SPEAKER_00: We want to wish everyone a happy Father's Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, the men of God in the house today.
SPEAKER_00: And today I kind of got a message for men.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it is Father's Day.
SPEAKER_00: So, men, boys, listen up.
SPEAKER_00: You might not be a dad, but I'm sure you can glean on something out of this message today.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, Father, I just thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for your word that it is alive and it is sharp and it is active and it comes and it comes and it pierces our hearts, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We open up our hearts today to receive your word.
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for every man in this house, every father, every grandfather, every spiritual father, everyone who has an influence and an impact on someone's life.
SPEAKER_00: God, that you would just speak to their hearts today.
SPEAKER_00: You would speak to their hearts today, and you would raise them up to be the man and the man, the husband, the father, the impact person that you've called them to be.
SPEAKER_00: Father, you have called them.
SPEAKER_00: Before time began, you created them.
SPEAKER_00: You created them in their mother's womb.
SPEAKER_00: I would just I just want to talk, I just want to go to Psalms 139 right off the cuff here because the Lord, I spoke this a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of my favorite scriptures, and uh I just want to say it.
SPEAKER_00: Psalms 139, verse 13.
SPEAKER_00: You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
SPEAKER_00: Your workmanship is marvelous.
SPEAKER_00: How well I know it.
SPEAKER_00: You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion.
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
SPEAKER_00: You watched me.
SPEAKER_00: God, you watched us as you were, as we were being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
SPEAKER_00: God, you saw me before I was born, and every day of my life was recorded in your book.
SPEAKER_00: Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
SPEAKER_00: And God has watched us, He's seen us, He watched us before a day was even started in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: He watched us being formed in our mother's womb.
SPEAKER_00: He saw us, and all the days of our lives were put before him.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is a loving father.
SPEAKER_00: That is a good father.
SPEAKER_00: We can put our trust in him, the one who knows our ins and our outs.
SPEAKER_00: He knows the inner delicate pieces of our heart, he knows the inner delicate pieces of our body, he knows our going and our coming.
SPEAKER_00: He knows, he knows everything about us, he knows every hair on our head, he knows every day before it even came to pass.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're here and you're thinking, you know, nobody cares about me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just a shadow.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not seen.
SPEAKER_00: Does God, do you even see me?
SPEAKER_00: Do you even know what I'm going through?
SPEAKER_00: Do you even know the difficult things, circumstances that I'm going through?
SPEAKER_00: He sees you.
SPEAKER_00: He's watched you, he knows you.
SPEAKER_00: He knows every decision you've made and every decision that you're about to make.
SPEAKER_00: And I pray that you make your decisions as fathers, as husbands, as men of God.
SPEAKER_00: I hope and I pray that you make your decisions based on his word, based on his leading, based on his spirit, based on his direction.
SPEAKER_00: Because ultimately, we want to live a life like him, a life filled with faith.
SPEAKER_00: Leave a legacy behind for our children, for our grandchildren.
SPEAKER_00: Leave a legacy, leave an impact on those who look to us to be an example.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: You want me to say it, Sessie?
SPEAKER_00: Alright, well, I'll say it just to lighten the mood.
SPEAKER_00: You know, Mother's Day, mother's jokes are mother's, I brought you into this world and I can take you out of this world, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's the mother's joke.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, I saw this on Facebook, and so it's kind of a little bit uh whatever, but it says, today, thank your dad for bringing you into this world because your mom probably wasn't even in the mood.
SPEAKER_00: All right, here we go, lighten it up.
SPEAKER_00: And all the kids, cover your ears on that one.
SPEAKER_00: Come in.
SPEAKER_00: Cover your ears.
SPEAKER_00: Thank God for dads.
SPEAKER_00: Thank God for dads that brought us into this world, right?
SPEAKER_00: We all have a dad, we're all here because of a dad, whether he was in your life or not.
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we are here for a purpose.
SPEAKER_00: We are here for a plan, God's plan, God's design for our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And so some sometimes I will mention this later, uh, you know, our earthly fathers, maybe they're not the best example, but we have a God in a Father in heaven who knows our comings and our goings, who knows our life, who knows us inside and out.
SPEAKER_00: And he's such a loving God, right?
SPEAKER_00: That we can come to him when we're dealing with difficult situations, when we're dealing with difficult things, and he knows, and he's he he knows every decision that we need to make.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he knows every part of our life.
