"Lessons from Men in the Bible Part 2"
By Jesse Rairdon
June 21st,
2015
Click here to download printable sermon
notes in pdf format.
This message had four parts:
1. Being
a Successful Father
2. Noah
– Protecting the family
3. Abraham
and Lot- The Source of Your Blessings
4. The
Love of a Father- Lessons from the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Please remain standing as Brother Ken
A. comes to lead us in prayer for the message.
Ken: God, this morning,
we’re thankful, God, and we are her today, God, because we chose to be here,
because You chose to die for us, God. Lord,
I pray this morning that You would anoint the messenger, God. Lord, be with him, and let his words ring
out, that we would be moved, and we would be changed, and we would be blessed,
God. So, anoint this service, today,
God. Just let our humble hearts be here
to just listen to Your word, God, that we could take it, and, God, that it
would make a change in our life. Like
the day that we were baptized in Your name, God, let it change our lives; let
it be powerful. In the name of Jesus, we
ask this. Amen.
Jesse: Amen. Please be seated. Happy Father’s Day. I am now a proud member of that club. This is actually my second Father’s Day. Our daughter was born six weeks before
Father’s Day last year. But, now I can
kind of interact with her, more, so it’s more pleasurable. Father’s Day was a blessing this morning, we
were walking outside, and she was showing me the trees and the birds, and
pointing at things. She was kind of
running me around to different things; having her touch and feel things. It’s a wonderful blessing being a father, I
tell you.
Our scripture theme for the month:
2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
So, we’re talking about, this
month—our theme for the month is Lessons from Men in the Bible. Lessons from Men in the Bible. So, because today is Father’s Day, a lot of
the focus is going to be on fathers, fathers in the Bible. But don’t tune me out if you’re a single man,
because you’re fathers to our children in the ministry. You’re somebody’s uncle. You’re somebody’s—maybe even in your own
family, you’re a father-figure to them.
Maybe they don’t have a godly example, so maybe they come to you and ask
you questions about God. So, just
because you’re not a father in the natural today, it doesn’t mean you’re not a
father spiritually, amen? We all have
this responsibility, that God has placed, of being a father.
So, this is Lessons from Men in
the Bible Part II, Being a Successful Father.
I’d like to bring up Brother Malcolm to share a quick testimony about
what it means to him to be a successful father.
Malcolm: Amen;
thank you, Brother Jesse. I was thinking
when Jesse asked me, this morning, I was sharing with someone else, earlier,
last week. I remember being a teenager,
thinking about being a dad, and I always thought, as a teenager, you know, this
whole dad thing, and I—I don’t want my children to be like me, because I knew I
wasn’t working to be a father. I
remember at that age, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20…
“God, you know I’m not worthy to be a father.” Why would I bring a child into this world
when I knew the perils that’s surrounding even me at that age? I want to caution all the dads—those who have
children and those who don’t, because, as Jesse said, we’re all fathers,
spiritually. You know, if you read the
documents of the United States of America, when it talks about the founding
fathers, you’ll never see, in that document, “Oh, by the way, only the ones who
had children.” You’ll never see that
anywhere, and you won’t see that in the Bible, either. The Bible says we have the power to become
the sons of God. If you’re a son of God,
then you’re a father, because you provide the Christian example that Jesse
mentioned. So, I want to caution the
fathers, leave that attitude behind, that you’re not worthy, as far as being
fathers, this morning, because you weren’t, but, now that you’re baptized in
Jesus’ name, now that you’ve taken on the mantle, now that you’ve grabbed the
horns of the altar of God, to be those men of God, you are worthy through his
Spirit. Not your flesh, because no good
thing dwelleth in your flesh, amen? But
through His Spirit, we’re all worthy to set the example, even for your
neighbors and your co-workers… If your
co-worker favor you over the other people where you work, you know why. Not because you’re so pretty. Amen?
Not because your muscles are so big, because most of us, that left a
long time ago. It’s because of the
Spirit of God in you, amen?
