FIVE-A-LIVE ! FATHERS

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The truth is, being a dad is no joke. It's serious business being a dad. And I felt so compelled to press Paul's on revelation to bring this word today because I think we live in a culture where dad is under attack. I think there's a bullseye on the back of every man. I think there's an intentional assault against the home. In fact, think about this. Jesus in the Gospels, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, if you record how many times Jesus refers to God as Father, it's over 165 times. Think about it. Of all the pictures we have of God in the Bible, God primarily wants us to refer to him as Father. The Greek word is Abba, which is a real intimate term for father. If that's true, watch this. If God primarily wants us to know him as father, what do you think the number one attack of the enemy would be? It's against dads. Why? Because how we see our heavenly father, a lot of times, is through the filter or the experience that we have with our earthly dads. And so some of us grew up in homes like I did. My dad was a champion for me. He told me he loved me every single day. He told me I was the best every single day. He prayed for me every day. I just grew up and that was my normal. I thought I was awesome because dad told me I was awesome. Now, Rachel has reminded me that I'm not as awesome as Dad says. How many of you are thankful for a wife that'll bring you to reality? But you know, some of us have different dad experiences. Some of us have a broken relationship with our dad. Some of us have no relationship with our dad. And I feel like this message today is going to help us encourage not just dads, but when you strengthen the dad, I think you empower the home. And I think homes that are healthy produce kids that make a difference. And so I want to take us through the scriptures and look at some dads in the Bible that teach us how to make a difference in our day-to-day world. If you're taking notes, because history makers are note takers, I want you to write this down. Number one, let's look at Adam. Let's talk about the first dad of all time. Next to Adam, write this down. When there is no instruction manual. When there is no instruction manual. Adam was not only the first dad, he was literally the first human being on earth. Think about this. When Adam began to have kids, he had no dad to draw upon his experience from. I remember when Alexa was born almost 26 years ago, my world changed. How many of you know we can know a lot in theory? But sometimes reality sets in, and you're like, well, where's the instruction manual for this? Adam had no earthly father to ask questions to. He couldn't go back to how he was raised and how he was brought up. I mean, think about it. There was literally nothing available to him as a dad. Today, we have tons of resources, don't we? I mean, if you grew up in a good home, you you draw up on that good experience. Maybe you didn't grow up in a great home, and so you've made a point of, hey, this is, I want to learn by a bad example what I don't want to become. Sometimes we can we we can go to a small group or we can listen to a podcast or we can YouTube it to figure it out. Adam didn't have YouTube, didn't have a small group, didn't even have a church family, had no pastor to mentor him. Adam had nothing except a relationship with God. Now I want you to see this in Genesis chapter 3. Look at verse 8. The Bible says, when the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord walking, the Lord God walking about in the garden. It's interesting how he had no resources, but he had a relationship with God Himself. Fellas, I want you to know there is no substitute for a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes kids come to us and we feel like, where is the instruction manual? Man, I felt like I was prepared, but then kids revealed, oh man, there's a lot of growth that needs to happen in me. You know, when when you feel ill-prepared, guys, lean into your relationship with God Almighty. There is no substitute for a relationship with the Lord. The Bible tells us that God would walk with Adam in the garden through the cool of the day. And fellas, as we walk with God, as we talk with God, as we resource ourselves with everything that's out there, don't forget the source of your fatherhood comes from Christ Himself. And as we grow in our relationship with God, we enlarge our capacity as parents. Can somebody say amen? When you feel like you're kind of making it up as you go, when you're learning on the fly, when there is no instruction manual, you say, Lord, help me. Now the truth is, here today, you and I do have an instruction manual. And the scriptures speak in principle to every experience we'll ever walk through. And I tell you this, as I was kind of preparing for this message, I evaluated my own journey as a father. And you know, I know I have a lot of