SPEAKER_00: And so God is so good.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm such a blessed man.
SPEAKER_00: I was thinking about this in worship.
SPEAKER_00: Uh such a blessed man.
SPEAKER_00: Father's Day, my son came.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't even wait till today, but he came.
SPEAKER_00: I came home from work Friday night, and and uh he was jumping for joy as I walked into the house and he was jumping and he had this blue card in his hand, and he's like, uh mom wasn't there, so he nobody was uh, I think uh mother was upstairs and he was jumping for joy.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, God, look! And I was like, What is that?
SPEAKER_00: He's like, so I grabbed it.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's a Father's Day card, and this is a couple days early.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that that's awesome, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so bless my heart.
SPEAKER_00: Happy Father's Day in his in his spelling.
SPEAKER_00: It said, uh, yeah, so he forgot to um, he didn't have enough room to spell father, so he start he stopped at uh and then he he put father underneath, but it said, Happy fat father's day.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh wow.
SPEAKER_00: Good to know, good to know you noticed, that's a sign, and I gotta hit the gym again.
SPEAKER_00: Happy Fat Father's Day.
SPEAKER_00: And then uh and then I came home yesterday, and or was it yesterday, or and then I opened up the pantry, says, We got you present, and I said, Do you want to wait for Sunday?
SPEAKER_00: He said, No.
SPEAKER_00: And so I said, Okay, he opened up the pantry, and here's all my snacks chocolate bars, chips, and uh dinosaur candies and everything I love.
SPEAKER_00: I say, Okay, awesome, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: I gotta throw those out.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we'll start the diet right after I eat those.
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, so I'm blessed.
SPEAKER_00: Two boys of my own.
SPEAKER_00: I get to stand here, and these are some of the best days of my life.
SPEAKER_00: You know, uh, two young boys, five-year-old, and a and a year and a half, and I get to stand down here with all of you great people and worship God beside my wife, holding my kids, loving on Jesus, and uh what a blessing.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm blessed.
SPEAKER_00: I waited for a long time for kids, and just the father just blessed me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm blessed.
SPEAKER_00: What can I say?
SPEAKER_00: I got kids, and and my hope and my purpose in life is to feed them spiritually, be a dad who they can be proud of, a father who can lead them and direct them into spiritual things.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I look at my dad, and one of the best things that he did when I was wandering off, you know, in a mess of a life and chasing after the things of this world, the best thing that my dad was stuck to his gun, stuck to his faith, and kept pursuing the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And uh he didn't waver, he didn't, he didn't walk away because I left, you know, and and how hard is it for fathers to see their children, you know, leaving the Lord, abandoning God.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it must be difficult.
SPEAKER_00: And I know there's probably some fathers here who who have who have who are dealing with that, dealing with the hurt of seeing their sons making the choices and the decisions that that maybe you're not proud of.
SPEAKER_00: But the best thing that you can do is lead him and be an example of a follower of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The best thing you can do is just follow after God.
SPEAKER_00: You may not have the proper words to say, you might not be, you know, you might not have the proper actions, but if you find God in the secret place and you do not waver, and you keep on the path that he has put you on, and you keep seeking him, and you keep loving the Lord and you keep worshiping him and you keep praying and you keep diligently seeking after God, he will take care of those things.
SPEAKER_00: And it may not even be in this lifetime, but he will take care of your children, he will take care of you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And so the the number one thing that I want to be is uh is a follower of Christ, a lover of God.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, and the next thing, you know, Ephesians 6 and 4, it talks about being a father, talks about being a husband, that we should wash our wives with the word, that we should be an example, that we should be a forefront, and that we should uh raise up our children.
SPEAKER_00: It's not those scriptures aren't really in my sermon, but that's what it says.
SPEAKER_00: And the enemy has wanting to target fathers and dads because he knows that if he can knock you down or knock you up or knock you out of this game or knock you out of this world, that your family might be in shambles.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: The enemy is going after families, and if he can knock you down as a father and as a husband, families are gonna be disoriented, they're gonna be confused, they're gonna be out of order.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying there's no hope, but uh but God has called men to stand up and be the leader of your home, to be the leader of your family.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't matter about your earthly father and the legacy that he left you, whether he abandoned you, whether he abused you, whether he did things wrong, didn't he didn't live a godly life, you can start now.
SPEAKER_00: All of you that are hearing my voice or hearing this message are here, are here for a purpose, here for a reason, and you can start and you can change your lineage, you can change your future by saying yes to God.
