2023-06-18 Sermon

ALL Groups
Father’s day
I get all of the fun holidays to preach on.
Had a good father’s day. Got to sleep in past 6:30
Father’s day became holiday in 1972
Wasn’t readily accepted at first
Men scoffed at the sentimentality, thought it was a commercial gimmick to spend their own money on themselves.
Origins however link back to a woman, Sonora Smart Dodd
In 1909 she proposed to her local churches and the YMCA that they set aside a day to honor fathers
Her father was a Civil war vet. He grew up in Arkansas, but remained loyal to the Union.
After the war, married his first wife, and had three children.
She passed away and he married another woman who had three children of her own, and they had 6 more kids.
The second wife passed away and left him alone with 12 kids.
Quote - “Father assumed the role of father-mother in the rearing of his six children. This role he performed with courage and selflessness until we were all in homes of our own.”
She spent around 60 years championing this day to honor the impact that fathers have on their society.
For churches though, Father’s day is one of the least attended services of the year.
Dad’s want to do things that are not church.
OR … many people grow up with Father wounds, don’t want to relive those wounds on a day that talks about fathers.
A few places I saw for churches, claimed - don’t do anything special for Fathers… SUCKS!
Truth is, there is in fact a terrible thing that is going around destroying men in our society.
25 million children in America alone live without their biological father in the home.
I know that God want’s to change that, to bring men back to the true fulfillment of their God-given purpose.
And I think - and know, that it’s in the context of the church, or rather the community of church where this is supposed to happen.
- Pray -
Go to a men’s bible study on Wed. nights in Atascadero, and this week was a doozy
Two guys, the pastor of the church, and one of his oldest friends - fighting
One called Joseph - Jesus step father - and praised role in Jesus life.
The other said, no - Joseph was his father, or earthly father.
Other guy - face goes white with confusion.
Argument ensues.
Me never one to shy away from a healthy argument jump in with the verse
Luke 2:49
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
Then a verse was brought up that said something like, Joseph his Father…
We argued some more - and we left it at a stalemate.
What fun!
But it did get me thinking - in our Christian life one of the greatest things I think we can understand is we are to become like Jesus …
Let me explain-
We know - Jesus is Fully man, but he also was considered the “Second Adam”
Gave way to a new race as being the first fully man to be born of the spirit.
Literally in the “virgin birth” - An incredible miracle set’s the tone for an entirely new race.
John 1:12-13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Bible teaches that when we receive Jesus, through the Power of the Holy Spirit we actually become a new race.
I don’t even think we could consider ourselves Human - probably get in trouble for that.
Born not by the will of flesh or of man.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Or how about
Ezekiel 36:25-26
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And there are many more places where the bible teaches this - we have become new in Christ.
But there was one conversation that really solidified this concept.
2 Kings 2:24
While he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldy! Go up, you baldy!”
Wait - that’s not right
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
And then Nicodemus - his face went white with confusion.
Huhhhhhhhh?
That’s weird, and it’s also not possible.
Quick point, and I love these parts of the bible - “Most Assuredly” - Greek amen amen lego soi - a superlative that means “Pay attention”
Another quick point - the word here for again - also means from above
Jesus is saying look - this is important - You want see the kingdom? You must be born from God, or from above, again. Really important - that you know this. Like really.
And Nicodemus who had spent his whole life studying the scriptures, but interpreting them from the perspective of his earthly experience, could not understand this.
We have the bonus of seeing the whole of his conversation and reflecting on it for a really long time.
But in that moment - he was like huh?
Jesus undeterred goes on
John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Few things to note about this verse.
1 - Here we go with the emphatic superlatives. This is important Jesus is saying.
2 - water and spirit most likely means another way of saying, from above. Water and the holy spirit we’re linked in antiquity. Interesting factoid.
3 - In this verse this is one place where the Kingdom of God is described as something to enter.
Many other places, the kingdom of God is labeled as Kingly rule. Over the earth, as his sovereignty.
This describes it as both a Kingly rule AND a realm - as something to enter.