room to grow. I mean, I can recognize, man, even now, after three kids, we have three children, eeny, meeny, money, we ain't having no mo. My oldest is almost 26. She's out of the house, and man, she's got her own career and her own life. My middle daughter is married. She and her husband live in Nashville. And I've got one child left. We are two years away from being empty nests. And then I'm gonna be chasing Rachel all over the house again. But when you when you first start having kids, it's like, well, what I I what what do I do? What what I how do I handle it? I remember Alexa was maybe four years old, and she and I were running errands, and it was about the middle of the day, so I was getting hungry. I said, baby, let's go eat. And so she's like, okay. And we pulled over to some sandwich shop, and and I got out of the car and we walked up to the door, and I opened the door for her, and she stopped and she looked at me and she said, Dad, is this a date? And you know how when you didn't mean to do something, but then you take credit for it, and you're like, Well, yes, this is a date. You better believe it. Come on in here. And she just seemed to be so pleased to be on a date with her dad. We sat down at the table and we're eating. So I thought, well, I want to explore this idea. I said, Alexa, she's four years old. Alexa, what's a date? She said, Well, it's when a guy and girl get together. I was getting really nervous. When a guy and girl get together and they run off and hide, I was getting really nervous. They get together, they run off and hide so they can kiss. I was like, No, no, no, no, no, I don't know where you're getting. How many know her doctrine was all wrong? And dad was gonna have to correct her theology. No, no, no, no, no, ma'am, that is not, I don't know where you picked that up, but that is not a date. Let me tell you, when you start getting interested in boys at about 45 years of age, come on, dads, are you with me? Let me tell you how this thing works, okay? Uh, and I started talking to her about how a guy's supposed to treat a girl in a relationship. I said, a woman should never have to open the door by herself. Did you see what your dad did for you? You better make sure that who's ever interested. Now she's four years old. I'm going for him. I'm going all in. I said, the first guy that pulls up into my driveway and honks his horn, expecting you to answer the door, I'm walking out with a shotgun. And all the dad said, and if I shoot him and just I'm gonna leave his body right there on the doorstep to serve as a deterrent to any future prospects. Come on, fellas. Her eyes were like this big around. I was like, Oh, I need to dial it back just a little bit. After lunch, we get home and I pull up in the driveway, I get out of the car, I got my hands full, I'm about to walk in the door. I'm like, where's Alexa? And she's sitting in the car, like how many knew parents? You God's instructed us to teach our kids, but our kids will also teach us. Your kids will teach you about the Lord. And so, you know, Adam is this picture of when there is no instruction manual, man, we've got to lean into our relationship with God. Now, did Adam make a mistake? Yes, he did. He made lots of mistakes. How many of you, as dads, you've made a few mistakes yourself? If you're not raising your hand, that's a big mistake. Your wives will tell you about your mistake, your kids will see it. How many know we got blind spots? And though we make mistakes along the way, we're not perfect. But you know what? We have a responsibility to cultivate our relationship with God. Because sometimes you'll walk through some circumstances that people can't help you with. And you'll, I Lord, where's the wisdom on how to move forward in this? Your relationship with the Lord will move you forward. Can you say amen? You know, as our kids grow, we we learn to relate to them in different ways. You know, when our kids are small, you know, we're like caregivers. You know, we're we're responsible for everything. We we feed them, we bathe them, we clothe them, we set their schedules, we we do it all. But then they hit these teenage years, and how many know we go from caregiver to cop? We are gonna enforce the rules, and you have the right to remain silent. How many know that they don't exercise that right too often in the teenage years? You you move from caregiver to cop, but then as they move past the teenage years, you gotta move from cop to coach. Well, come alongside you. Let me tell you, when I was a kid, let me tell you my struggle, let me tell you what I've learned. And you coach them, you move from caregiver to cop to coach, and then when they're grown, you become a consultant. Some of you are still playing cop when you need to be consulting. Maybe tell you how a consultant works. You only give advice when it's asked for. Guess what? They ain't asking a whole lot, are they? You know, as parents, sometimes it's difficult