SPEAKER_00: And so when I thought about this message, I thought about being a man after God's own heart.
SPEAKER_00: And how many times have we heard uh you know messages about King David?
SPEAKER_00: King David was a man after God's heart.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts 13, 21, 22, the apostle Paul is talking, and he says, Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for 40 years.
SPEAKER_00: And in verse 22, it says, But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.
SPEAKER_00: And it says, He will do everything I want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: He will do everything I want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: The measure of a godly man is not perfection, the measure of a godly man is obedience and obedience to God.
SPEAKER_00: Surrender.
SPEAKER_00: It is surrendering your will to God.
SPEAKER_00: Not my will be done, but your will be done, God.
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done in my life, your will be done in my family, your will be done in my workplace.
SPEAKER_00: Use me, God, as a vessel to bring forth your kingdom and your will.
SPEAKER_00: Not my will be done.
SPEAKER_00: Not my will be done, God, but your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: Everything I want him to do, he says.
SPEAKER_00: David will do everything I want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: We all know David was not perfect, right?
SPEAKER_00: David sinned, David, David sinned, but he was quick to repent.
SPEAKER_00: And God said, David will do everything that I want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: That's something to know, that's something to notice.
SPEAKER_00: David had a heart after God, and David is a man who will do everything that I want him to do.
SPEAKER_00: And that means, you know, God's will.
SPEAKER_00: When when uh in the in the NLT, it says that he will do everything I want.
SPEAKER_00: I want is the same word as will.
SPEAKER_00: It means God's will.
SPEAKER_00: It means my will.
SPEAKER_00: There's a there's a it's in the Hebrew word is, I think it's Hebrew, it could be Greek, but I think it's Hebrew.
SPEAKER_00: It says uh thelma.
SPEAKER_00: Thelema, thelema, thelema.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_00: And it says that which is willed, designed, or desired.
SPEAKER_00: God's design, his purpose, and his use.
SPEAKER_00: He desires us to follow his will, to do what he wants us to do, right?
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning, God created us, he formed us, he knit us together.
SPEAKER_00: Every day is planned out according to his will.
SPEAKER_00: And so, and so he wants us to do what he wants to do.
SPEAKER_00: He wants us, that's what God wants us to do.
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to do his will and not our will.
SPEAKER_00: But we know that God has given us a free will, he's given mankind a free will, he's not over here bashing us and roped around us with a chain, pulling us in his direction.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I'll give you a free will.
SPEAKER_00: You choose how you want to live this life, you choose what you want to do.
SPEAKER_00: But that doesn't mean that you're gonna have a heart after God.
SPEAKER_00: If you choose and decide to do your own will, this word is the will.
SPEAKER_00: It's will.
SPEAKER_00: We all have a human will, but there is a divine will as well.
SPEAKER_00: And so we have a will, we have a choice.
SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna follow God?
SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna surrender our life?
SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna choose Him?
SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna are we gonna follow His ways or are we gonna follow our own ways?
SPEAKER_00: You know, and so the contrast between Saul and David is one of the greatest examples in Scripture, and we've heard it many times.
SPEAKER_00: But both were chosen, both were anointed, both were kings, yet one lost the kingdom and the other gained God's heart.
SPEAKER_00: Saul continually chose his own will over God's will.
SPEAKER_00: He obeyed partially and he justified, he justified compromise.
SPEAKER_00: He compromised.
SPEAKER_00: And he cared more about the appearances than obedience.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Samuel 13, 7, we'll go there.
SPEAKER_00: We'll park out for a little bit as an example.
SPEAKER_00: It says, uh, yeah, we'll just read it to you.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, so yeah, Samuel, Saul, right?
SPEAKER_00: Saul's the king, and Samuel's the prophet, and uh Saul's been anointed the king, and uh he doesn't listen, right?
SPEAKER_00: We know the stories, and uh he doesn't listen, he doesn't obey God's full will.
SPEAKER_00: God gave him instructions and commands, and he didn't.
SPEAKER_00: And so it says, Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear.
SPEAKER_00: Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn't come.
SPEAKER_00: Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away, so he demanded, bringing, bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings, and Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself, which was a big no-no.
SPEAKER_00: Just as Saul was finishing the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet and welcome him.
SPEAKER_00: But Samuel said, What is this you have done?
SPEAKER_00: And Saul replied, I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn't arrive when you said you would.
