WEBVTT 00:00:09.330 --> 00:00:13.810 I wasn't picked for this. I drew the short straw. 00:00:14.130 --> 00:00:17.649 That's why I'm here. We were trying to get Owen 00:00:17.649 --> 00:00:20.410 married and having a kid in a hurry, but that 00:00:20.410 --> 00:00:30.109 didn't work. So you're stuck with me. I'm not 00:00:30.109 --> 00:00:31.890 here because I'm the best father in the world. 00:00:31.929 --> 00:00:34.649 I'm not here because I'm a good father. That's 00:00:34.649 --> 00:00:37.369 my kids. And they'll probably have a lot of stories 00:00:37.369 --> 00:00:40.950 about me that I wouldn't want told. But God is 00:00:40.950 --> 00:00:44.170 good. And in the Bible, he doesn't mix words. 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:47.829 He shows us everything. If I would have written 00:00:47.829 --> 00:00:49.750 the Bible, I'd miss a lot of stuff and take a 00:00:49.750 --> 00:00:52.090 lot of stuff out of there. I wouldn't show my 00:00:52.090 --> 00:00:56.350 dirty laundry. But God shows it to show that 00:00:56.350 --> 00:00:59.659 we are sinners. And we need help. We need a savior. 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:04.000 And so I'm a father that has made mistakes. But 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.920 God realizes that unless you have him to help 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.079 you, you will always make mistakes. You will 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:12.040 never be making the right choice for your children. 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:15.359 My kids will probably tell you I've been impatient 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.319 at times. There's times I probably sludge them 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:20.359 off and say, go to your mom. She'll help you. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.400 I remember one time when I was teaching my oldest 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:25.280 one how to drive, we had just went out the mountain 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:26.819 road where I thought it'd be safe. There's no 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.760 cars out there. There's nothing he can hit. And 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:31.400 I told him to turn here, and he turned into a 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:37.780 cornfield. There was a street just 15 feet away. 00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:42.000 But I guess he was a little bit nervous with 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.040 me being the teacher. I got out of the car and 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:47.859 said, you're getting out and we are going home. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:51.780 And this two minute lesson is over. And when 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:53.540 I got home and Sue said, how did it go? I said, 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:59.319 don't even ask. It's not good. Our daughter, 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:01.719 when she started learning to drive, I took her 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.239 out to Monroe too. At least she didn't go into 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.079 cornfield. But when she got her license, she 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:11.219 knocked off a stop sign in Kempton. That didn't 00:02:11.219 --> 00:02:13.750 make me happy. I was not a patient father. We 00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:15.270 got that repair at least without the insurance 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:17.770 company knowing about it. She then swiped the 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:20.129 car in the middle of Slade Dale. That wasn't 00:02:20.129 --> 00:02:23.610 good. And then when I got the call, that really 00:02:23.610 --> 00:02:25.909 got me, and I was not a patient father because 00:02:25.909 --> 00:02:30.069 I told them, you're on my policy. Yes, I have 00:02:30.069 --> 00:02:32.509 $300 ,000, but if you hit something and it's 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:35.050 bad, I will lose the house, we will lose the 00:02:35.050 --> 00:02:40.189 business. And the minute she said, Dad, I knew 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:43.710 there was a problem. I'm in Schnecksville, and 00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:49.469 I hit a school bus. Parents are supposed to be 00:02:49.469 --> 00:02:53.189 patient. Well, I wasn't patient. The next day, 00:02:53.229 --> 00:02:58.150 they canceled me. And I said, I've been with 00:02:58.150 --> 00:03:00.550 you 25 years, and you just canceled me. They 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:02.090 said, get rid of your daughter. Get her off the 00:03:02.090 --> 00:03:06.030 policy. We'll reinstate you the next day. And 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:09.050 then my daughter learned what I'd said. It will 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:11.930 cost you if you have an accident. Because she 00:03:11.930 --> 00:03:15.469 came off the policy and she paid big time. And 00:03:15.469 --> 00:03:18.389 no longer was dad paying for insurance. These 00:03:18.389 --> 00:03:20.490 are the difficult things we have to do as a father. 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:24.150 But she had to learn a lesson. And now you're 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:26.310 going to pay for your own insurance and it's 00:03:26.310 --> 00:03:28.729 going to hurt you. But I think she learned a 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:32.789 lesson. I have a 50 -year -old right now, 51, 00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:38.210 and he still tries our patience. I have a 45 00:03:38.210 --> 00:03:40.409 -year -old that didn't listen to me, and he's 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:43.550 got problems. Our daughter pretends she listens 00:03:43.550 --> 00:03:46.569 to us. She called us not too long ago and said, 00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:49.849 I'm considering getting a new position with the 00:03:49.849 --> 00:03:51.770 University of Hawaii. What do you think, Dad? 00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:54.710 And I said, what does it involve? She said, well, 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:56.210 I'm working three days a week now. It's going 00:03:56.210 --> 00:03:58.610 to be full -time. That means I have to put the 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:00.610 kids in daycare full -time. I said, it's not 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:04.770 a good idea. It's not good. The money will come. 