for us because we've told them what to do their whole lives, and then we have to learn to relate to them in a different way. A relationship with the Lord will guide you when there is no instruction manual. Is this helping anybody? Number one, Adam teaches us. Number two, write this down, Noah. Let's talk about Noah. Next to Noah, write this phrase when God doesn't make sense. Have you ever walked through a season in your life where God didn't seem to make sense? Does God always make sense to you? If God always makes sense to you, you're probably not serving God. You're serving an ideal version of yourself, but God is infinitely bigger than you and me. And so sometimes he does things and he says things that we don't fully understand. Consider this. You know the story of Noah and what God told Noah to do. The Bible says in Genesis 6 that there was exceeding wickedness in the earth, so much so that it grieved the heart of God, and he was going to bring judgment to the earth through a flood. Now, here's what's fascinating: Noah had no idea what rain was. Did you know that in Genesis 6 there was no such thing as a rain cloud, there was no thunderstorm, they had no concept of rain, much less a flood. And God says, I'm bringing a flood, and I want you to build a boat. Now we look in hindsight, and that makes perfect sense. But if you're Noah, he didn't have a clue. Look at what it says here, Genesis 6, 17. God says, Look, I'm about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal, male and female, into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Now here's what we know about Noah. He obeyed God even when it didn't make sense. Dads, husbands, leaders, God's going to speak some things to us that don't always make sense according to our own understanding. Can you obey God even when you don't have full understanding? Here's what we know about Noah. His obedience to God blessed not only him, but it saved his entire family. Do you know that your obedience will not only bless you, but it will position your children to succeed? This is a big deal. You know what? Our obedience blesses us and strengthens our families. And I think the opposite is equally true. Our disobedience hurts us and makes our families vulnerable. As men, as leaders, I encourage you, obey God when it doesn't make sense. When you walk in obedience, think about this. This building project, some scholars think that it took Noah anywhere from 55 to 75 years to build this boat. Some scholars think it took even 100 plus years. Can you imagine being in a building project that took 120 years? Man, I know I'm ready to build that campus in ascension. I'm ready to break ground. Thank God we had we don't have to wait 120 years to do it. But guess what? Noah had to obey God every single day for weeks, months, years, and decades. And when he did, his family was saved. His family was protected. You know, I thought about my dad. Dad, if you're watching, happy Father's Day to you. I love you. I know you're on the island of Galveston. You're at Whataburger, you're directing that Whataburger Tabernacle Choir. I love my dad. Let me tell you something about my dad. Here's what I honor about my father. I'm from Southeast Missouri, not from Baton Rouge, but my dad made a decision back in the 80s to move our family from Missouri to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I'd never heard of Baton Rouge as a kid growing up. I didn't know that you crazy Cajuns even existed. My dad was a school teacher and he cashed in all of his retirement to pay for us to move to Baton Rouge because revival, God's spirit was being poured out in the 80s here in Baton Rouge. My dad grew up assembly of God. My mom was four square. And so they were very charismatic, understood the gifts of the Spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit. They wanted their children to be raised in an environment almost like their spiritual heritage. He said, I want my kids. Here's what he told me after the fact. He said it was almost like a bird knows how to migrate south for the winter. There was something on the inside of me that said to get to Baton Rouge. It made no sense. But can I tell you this? And that was 35 years ago. Now, Baton Rouge is where I was baptized in the Holy Ghost. Baton Rouge is where I met my wife. Baton Rouge is where I met Pastor Dino, the founding pastor of this church. Baton Rouge is where I received the call of God for ministry. Baton Rouge is where I get to use my gifts and talents and abilities to serve the house of God and walk in the fullness of my calling. Now listen, did it make sense 35 years ago for my dad to do what he did? In fact, he's probably looked back. None of my family lives here anymore. I am the only one of the five of us that moved down 35 years ago. But because of my dad's obedience in a situation that he probably didn't fully understand, guess what? He positioned me as a child, as a son of his to walk in