SPEAKER_00: And the Philistines are at Mi'mash, ready for battle.
SPEAKER_00: So I said, The Philistines, uh, I said, Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: So I said, the Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven't even asked the Lord's help.
SPEAKER_00: So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.
SPEAKER_00: How foolish, Samuel exclaimed, You have not kept the command that the Lord your God gave you.
SPEAKER_00: Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
SPEAKER_00: But now your kingdom must end.
SPEAKER_00: For the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people because you have not kept the Lord's command.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see Saul, I mean, there's a lot of backstory here to it, but uh Saul went out and did this offering.
SPEAKER_00: He was supposed to wait for Samuel.
SPEAKER_00: There's this battle taking place at Mi'kmash.
SPEAKER_00: The Philistines are coming, and uh his men are scared of the Philistines.
SPEAKER_00: They're scared, they're trembling.
SPEAKER_00: Men are leaving, they're leaving, uh, they're they're hiding, they're leaving away because they're scared, they're full of fear.
SPEAKER_00: And Saul is seeing his army dismantled, this like disassembled.
SPEAKER_00: He sees them fleeing.
SPEAKER_00: He sees that, hey, Samuel's supposed to be here, but he ain't here.
SPEAKER_00: He's not, he didn't arrive when he said he was gonna arrive.
SPEAKER_00: I'm supposed to wait here for him, and he hasn't arrived.
SPEAKER_00: So now what am I gonna do?
SPEAKER_00: My my army is fleeing.
SPEAKER_00: The my uh Samuel, who's supposed to put up this offering for us, he ain't here yet.
SPEAKER_00: And uh the Philistines are gathering, they're gathering at Mi'kmash, they're ready for battle.
SPEAKER_00: What am I gonna do?
SPEAKER_00: And so he goes ahead and he says, This will, this will, this will look good on the outside.
SPEAKER_00: My men will see that we've given a burnt offering to the Lord and that the Lord is with us.
SPEAKER_00: And and Samuel comes out and says, What are you doing?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: The the offering was supposed to be done a certain way.
SPEAKER_00: Uh the sacrifice was supposed to be done a certain way.
SPEAKER_00: And Samuel says, How foolish you have not kept the commands of the Lord, your God gave you.
SPEAKER_00: And uh though that word command is a precept, it's a law, it's a charge, and it's an order, it's a pointed direction.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel, through the prophet Samuel, he gave Saul a direct order, he gave him direct commands what he should be doing.
SPEAKER_00: And Saul decided in his own flesh, I'm gonna do what I think is best, I'm gonna do what I think is best, and he he did not keep the command of the Lord, and so Saul was full of excuses when Samuel came, the prophet of the Lord, here he comes, he comes out, and uh Samuel knows what is happening, Samuel knows what has happened, and he says, What have you done?
SPEAKER_00: And Saul meets him on the road.
SPEAKER_00: What does he say?
SPEAKER_00: Saul went out to meet him and welcome him, but Samuel said, What have you done?
SPEAKER_00: Saul was full of excuses.
SPEAKER_00: He said, I saw men scattering before me, and you didn't arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are ready for battle.
SPEAKER_00: Full of excuses.
SPEAKER_00: And so how do we respond as men when the pressure of life is on?
SPEAKER_00: When we have to make decisions in a moment's notice.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: What is our our uh what is our default switch?
SPEAKER_00: How do we respond to stress, to worry, to pressure?
SPEAKER_00: Because Saul, he did what he thought was right, but just because Saul did what he thought was right was actually wrong.
SPEAKER_00: It was a direct disobeyment from the command of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, we make mistakes, obviously, we make mistakes, we don't make all the right decisions in the moment, but that is why we have to spend time in God's presence.
SPEAKER_00: We have to spend time in prayer, we have to spend time in worship, we have to spend time, you know, seeking out the Father so that in a moment's notice we are loyal to God.
SPEAKER_00: We are loyal to his ways, we follow his commands, we follow his statutes, we follow his regulations, we follow his spirit, so that we make the decision that God would have us to make in that time.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'll tell you a quick little story, kinda quick.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but a couple weeks ago at work, I was being harassed by this guy.
SPEAKER_00: I was being assaulted pretty much.
SPEAKER_00: This guy came off the street and he was uh under the influence of something, and he was um pushing me, kinda.
SPEAKER_00: He put laid his hands on me, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
SPEAKER_00: And so we called the cops or police officers, that's the honorable name.