1. Being a Successful Father
Psalms one-twenty-eight, is the
first scripture we’re going to go to
today, and we’re going to refer to this off and on again, go back to it,
just like, for the ladies, on Mother’s day we talked about Psalms 31; this one’s
for the guys. Not to lessen what was for
the ladies, but this one’s for the guys today.
Psalms 128:1 (A Song of degrees.) Blessed
is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in His ways.
So,
first you’re going to fear the Lord, and you’re going to walk in whose
ways? God’s ways; His ways. Amen.
Now, this is the result of that:
Psalms 128:2-3 For thou shalt eat the labour of
thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the
sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
So,
it’s in the house, and it’s around the table.
Your conversations, your home.
Psalms 128:4-6 Behold, that thus shall the man
be blessed that feareth the LORD. The
LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all
the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt
see thy children's children [grandpa],
and peace upon Israel.
Amen? A man who fears God is blessed. While success come in many forms in the world;
they like to throw at you, “Oh, because you’ve got these degrees, you’re
successful.” Or because you make this
much money, you’re successful. Or
because you live in a certain type of house, you’re successful. The picket fence, and you’ve got so many
kids, and everybody calls you blessed, then you’re blessed. But, God looks at success differently than
man looks at success. God looks at
success, once you fear Him first, and those who walk in His ways. Keep that in mind as we talk about this
message today, about being a successful father in God, first we’ve got to fear
the Lord. I’m not talking about just a
reverence to God, I’m talking about a fear that will drive you to your knees;
if you’re wrong with God, you’d better get it right. You can’t expect your family and your kids to
walk in God’s ways if they don’t see it in you first. Amen?
You’ve got to lead; you’ve got to be fearful of God; you’ve got to walk
in God’s ways. Amen?
So, it’s shown at home, around the
table. Verse number three again,
Psalms 128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful
vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about
thy table.
How’s your home life? How’s your conversation with your
children? The other night I was going
out to eat with my wife, and I saw this family, they were at the table, all
four of them, they had their phones, and they were looking down at their
phones. They didn’t even look up to
talk; the only time they looked up was to order their food. Is that the kind of design that God had for a
family? No. We’re supposed to interact with each
other. We’re supposed to spend time
together. We’re supposed to talk
together. We’re supposed to lift each
other. We’re supposed to listen to each
other. How do I know if my children are
hurting if I don’t spend time with them and listen, and take the time? Right, you won’t. Quality time.
I’m not talking about sitting in the living room watching a movie
together; that’s not quality time.
Quality time is sitting around, saying, “How was your day at school? Did you struggle on anything in your
homework? Is there anything I can help
you with, with your dealing with your classmates?” Those are the kind of things that are quality
time. When I spend quality time with my
wife, that means I’m turning everything else off, and I’m spending time with
her. She’s the most important thing in
my life at that moment, right now. Same
thing with your children; same thing with my daughter: I have to spend quality time with my
daughter, so that she knows that I’m there for her as she goes through those
things. My co-worker—my boss, actually,
was talking to me about how his wife kind of directs him, because he keeps
trying to force-feed the wisdom that he had learned over the years to his
children. Just force it on them, force
it on them; don’t let them learn the lesson.
She said, “You’re going about it the wrong way, because they’re tuning
you out. You want to make it a way so
that they will come to you to get those things.
So, he stopped, and he started letting them learn, let them fall a few
times, let them make a few mistakes, and let them come to him for the
advice. So that’s a little better. Of course, we’re going to God, first as
fathers. We’re getting wisdom from God,
and we’re sharing that with our children, amen?
Money you can always get back, if
you spend it. Time you can’t. I remember there was a song back in 1974
called “Cat’s in the Cradle.” It talked
about how the son, in that song, had always, when he was growing up, had missed
that time with his dad, and, during that portion of the song, kept telling him,
“I’m going to be just like you, dad. I
know I’m going to just be like you.” In
the process of that song, when his dad got older, he went back to the son, and
said, “You know what? I’d like to spend some time with you,” “I’m kind of busy;
the kid have the flu, I’ve got work to do.
You know I’m going to be like you, dad.
You know I’m going to be like you.