my calling. And fathers, come on, put your hands together. Fathers, if you can obey God and trust him, even when it doesn't make sense, you will position your kids for God's blessing. In fact, the Bible says this in Psalm 112. There's the first three verses of this chapter. Dads, I encourage you to read this. You need to memorize this. Put this on an index card. This is a great promise for you and for your family. The Bible says, praise the Lord. Oh the joys of those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commandments, for their children will be successful everywhere. An entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy and their good deeds will last forever. Can somebody say amen? Noah obeyed God when it didn't make sense and for 55, 75, 100 years was working on this building project. Dads, let's obey God today. Let's win the day. If you can win today, guess what? It makes it easier to win tomorrow. And if you're winning today and tomorrow, you got some momentum moving into the middle of the week. And if you can win the day, you might win the week. And as you win weeks, you win the month. And months stack up into years. Years create decades. And watch this. Decades will establish your legacy. Come on, somebody say, win the day. Obey God even when it doesn't make sense. Boy, you got me fired up. Check this out. There's a statistic. I'm sure you've heard this. This is an incredible picture of the influence of a dad. Statistics show us that when one person gets saved in a family, what the probability of the rest of the family getting saved is. They say that when a child gets saved, there's a 3.5% chance that the rest of the family will get saved. When a mom gets saved, there's a 17% chance that the rest of the family will get saved. But when a dad gets saved, there's a 93% chance that the rest of the family will get saved. Now that doesn't make dads more important than moms or moms more important than children, but what, and these are just statistics, but watch this. It shows you the power of your influence in your home, in your marriage, and among your kids. Noah teaches us. Trust God and obey, even when it doesn't make sense. Number one, we talked about Adam. Number two, we talked about Noah. Number three, let's talk about Job. Talk about Job. Next to Job, write this when we lose it all. When we lose everything. Fellas, have you ever gone through a season of loss? Maybe it was financially. Maybe it was relationally. Maybe it was emotionally. Job, there's I don't know how many of you have had bad days. All of us have had difficult days, but nobody's had the darkest of days like Job. I mean, you you you you know Job's story. Job lost his wealth, he lost his health, he lost his children. His wife said, Curse God and die. Come on, fellas, how many like to be married to that? When you're at your lowest point, your wife's saying, Curse God and die. It's like, devil, I know you took everything, but why'd you leave her? I'm teasing, I'm teasing. I'm teasing. That's terrible. It's like the devil said, believe me, I know what I'm doing. Trust me. Oh man, what am I talking about? I don't even know. Job's friends, hey, Job's friends were no help. They blamed him, right? I mean, Job lost everything. Watch this what it says in Job chapter 1, verse 4. Job's sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes. They would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them. When these celebrations ended, sometimes after several days, watch this, Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts. This was Job's regular practice. Hear me, fathers. Job loved his kids and he prayed for them every day. He prayed for them every day. I know you love your kids. And as you build a habit of praying for your children daily, here's the fascinating thing. The statistics tell us that when crisis hits, people revert to habit. When you experience a tragedy, when something throws your life totally out of whack, your instinct is to go to the habits that you built in your life. Job built a habit of praying for his kids. And I'm not trying to minimize his pain, but out of that habit, here's what Job said in verse 20. Job stood up, he tore his robe in grief, then he shaved his head and he fell to the ground to worship. He said, I came naked from my mother's womb. I'll be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord. In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. You see, there's only one way to have a response like that in tragedy. It's because he had built a habit of seeking God on behalf of his kids. Now the truth is this life is filled with tragedy, it's filled with disappointment, and it's filled with pain. I'm glad to be a part of a church that recognizes the reality of where people are. Life is hard. It's hard work being a dad. And you will go through moments where you feel like you've lost everything. Please hear me, dads. Life is filled with tragedy and disappointment, but