SPEAKER_00: The police officers, excuse me, uh police officers.
SPEAKER_00: Um we called the police and they came and they were on their way, and and all through my head was like, okay, if this guy touches me, I'm gonna knock him out.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna knock him out.
SPEAKER_00: Part of my flesh was saying, grab a hammer.
SPEAKER_00: You know, that won't be good, but uh, but I was like, my old flesh and my old ways of doing things was like, let's brawl, let's drop the gloves, right?
SPEAKER_00: And uh, but I'm thinking all this stuff through my head.
SPEAKER_00: There's so much things coming through my head.
SPEAKER_00: My my adrenaline's running.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, God, what do you want me to do?
SPEAKER_00: God, what do you want me to do?
SPEAKER_00: What do you what should you have me do?
SPEAKER_00: What should you have me do?
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of just I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, my uh the spirit of God kind of took over, and I just I tried to talk to him.
SPEAKER_00: I ran away, basically, got in my truck, locked my truck, and he's standing on my truck and he's hammering on my window and he's trying to open up the door.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, holy smokes, what is going on?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you, Snyder?
SPEAKER_00: So, but it's like, what is my default?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: And I and what is my default?
SPEAKER_00: Because everybody at work said, Oh, I would have knocked them out, I would have, I would have dropped them, I would have, you know, and I'm like, yeah, but good thing I didn't, because you know, but and then somebody had it on video, and so good thing that, you know, I'm just, anyways.
SPEAKER_00: But what is our default when pressure happens?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: When pressure comes, when the decisions of life come, when heartache comes, when life hits hard, and we we feel like giving up, we feel like giving in, we feel like sitting in our in our basement, in a in a room full of darkness, full of depression.
SPEAKER_00: We don't feel like waking up and uh we feel like just staying there down in the dumps.
SPEAKER_00: You know, what do we what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: And God and David is a great example, you know, when when when he faced the giant, right?
SPEAKER_00: And everybody is cowering, and Saul is cowering, and Saul is running away, and the and the and the men of God are waiting, and and David says what?
SPEAKER_00: He says, Who is this uh Philistine giant who defies the armies of the living God?
SPEAKER_00: There's a trust that rised up in Dave, raised up in David, saying, You know, my God, he will provide.
SPEAKER_00: I trust in my God, he will he will defeat this enemy in front of me.
SPEAKER_00: And so, as men of God, you know, hard after God, we need to have trust and full trust in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And when we make a mistake or a wrong decision, we can't stand in pride like Saul.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, no, it wasn't me.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't me.
SPEAKER_00: It was the men that were leaving that caused me to do this.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't me, it was you, Samuel.
SPEAKER_00: You didn't show up when you thought, when you said you would show up.
SPEAKER_00: God, you didn't deliver me when you said you would deliver.
SPEAKER_00: You didn't show up.
SPEAKER_00: God's timing may be different.
SPEAKER_00: He may be testing us a little bit to see, hey, where does this guy's faith really stand?
SPEAKER_00: When when the rubber meets the road and the trials come, where does when the pressure comes, where does he come?
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a scripture that says God will not give us any more than we can handle.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you feel like giving up, God is saying, you can handle more, son.
SPEAKER_00: You can handle more, you can handle a little bit more pressure.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna refine you in the fire, in the pressure of life, and I and he, and and don't give up, right?
SPEAKER_00: The pressure.
SPEAKER_00: And so Saul says, Yeah, Samuel, you didn't show up, and then there's an army waiting to kill us.
SPEAKER_00: I had to do it.
SPEAKER_00: You know, when we make a mistake, Saul he didn't repent, he blamed everybody else.
SPEAKER_00: And men, sometimes we can blame everything else.
SPEAKER_00: I'm so busy with work.
SPEAKER_00: I got this on my plate, I got that on my plate, the kids are driving me up the wall, my wife, this and that, and you know, I just I just can't.
SPEAKER_00: I'm overwhelmed with all this stuff, and uh, it's everybody else's fault.
SPEAKER_00: But but God says, if we make mistakes, we can't stand in pride.
SPEAKER_00: David was imperfect.
SPEAKER_00: We all know that story, right?
SPEAKER_00: He sinned, he murdered a man, he committed adultery, and when Samuel came and was it Samuel?
SPEAKER_00: Nathan.