And the dad came back at the end of the song, the song went, “My son
turned out just like me.” Don’t let that
song be your life. While, you still have
time. Maybe it’s been years that’s
separated you from your parents, take some time to reach out to them then.
2. Noah – Protecting the Family
Let’s talk about Noah. Noah is a great example of protecting the family.
Genesis 6:6-9 And it repented the LORD that
He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I
have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping
thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a
just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Amen. Now, grace didn’t just happen to find
Noah. He was already living the example
when God saw it. He was already a just
man and perfect in his generations; he walked with God. He feared God. God was going to destroy everything. It was the end of man, basically. He had made up His mind, “I’m tired of
dealing with these fools.” Basically,
they were godless people. But Noah found
grace. Noah, because of that,
Genesis 7:5 And Noah did according
unto all that the LORD commanded him.
He followed the instructions. There was no rain or storm before then. He told him to build an ark. Many times we question God when He tells us
what to do or where to go, don’t we, men?
Sometimes our pride gets in the way; we say, “I got this, God.” God’s saying, “I’m telling you what to do to
protect your family. There’s something
coming; there’s a storm coming. You need
to be prepared. And you need to do it
exactly how I tell you. Exact
measurements; do not deviate from these plans I give you one ounce, one
inch.” Amen? Because of that, he was able to protect his
family, and deliver them. It even talks
about him in the New Testament, amen?
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of
the righteousness which is by faith.
Imagine what people thought. “What’s this guy doing? Is this guy crazy? He’s out here building this big ark, he’s
calling it…” Now, during this whole
time, this was a long period of time.
How long did it take him to build the ark, Joe? A hundred and twenty years. That’s a long time for people to get it right,
wouldn’t you think? Wouldn’t they just
come by, and say, “You know, maybe I’d better help you, or, at least ask some
questions?” That’s God’s
longsuffering. Amen. Same as with us; same as with or families,
men. God wants us to be in a place where
we can save our families, amen? We have
to provide that protection. So, Noah
feared God; Noah walked with God. Therefore, Noah placed himself in a position
to receive that salvation, and his family.
We as fathers need to have that same type of walk with God. Our children
need to see a good example of that, in our lives, every day. We need to fear God and keep His commandments.
1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto
the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself,
and them that hear thee.
Especially in our homes,
especially. Take heed unto it. Take time to spend time, your personal time
with God. Men, fathers, me included; I’m
not exempt from this. I have to take
time to shut out all the distractions and get into the Word. Seek God, pray, fast, and ask God what does
He want me to do. “I need you, God; I
can’t do it myself.” Sometimes we go
about to make sure everyone else is straight in our home, and we don’t have our
own lives straight. Then we get called
out on it, even by our own kids sometimes, amen? I’m sure if my daughter could talk, she could
probably tell me a lot. “Daddy, why do
you got the TV on, instead of reading your Bible?” We need to admit when we’re wrong, even to
our children. That takes humility, and
that’s okay to do. We’re all wrong,
sometimes; they need to see an example of ‘fessing up when we’re wrong,
amen? A lot of times we want to quote
those things to our children, “Hey, we’re your parents, and obey your parents
(Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20),” and these things are true and right, but
let’s go back to the fathers, and how it says we fathers should interact with
our children.
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not
your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.
Provoke not your children to
wrath; in other words, don’t make them angry.
Don’t get them angry all the time, but teach them, admonish them, bring
them up and nurture them in the Lord.
How does God treat you when you make a mistake? Do you turn around and treat your children
the same way? Amen. There is a strong pull in the world to take fathers
out of the picture. To take fathers out
of the picture, there’s a very strong
pull. Why? Because fathers can strengthen the
household. Jesus talked about a thief is
not going to come into the house unless he binds up the strong man, first (Mark
3:27), gets him out of the way. So,
there is a very strong pull to take the men out first, in our society,
workplaces, life. Because when you get
men to do the wrong things, or be distracted, or not do the right things, then
Satan’s got them, and he came come after the rest of the family. So we need to go to bat for them. We need to be the source of strength for our
families, just like Noah was.