And what is the requirement for entering the kingdom? Being Born again.
Of the spirit
Just like Jesus.
Who wants to enter the kingdom in all it’s fullness.
So all of this is to say, that in order to enter the kingdom of the living God, we must be born of the Spirit - just like Jesus.
Ok - now, here is the interesting part.
Positionally what does that make us?
Children of God
And who then is our Father?
God.
This to me is one of those fundamental things that we all know, but is so profound - it should change everything for us.
In my walk, I noticed that everything changed for me when I started to understand this concept in my whole being more.
And it should - this understanding should define our entire lives and everything we do from now until forever - because that’s where we’re going.
Ok - story time.
I love Home Depot.
It is the best store.
Story - Dad and Home depot.
–
What does this mean?
So much of our life and our who we are at the core of our being comes from our Father’s. And our mothers, but …
Lot’s of information out there about this, but I’ll just say - there are parts of our being that are from our parents we don’t even realize.
And in my life - who I am - I learned to recognize this in both the Good and the bad parts of myself.
And as a parent myself - I have also learned this in my kids.
Whoooo boy - kids.
Such a reflection of your self it’s scary.
So in a way that reflection is how it is supposed to be. If I do good things, my kids reflect those good things.
If I do bad things, my kids can also reflect those things too.
I know there is a ton of grace and tons of stories of overcoming in these situations, but there is a principle that exists here.
I reflect my father, and my kids reflect me.
But - to my earlier point, I don’t exist anymore.
Romans 8:10
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I stand here, now not as a child of my parents anymore - that part of me is dead in Christ.
That part of me is crucified and does not have access to my soul anymore.
Instead I stand before you here as a new creation, with God as my Father. I am a child of God. And my life should start looking like a reflection of Him.
Whooooo boy.
That’s a good word right there.
This is a strange but true spiritual concept.
Had bad fathers, no fathers ,like heck yeah. Good fathers - Awww.
No disrespect because of this.
Every one of our fathers, and everyone of us as parents are human parents.
As stated in the John 1 - our bodies come from a human decision not a spiritual one. That is a fact.
But fathers and parents - can only ever be human, even if we are redeemed new creations.
But as a spiritual being, I have a new father and that father is no comparison to anyone.
Even the best best dad in the whole world who was considered by peers to be the perfect father ever in the history of mankind - he’s a chump compared to having God as a father.
No matter what anyone in the world says - when it comes to have God as a father, I am mediocre at best.
And I’m ok with that.
But that’s enough about that - because this has nothing to do with earthly Fathers.
The point I really want to make here is that all of us in this room have a new father.
And that means two things.
Access and Example
The first thing having God as a father means is that we have ultimate access to the perfect father.
Commentary points to this - that all of this information leads us into relationship.
Real relationship
Our calling, as children of God is to pursue and be pursued by Our new father. To know him and to be known by Him.
Are we doing this?
This is such common knowledge I don’t even have verses for you.
It’s easy - do a google search, or duck duck go search.
47 verses about the fathers love.
Books, Experiencing Fathers Embrace, or The Father Heart of God
Describe this in detail.
My favorite, is Attributes of God. Know who God is.
But the truth is, we need to live this, not just know it.
God is living, and his presence is real.
All we need to do then is to believe and to experience that kind of love and we will be forever changed.
Read book
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
The love of the father, the perfect father, when it moves from knowledge to experience it radically changes you.
In an instant it can overcome anything that our souls lack and move us from that Glory to Glory.
And that brings me to the last point -
Reflection.
Paul - some things he said came across a little different.
Phillipians 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
But then he redeems himself with things like this:
1 Corinthians 15:49
And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
The picture that I get here, is that as we are touched by the experience of the Love of our Heavenly Father, through an encounter - we should start to recognize in ourselves, and others should recognize in us - that we belong to God now.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. - John 13:35
Proud of Dad - but I want people to see Jesus in me.
And that can only come from an encounter, and I would say a continuous encounter with God the father.
– Pray --
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