SPEAKER_00: Nathan came and pointed out his sin, or he said, Yeah, he he repented.
SPEAKER_00: He had a heart and he turned his heart.
SPEAKER_00: And so some of the battle that we have as men is laying down our pride, our comfort, our plans, our desires.
SPEAKER_00: The strongest words a man can pray are God, not my will be done, but yours.
SPEAKER_00: A strong man can sit there and apologize and ask for forgiveness to his children, to his spouse, because he didn't do the proper thing.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: And wives, you gotta have mercy and grace because your husband is trying to do the best that he can, right?
SPEAKER_00: And that's all that we can ask.
SPEAKER_00: Our husbands might not be perfect, our fathers might not be perfect, but if they have a heart to follow after God, what's if we have a heart to follow after God, he will reveal those things to us.
SPEAKER_00: The mistakes that we make, you know, the things that we need to change.
SPEAKER_00: And so Samuel says, Had you kept the commands of the Lord, you uh had you kept the commands of the Lord, uh, the Lord would establish your kingdom forever.
SPEAKER_00: And I just think of what we've talked about earlier this day.
SPEAKER_00: Had you kept the commands of the Lord, your kingdom, your legacy would last forever.
SPEAKER_00: But instead, we're here talking about Saul and how we shouldn't be like him.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: And we're talking about David, a man after his own heart.
SPEAKER_00: And if we flip to uh if we flip to 1 Kings, I think, second, yeah, 1 Kings 2.
SPEAKER_00: I'm all I'm all scrambled here.
SPEAKER_00: David wasn't a perfect father either.
SPEAKER_00: You uh, you know, as I searched it out, he had kids, they were, you know, causing havoc in his household and all sorts of things, but in 1 Kings uh chapter 2, it says, as the time of King David's death approached, he gave his charge to his son Solomon.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I am going where everyone on earth must someday go.
SPEAKER_00: Take courage and be a man.
SPEAKER_00: That's my charge to you.
SPEAKER_00: Take courage and be a man.
SPEAKER_00: Observe the requirements of the Lord your God.
SPEAKER_00: How do we be a man?
SPEAKER_00: Observe the requirements of the Lord your God and follow all his ways.
SPEAKER_00: Keep the decrees, the commands, the regulations, and the laws written in the law of Moses so that you will be successful in all that you do and wherever you go.
SPEAKER_00: If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me.
SPEAKER_00: He told me, if your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all of their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: And not only that, but Jesus came from David's lineage, right?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is the one who sits on the throne forever, forever.
SPEAKER_00: And so many men, as I said today, you know, I like that.
SPEAKER_00: Take courage and be a man.
SPEAKER_00: Bach up, be a man, be strong in the Lord, follow his commands, follow his decrees, follow his regulations.
SPEAKER_00: And so David wasn't a perfect father, but he left this charge to his son.
SPEAKER_00: He said, follow after the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Follow after the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And we've got a great example of David in here of how he had a heart for God, how he followed God with all of his heart, with all of his might, with all of his strength.
SPEAKER_00: And when he screwed up, he repented and he turned.
SPEAKER_00: And his kingdom was not ripped away from him like Saul's.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: He had a kingdom, and so now here's Jesus and David, and they're aligned in history for all.
SPEAKER_00: They call Jesus the son of David.
SPEAKER_00: What a legacy, what a life, you know?
SPEAKER_00: A man after God's heart, and we too can leave this legacy for our children, for our children's children, for people that look to us as spiritual fathers.
SPEAKER_00: We can stand and we can be strong if we follow after Christ, if we follow after God.
SPEAKER_00: And so for many men, Father's Day brings pain, and some have had loving fathers, others have experienced absent neglect, anger, addiction, or abuse.
SPEAKER_00: You know, some never heard I love you or I'm proud of you.
SPEAKER_00: You know, your past may explain your pain, but it doesn't determine your future.
SPEAKER_00: And I've mentioned this before, but we could go around the room and every one of us would have a different story about their dads.
SPEAKER_00: Some have good memories with their dads and good relationships, and others maybe not so good memories, or broken homes, broken relationships.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe he left you abandoned or forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe your father was strict or harsh or absent, abusive, but maybe he was gentle, loving, and caring, and he was a good father.
SPEAKER_00: But the way you were raised, whether your dad was part of your life growing up or not, has an impact on your life for the better or worse.
SPEAKER_00: And some fathers, you know, happy Father's Day, it makes you cringe, maybe.