3. Abraham and Lot- The Source of Your Blessings
Let’s talk a little bit about
Abraham and Lot. The source of your
blessings. Abraham and Lot. Lot was Abraham’s nephew, but he was like a
son to him.
Genesis 12:1-2 Now the LORD had said unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Abraham was going to be a blessing
to everyone around him.
Genesis 13:3 And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed.
Abraham, because of his walk with
God, was going to be a source for blessings for all the families on the
earth.
Genesis 13:4
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken
unto him; and Lot went with him…
Lot said, “Hey, wait a
minute! Something is with that. I want to tick with him. So, he made a conscious choice to go with
Abraham.
Genesis 13:4
…and Abram was seventy and five years old
when he departed out of Haran.
Now, at that time, was Abraham
following all the ways of God? No. God picked him right from his family, right
from the land of Canaan. The Lord said,
“I choose you,” called him, and said, “I’m going to make you a source for
blessings. Lot realized that and went with
him. Packed up his bags, took his
family, and he went with.
Now let’s go to Genesis chapter
thirteen.
Genesis 13:5-10 And Lot also,
which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that
they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could
not dwell together. And there was a
strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled
then in the land. And Abram said unto
Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate
thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou
wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the
right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the
plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of
Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
So, in the process of time, there
arose a dispute between the herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abraham. So, they had to come up with a solution. Lot looked upon what he thought was good; he
said, “Oh, this looks good. I’ll go over
here.” Abraham chose to continue to walk
with God.
Genesis 13:14-17 And the LORD said
unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, [He didn’t tell him
while Lot was with him, because the source of blessings was Abraham. Amen?
So, after Lot was separated from him:] Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art
northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the
earth: so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered [So, basically, it
was innumerable]. Arise, walk through the land in the length of
it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Nowhere in there does God say that
He was blessing Lot in this particular route.
But he chose—yeah, it was Abraham’s idea for them to separate, but he
didn’t have to go as far and face the way he faced. He chose to separate himself from the source
of his blessings, and sometimes, even in ministry, people have differences with
one another. Stick around long enough,
you’re going to have a difference with me.
Amen? I’ll probably rub you the
wrong way; maybe even offend you at times.
But, that doesn’t mean that we have to leave the source of our
blessings.
Lot, if you read on in the story,
eventually found himself living in a place where he never intended to be. Yes, he was still righteous, but he found
himself right in the middle of Sodom, living there, amongst the people that
were wicked, and, in the New Testament, it talks about how they vexed him every
day (2 Peter 2:7). A righteous man,
being vexed. And, eventually, he had
deliverance, but he lost his wife, too, because she looked back. How much are you willing to lose if you leave
the source of your blessings? Hopefully,
you won’t lose it all. I tell you what,
I don’t want to lose the source of my blessings. I want to stick with God. Lot purposely pitched his tent towards
Sodom. He could have pitched it towards
Abraham. Yeah, they maybe needed a
little more space—sometimes we need a little more space. Well, like Andy talked about, not every time
everybody’s going to show up for everything that we do for ministry, because
we’re out there doing ministry. We’re
busy doing what God would have us to do, but that doesn’t mean we leave the
source of our blessings, or lose sight of the source of our blessings. Amen?
Let’s read on. There happened to be a battle, and the enemy
came and took Lot.
Genesis 14:12 And they took Lot, Abram's
brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
So, everything he had because of
his blessing, because he left the source of his blessing, was now gone. They took him and his goods. The scripture never talks about where all
that was restored back. Yeah, his wife
was restored, and he wound up living in Sodom again, but it never says that he
got all of his blessings back. Men, we
should never leave the source of our blessings, amen? Godly fellowship with other men. I’m not just talking about the appointed
times for men’s prayer; yes, we do check the box for that. How about going out for coffee? How about calling one another, or praying
with one another? How about getting some
advice from one another? Amen? We’re called Christian Fellowship for a
reason. We have good examples right
amongst us here. We don’t always have to
be he leaders. We’re all leaders. Andy and Parrish are great, but, if they had
to go and fellowship with everybody, they’d never have time. Amen?
