the reason that pain is so severe is because it didn't come from your next door neighbor. It didn't come even from your uncle. It came from your father.

And even nature itself teaches you that there should be much more that you have a reason to expect from your earthly father than what you have received. Now, as hard as it may be, if you're having difficulty using the word father and want to choke on it when you refer to God, then focus your attention on the word that comes before it, ours. because our Father is not your Father.

And even nature itself teaches you that there should be much more that you have a reason to expect from your earthly father than what you have received. Now, as hard as it may be, if you're having difficulty using the word father and want to choke on it when you refer to God, then focus your attention on the word that comes before it, ours. because our Father is not your Father.

Our Father is not the Father that violated you and abused you. It's our heavenly Father, our Father who has no abuse in Him, who will never violate you. And you need to learn to practice this phrase and transfer to Him. the positive attributes that you so earnestly desire and so seriously miss in the experience of your earthly father.

Our Father is not the Father that violated you and abused you. It's our heavenly Father, our Father who has no abuse in Him, who will never violate you. And you need to learn to practice this phrase and transfer to Him. the positive attributes that you so earnestly desire and so seriously miss in the experience of your earthly father.

You'll notice in this list of apostles that are given to us here that about half of them you know a lot about because they appear frequently in the record of the New Testament, but the other half you hardly recognize. Their activities as apostles in the early church remain, for the most part, obscure. And yet these 12 men to whom the Lord Jesus delegates this authority turn the world upside down.

You'll notice in this list of apostles that are given to us here that about half of them you know a lot about because they appear frequently in the record of the New Testament, but the other half you hardly recognize. Their activities as apostles in the early church remain, for the most part, obscure. And yet these 12 men to whom the Lord Jesus delegates this authority turn the world upside down.

I think that we could extract from Winston Churchill an evaluation of the importance of these 12 men that never have so many owed so much to so few.

I think that we could extract from Winston Churchill an evaluation of the importance of these 12 men that never have so many owed so much to so few.

And when he had called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the 12 apostles are these. First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother,

And when he had called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the 12 apostles are these. First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother,

James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Lebaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Lebaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

We look at a list of names like this, and it's hard to get excited about the revelatory import of it, but beloved, this incident in the life of Jesus by which he commissioned these 12 to be his apostles is one of the most important and lasting significant things that our Lord did during his earthly ministry. So let's receive this record as it comes to us from God himself.

We look at a list of names like this, and it's hard to get excited about the revelatory import of it, but beloved, this incident in the life of Jesus by which he commissioned these 12 to be his apostles is one of the most important and lasting significant things that our Lord did during his earthly ministry. So let's receive this record as it comes to us from God himself.

At the end of chapter 9, we heard Jesus admonish his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers to bring in the harvest because the harvest was great, but the laborers were few. And immediately following that mandate to pray, Jesus himself takes action to send out laborers into the fields. And we read in chapter 10 that he called his 12 disciples to him.

At the end of chapter 9, we heard Jesus admonish his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers to bring in the harvest because the harvest was great, but the laborers were few. And immediately following that mandate to pray, Jesus himself takes action to send out laborers into the fields. And we read in chapter 10 that he called his 12 disciples to him.