SPEAKER_00: And every one of us inside has this deep desire to be loved by and accepted and affirmed by a father.
SPEAKER_00: And from the time that we were small children, we longed to hear the words, you know, I'm proud of you, I love you.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us never heard those words.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you never heard those words.
SPEAKER_00: You know, but like I said, whether our earthly fathers were present, absent, loving, or flawed, the truth that is this is that God created that longing inside of us, and it will never be fully satisfied until we know our heavenly father.
SPEAKER_00: He is a good father who sent his one and only Son to die on the cross, that we may have eternal life with God, that we may have eternal life with him.
SPEAKER_00: He sacrificed his son.
SPEAKER_00: And as earthly fathers, that's what it's about: sacrificing our lives, sacrificing our will to lay it down for the father's will, to lay it down for our family, to lay it down for our spouses.
SPEAKER_00: Psalms 27, verse 10, it says, Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
SPEAKER_00: And so we can't look to man, we can't look to men because men will always let us down.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that, you know, I'm trying to be the best father I can.
SPEAKER_00: There's many good men of God in here trying to be the best fathers you can.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but but again, I've said this before.
SPEAKER_00: When when people put their trust in a man, they'll always be let down.
SPEAKER_00: Even if you're the best father, right?
SPEAKER_00: We can't make the proper, the best decisions all the time, but that's why we have to teach our sons and our daughters to trust in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And God can heal what was broken, he can restore what was stolen, and he can teach what was never modeled.
SPEAKER_00: The cycle can stop with you today, the anger can stop with you, the addiction can stop, the absence can stop with you.
SPEAKER_00: Through Jesus Christ, a new legacy can live on.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, I think I'm gonna just wrap up the band.
SPEAKER_00: You guys can come.
SPEAKER_00: Yay! Time for steak.
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, the rain has subsided and everybody can continue with their Father's Day barbecues.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if steak will taste the same in the oven, but I hope the rain stops.
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm having steak.
SPEAKER_00: Right, mom?
SPEAKER_00: Cooking steak tonight?
SPEAKER_00: So if you could uh, yeah, I was just gonna get just get all the men to stand in your spot.
SPEAKER_00: Whether you're a boy, you can stand to.
SPEAKER_00: Call you men.
SPEAKER_00: I think 13 years old is when they have their bar mitzvah, right?
SPEAKER_00: And 13 years old, I look this up.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, uh, that's a rabbit trail, we won't go down.
SPEAKER_00: But David was called a man after God's heart, not because he never failed, but because he knew how to repent.
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, Saul made excuses, but David humbled himself.
SPEAKER_00: Real men repent, real men admit when they're wrong, real men ask forgiveness from God and from others.
SPEAKER_00: Repentance is not weakness, it is a strength under God's authority.
SPEAKER_00: The strongest men in the kingdom are not those who refuse to kneel, they are those who know how.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, our families, they they don't need another TikTok video.
SPEAKER_00: Our families, they don't need, you know, a sports game.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've been watching, well, I walk, I'm a big sports guy, so I watch all the sports.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure a lot of men are.
SPEAKER_00: But our families don't need another sporting event.
SPEAKER_00: Our nation doesn't need a sporting event.
SPEAKER_00: Our nation doesn't need influencers or celebrities.
SPEAKER_00: Our church doesn't need all that.
SPEAKER_00: We need men of God who will stand, who will stand and follow after Jesus, who will stand and lead their families, who will stand and not compromise, and who will stand and not make excuses for why things aren't going the way they should, or why they have, or why they are, or why things turned out the way they are.
SPEAKER_00: We cannot blame our earthly fathers on who we are and who we've become, because there is one greater who says, if you follow me, I will make you the man that I've called you to be.
SPEAKER_00: I will make you into the man that I saw when I was weaving and woving you together in your mother's womb.
SPEAKER_00: I will make you into the man that before any of these days came to pass, I saw you and I saw who you were you were, and I saw who you will become.
SPEAKER_00: We need men of God who will stand up for righteousness, following after Christ, leading our families into the things of God, leading our families into battle, leading our families into worship, leading our families into prayer.
SPEAKER_00: And when we see things that are unacceptable, we need to be the men that rise up and have those difficult conversations.
SPEAKER_00: We need to have those difficult conversations with our children, with our spouses.
SPEAKER_00: We have to be the watchman on the wall, we have to be the watchman of our families, and so many times it's easy.