So, how about if I call up Brother Joe and have a cup of coffee? How about if I call up Brother Phil and say,
“What are you doing on the base today?
Maybe I can come and help out.”
Take time.
4. The Love of a Father- Lessons from the Prodigal Son
I’d like to ask Brother Bob H. to
come share a little bit about his testimony, and about his family for a few
moments.
Bob: Thanks, Jesse. Jesse asked me to share a particular story
that happened back in the 70’s. I drove
my dad to a point that he walked up to me and took my dinner plate that was in
front of me, and smashed it on the table, and said, “You don’t eat here no
more. I want you to leave.” And, it caused fear. My two sisters automatically started
crying. My mom started crying, and my
dad said, “I’m tired of it. I’m tired of
what you’re doing. You’re not doing the
simple things I ask; I want you out.” I
said, “Okay,” because dad said it, and once dad says it, it’s law. I was a junior in high school; I got my
G.E.D. in Rhode Island, and the Navy took me there; I joined the Navy. They didn’t have an opening until August, so
I said, “Dad, can I stay ‘til August?”
“He said, “Yes, you can stay until August.” He made sure that I got on the plane,
Jesse. He had friends with him at the
airport to make sure I got on the plane and said goodbye. So, I was in the Navy. Then I got in trouble in the Navy. I got an honorable discharge from the Navy
ten months later, and my dad said, “You’re not coming back here.” I became a Christian along that process, and
I told my dad that, and my dad said, “Aw, you’re just making that up.” My mom didn’t believe me, either. Just making it up. Then, about nine years later, 1988, “Cats in
the Cradle” was our theme song. I told
my dad, “It’s like that ‘Cats in the Cradle’ song you like, dad. It actually happened.” I think that was a big hit for him, and I
think that hurt him a lot more when I said that, not knowing what the outcome
would be. So, Brother Malcolm, my dad
came here, to Waukegan, Illinois, in 1988, with my mom and two sisters. We talked—I don’t know if the Travelodge is
still down there by McDonald’s [Editor’s note:
Nope. That Travelodge is long
gone.], but that’s where they stayed. My
dad and I talked for four hours on a balcony.
I said, “Dad, I’ve been praying these nine years that we could make
amends, that things would be healed.”
God knew what he was doing, because I didn’t know what he was doing at
the time. I said, “Dad, I’m not mad at
you for what you did, because you did the right thing. You asked me to do simple rules, and I didn’t
listen. I’m not mad at you at all for
any of the actions that happened. I
don’t hold it against you at all; I deserved it, dad. I want to say thank you for doing that,
because it snapped me out of my mode of thinking that I knew all the answers,
because I didn’t know all the answers.”
Yesterday I called my dad, and we had a long, long, long, long, long
talk on the phone, because God healed that, back in 1988, on the balcony at the
Travelodge. And then we became best
friends. The point was, my dad met me
here; I didn’t go to my dad, my dad came to me.
Like the Prodigal Son, my dad knew it was time, and God knew you were
coming, and He met the person where he was at.
That’s why I love that story.
See, yesterday when we were talking, he said, “Do you remember, in 1965,
when you climbed the flagpole, Bob, on your first day of school?” I said, “I don’t remember that at all,
dad.” He said, “Yeah; I was more amazed
at how you got up there than anything else, and you did make the front page of
the newspaper the next day.” He said,
“You know, you wouldn’t come down unless I was there.” So, I made the front page of the
newspaper. “Another time,” my dad said,
“You remember when you dragged that Water Moccasin home by his tail? It was about six feet long, and you brought
him home to show me.” I said, “Dad, I
remember you doing a strange dance, but I don’t remember what you were
doing.” Because I didn’t know what I had
in my hand. We went on and on through
memories, and the point I want to make here is that I spent nine years in
prayer, and God answered prayer by restoring our relationship. To this day, I still call my dad and let him
know everything going on, to get counsel from him. I let Pastor Paine know, and I call my
dad. And, it’s amazing how they both
give the same answers, you know? So,
thanks, Jesse, for giving me this time.
Amen, give the Lord a praise.