our kids will learn best from us through our response to tragedy, disappointment, and heartache. In fact, they'll probably learn more from us in those times than in the times that we've given our best dad speech. And listen, as a pastor, I feel like I've dropped gold on my kids. I have preached to my kids, I have prayed over my kids, I have prophesied to my kids, but you know, they watch me and how I handle pain. And I've walked through pain. I've walked through sorrow. I've walked through loneliness. Men, there are times that I've experienced in my journey where I just felt like giving up. I just felt like, you know what, I've failed as a father. I've lost out as a husband, as a leader, as a pastor. I have questioned myself because of my circumstances. And it's in those times our families need us the most. Dads, don't you dare give up. Don't you dare throw in the towel. You take that towel and you wipe the sweat off your face and you get back in the game because your kids need to see perseverance in you. Boy, I feel a Holy Ghost right now. God's trying to raise up that warrior inside of somebody because the enemy has been telling you, just give in, just quit. It's not worth it. All the pain, the hurt, the heartache. Job didn't sin by blaming God. He said, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. You'll notice in Job 17, 9, out of his mouth, in the middle of his suffering, he says, the righteous will keep moving forward and the pure in heart will get stronger and stronger. Keep moving forward. Put one foot in front of the other. Don't stop just because it's difficult. There's something on the other side of your pain. The struggle of the day is not just for today. You're going to teach your kids, you're going to give them an example on how to persevere. Because guess what? They're going to fight their own battles, they're going to experience their own disappointment. They're going to have things and circumstances and people come against them, and they're going to draw upon the example that you and I have set before them. The Bible says at the end of Job's journey in Job 42, verse 10, then Job prayed for his friends, and the Lord turned the fortunes of Job and gave him twice as much as he had before. God gave him double for his trouble. Come on, somebody. And if you'll hang in there, come on. My grandfather would say, hang in there like a hare in a biscuit. Come on, somebody. Paul Paul. Man, some of you eat a biscuit today and you're gonna be checking it twice. Don't give up. Come on, somebody say, Don't give up. Adam teaches us when there is no instruction manual. Noah tells us, obey God when it doesn't make sense. Job says, when you lose it all, don't turn back, don't give up. Hang in there. The last one, Joseph, I don't have time to really unpack this, but Joseph was the earthly dad of Jesus. And Joseph teaches us when your reputation is at stake. Go all in for God. Think about it. Joseph was engaged to Mary. The Bible talks about the word betrothal. And that's much more significant than an engagement today. I mean, it's practically being married. There was an agreement, there was a covenant between two families and two individuals, and Joseph and Mary. Can you imagine being on the receiving end of a conversation where Mary tells Joseph she's pregnant and he's not the dad? I mean, come on now. We make this all Christmas narrative and very, you know, emotional and feeling, but imagine being in a relationship like that and getting that information. And and and and and and Joseph's like, well, who's who's the dad? She says the Holy Ghost. And Joseph's like, the Holy Who? I mean, come on now. And they're probably in their teenage years, history tells us. They're, I mean, she's pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. And Joseph has some decisions to make because his reputation is at stake. The Bible says in Matthew 1:19, Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man. He didn't want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Listen to me. Joseph knew that his reputation would take a hit. Imagine the whispers about him as he walked in public, as he went to the marketplace. I mean, here he's a carpenter. Can you imagine? People would not want to do business with him. Oh man, he's a carpenter. Don't take your stuff to his shop because, man, there's some funky stuff going on. He said this, that, and the other. And he shunned in his community, but he risked it all to get a chance to be the father of the Messiah. You know what that tells me? He cared more about what God thought about him than he did what man would think about him. And I just believe, husbands, fathers, men of this church, spiritual fathers, let's be more concerned with the opinion of our Heavenly Father. Because if we have the smile of heaven, then the frown of man doesn't matter. Can you say amen? Come on, do you receive that today? Put your hands together if you believe that.