SPEAKER_00: I I'm there, trust me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not better than anybody.
SPEAKER_00: So many times it's easy to just sit on the couch and scroll because we had a long day at work.
SPEAKER_00: It's easy to just throw on the sports channel and just watch and zone out and watch a hockey game or a baseball game.
SPEAKER_00: So easy to just zone out and be in a different reality when things are a mess and in shambles in our own household.
SPEAKER_00: Our kids are running wild.
SPEAKER_00: Because we have not been or taken the place that we need to be.
SPEAKER_00: And so God is calling you up, He's calling you forward, He's calling you to take a stand, He's calling us to be men and men of God.
SPEAKER_00: And I I just want you to look around, men.
SPEAKER_00: Look around at all the men in this room.
SPEAKER_00: When the enemy tells you that you're alone and that you're isolated, and that nobody knows what you're going through and the difficult things and the hardships that we go through because the enemy is attacking us.
SPEAKER_00: There are men in this room that want to help you succeed.
SPEAKER_00: There are men in this room that will take you along the side and show you and help you, but you have to talk.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm a I'm a firm advocate of talking and letting things out.
SPEAKER_00: We cannot hide things or put things down.
SPEAKER_00: We need to talk it out.
SPEAKER_00: And I find that when I go through a difficult thing and I begin to talk and I begin to show emotion and I Begin to let my guards down.
SPEAKER_00: That God begins to work and He says, Look, this guy has surrendered.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't care about his pride.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't care that things aren't looking right.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't care.
SPEAKER_00: All he cares about is getting healed, getting right, getting delivered, being strong.
SPEAKER_00: And so, men, we need to talk, we need to share.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I just this last year, I've opened up my heart to a new relationship.
SPEAKER_00: And I've revealed things to somebody who, you know, I haven't revealed to a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00: And I realize that, you know, I'm trying to disciple someone, I'm trying to be strong for them, but I realize that, you know, I need this person in my life because they're going through difficult things too.
SPEAKER_00: And I can help and I can come alongside them.
SPEAKER_00: And and and I've uh discipled this person and and I've said things to them that I would never know because I don't go through that stuff.
SPEAKER_00: But as I've researched and I've as I've spent time praying for this brother, you know, God has given me some insight that I would never have if I didn't let this guy in my life.
SPEAKER_00: So we need to open up our lives, share our struggles, share our difficulties, our difficult things with some men.
SPEAKER_00: Some things we can't share with our spouses.
SPEAKER_00: Now, spouses, wives, don't get all upset.
SPEAKER_00: What do you mean you can't share something with me?
SPEAKER_00: I'm your wife.
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
SPEAKER_00: But there are some things that men just need to deal with men.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: You guys all know what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_00: Father, I just pray right now over every man in this room today.
SPEAKER_00: God, that we would rise up and be the man that you've called us to be, the man that you formed us to be.
SPEAKER_00: God, in our mother's womb, you you saw us and you knew us and you knew our path and you knew where we would lead us.
SPEAKER_00: And so, God, I just pray that you would make us into the man that you've called us to be.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we lay down our pride, we lay down our comforts, we lay down our plans and our desires, and we surrender our will to your will.
SPEAKER_00: We surrender our will to your will.
SPEAKER_00: Not our will be done, God, but your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done in my life, in my family, in my children.
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: Help me to be that tool, help me to be that husband, help me to be that father, help me to be that grandfather, help me to be that disciple, help me to be that influencer, that impact, help me to be that spiritual father.
SPEAKER_00: God, we choose you, we choose you, we choose you and forgive us, God.
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us if we've been passive, if we've been hesitant, if we've been distracted.
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us, God.
SPEAKER_00: We want to leave a legacy today, we want to build a future, we want your kingdom to last eternity, God.
SPEAKER_00: We want our words and our actions to line up with your word.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to build this legacy that is built on faith and built on the Spirit of God and built on your word.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Something I want to do too is if you have a spouse, wives, why don't you just stand up and pray over your husband?
SPEAKER_00: Pray over your husband for a few minutes as we listen, as we just sing a song.
SPEAKER_00: Let's just sing a song.
SPEAKER_00: And I want the wives, if there's children, children that are teenagers, why don't you pray over your dads too?
SPEAKER_00: Just spend some time as families.
SPEAKER_00: Praying over your father, your grandpa, whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00: We'll just spend some time as we lift up this song.