The Prodigal Son. Let’s got to the Prodigal Son:
Luke 15:11-12 And He said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father,
Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto
them his living.
He didn’t put up a fight; he
didn’t say, “My house, my rules. You
stay!” He knew it was wrong, his father
knew it was wrong. He just gave it to
him. “Here you go. Here’s what belongs to you.”
Luke 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous
living.
He
made all the wrong choices. He though,
just because he had the things, he was blessed.
Luke 15:14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and
he began to be in want.
He had no protection. He left the source of his blessings, and he
had no protection.
Luke 15:15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine.
He
put him to work. “You’re not going to
stay here for free.”
Luke 15:16-17 And
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and
no man gave unto him. And when he came
to himself…
Here’s
the point: He came to himself. Sometimes we’ve got to let our children come
to themselves. Sometimes, we’ve got to
let them, when they make a mistake, come to themselves.
Luke 15:17 …he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread
enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
He remembered that his dad was the
source of his blessings. “Even his
servants have plenty of food, and here I am, eating what I’m feeding the pigs.”
Luke 15:18-19 I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son:
make me as one of thy hired servants.
Sometimes we don’t feel like we’re
worthy anymore, after we’ve sinned those sins.
You are worthy. Did you
repent? Do you have a repentive heart
towards God and you realize your error? He
loves you. Sometimes we don’t feel like
it. Sometimes it’s time to forgive
yourself; God’ already forgiven you. He
needed to repent and get back to where he knew that, at least, the people who
served received blessings of his father.
Amen? But, a father that loves
his children won’t wait for them to return and beg forgiveness. He ran to meet him.
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his
father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him.
Like Bob’s father who flew up here. He knew it was time. He knew it was time to reconcile. It was time to get this behind them. It was time to move forward in their
relationship. It’s time to stop dwelling
on the past. It’s time to stop dwelling on
that hurt that we had before. It was
time to restore the relationship with his father.
Luke 15:21-24 And
the son said unto him [He still had to confess], Father, I have sinned against heaven [the
father needed to hear this, too], and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son. But the father said to his
servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his
hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring
hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again;
he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
When your children come to you, when
they’ve made some mistakes, don’t hold it against them. Don’t keep bringing up the past. Move forward in your relationship; move
forward. Maybe someone needed to hear that
today. Maybe they’ve come back from
their relationship with their father, and, now, they are the ones holding
themselves back with the past. Forgive
yourself. Move forward. Your dad didn’t call you back to be a
servant, he called you back to be his child.
Amen?
Now we’ve got the rest of the
family to deal with:
Luke 15:25-26 Now
his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he
heard musick and dancing. And he called
one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
He didn’t go right to the dad; he
called one of the servants]
Luke 15:27-28 And
he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted
calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in:
therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
Like a good father, he said, “What’s
up, son? Why are you out here? The rest of us are thankful. We’re celebrating. We’re happy.”
Luke 15:29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment…
He
was doing all the things, checking all the boxes, reading the Word.
Luke 15:29-30 …and
yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which
hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Now,
this is the real, true test of fatherhood, right here. When somebody’s being restored in the church
family, how do we treat them? This is a
good example for us, fathers.
Luke 15:31-32 And
he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is
found.
The older son felt cheated, but any
time he could have gotten those blessings.
Any time he could have had those things.
“It was right there! You never
left the source of your blessings! You just
didn’t choose to partake of it, but, now you’re jealous, because you’ve been
working, and the brother’s come back, who was dead and now is alive, and you’re
mad? You should be happy. You should be rejoicing.”
I really like how the father
treated the son in that instance. How he
came out with love, too, because he could have been hard on him. So, fathers, this is a good example of public
love, and shown examples.
So, getting back to how to be a successful
dad, first, we need to fear God and keep His commandments. And, knowing that we are to be the protector
of the family, we’ve got to bring the protection in, provide a way for God to
save our families, amen? And, Abraham
and Lot, don’t lose the source of your blessings. And, the love of a father, restoration.
I’ll turn the message over to Brother
Andy as he comes. Thank you for your
attention and time. God bless you.
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
|