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:08.789 You need to be home for your kids. She didn't 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.830 listen. We are now going out to Hawaii, and she 00:04:11.830 --> 00:04:15.669 is paying for it for 15 days because she can't 00:04:15.669 --> 00:04:18.610 take a vacation for six months, and her husband's 00:04:18.610 --> 00:04:20.350 in the military. He just got a promotion. He 00:04:20.350 --> 00:04:22.209 can't take a vacation for six months, and she 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:24.589 needs somebody to watch the two kids for 15 days 00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:30.290 because the daycare is closed. I said, if you 00:04:30.290 --> 00:04:34.339 take this job, there will be problems. Oh, Dad, 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:39.060 you don't understand. It's a hard job being a 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:42.779 father, praying and asking God what is best for 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:44.540 our kids and hoping we're giving them the best 00:04:44.540 --> 00:04:46.319 instructions, but they still have to listen. 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.399 And even after that, we'll say something. She'll 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:52.339 say, oh, Dad, you and Mom are old. You don't 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:55.860 know what it's all about. No, we don't know what 00:04:55.860 --> 00:04:57.439 it's all about. We've just been there for all 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.620 our years, and we've made the mistakes that we 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:01.899 don't want you to make, and we're trying to give 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:05.149 you some sort of advice. So I'm not a perfect 00:05:05.149 --> 00:05:08.750 father. I wish I could change some things. But 00:05:08.750 --> 00:05:11.589 like I said, God doesn't hold anything back. 00:05:12.069 --> 00:05:15.490 And all the dirty laundry is in the Bible. And 00:05:15.490 --> 00:05:17.329 I'm going to talk today about three types of 00:05:17.329 --> 00:05:22.850 fathers. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Jodi 00:05:22.850 --> 00:05:24.649 gave me a good bit of advice. She said, it's 00:05:24.649 --> 00:05:27.149 Father's Day. Let them go home on a good note, 00:05:27.230 --> 00:05:29.350 so I'm switching it. I'm going to start with 00:05:29.350 --> 00:05:34.290 the ugly and go back to the good ones. And the 00:05:34.290 --> 00:05:38.949 second part of the message today will be, and 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:41.350 John's waiting for this, the rest of the story 00:05:41.350 --> 00:05:44.750 with my not obeying my father and walking home 00:05:44.750 --> 00:05:46.689 by myself when I was probably about eight years 00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:48.850 old and not getting lost and having the cops 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:52.970 looking for me. The second part is a different 00:05:52.970 --> 00:05:56.410 part. It's about a legacy that you will leave 00:05:56.410 --> 00:06:00.399 as a father for your kids. When I was superintendent 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.180 of the Sunday school in the Slate there, we always 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.199 got a special speaker in for Father's Day and 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:06.639 Mother's Day. And one day I said to the board, 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:08.660 I'm going to mix it up this year. I'm going to 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:11.300 get a mother to speak for Father's Day. And they 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:13.439 looked at me like I had come out of the moon 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:15.199 or something. I said, I think it would be a good 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:17.420 perspective. We've never had a mother talk about 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:21.620 Father's Day. And they said, okay, we'll go with 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.759 it. So I asked a good Christian woman from our 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.600 sister church. And I said, would you speak for 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.740 Father's Day for us? And she said, oh, Lanny, 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:35.060 I had a horrible father. I don't know what I 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:39.639 could say. I had no idea what I could say. I 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:42.259 said, it would be a different perspective. We're 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:44.339 always praising fathers and seeing how good fathers 00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:47.220 are, but people need to know that some of them 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:50.339 out there need God and need to know how to be 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:53.199 a father. And unless they have God, they'll never 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.060 know how to be a good father. And so she came. 00:06:56.500 --> 00:06:59.660 And the thing that struck my mind was she said, 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.600 I wish one thing my father would have given me. 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:07.100 And that was a legacy. I have nothing to say 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:12.680 about my father except he was my father. How 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:16.639 sad. But it got our attention that when we leave 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.240 this earth, will we have a legacy for our kids? 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.370 Will somebody at my funeral? say one or two good 00:07:24.370 --> 00:07:27.529 things about me. Not that I taught them how to 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.649 fish or hunt or taught them how to drive, but 00:07:30.649 --> 00:07:33.569 I taught them about Christ and how they should 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:36.430 live a life that would be pleasing to him. Some 00:07:36.430 --> 00:07:39.829 shred of evidence that I made a difference in 00:07:39.829 --> 00:07:42.670 somebody's life, that I have some sort of legacy. 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:46.589 And that's the second part. So as we look at 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:50.829 this today, I picked a scripture, and it's another 00:07:50.829 --> 00:07:54.420 funny story because... I'll read it first, John 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:58.120 14, 8. Philip said, Lord, show us a father, and 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:00.439 that is all we need. That's enough for us. Just 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:02.360 show us a father. And Jesus said, don't you know 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.699 me, Philip? I've been with you such a long time. 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.920 Anyone who's seen me has seen a father. How can 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.279 you say, show us a father? Don't you believe 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.319 that I and the Father are one? The Father is 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:18.740 in me. When I was 12 years old, I went to the 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:21.910 post office in Slatedale. And they spoke Pennsylvania 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:25.350 Dutch back then. And I walked in, and the guy 00:08:25.350 --> 00:08:27.069 that was standing there said to the postmaster, 00:08:27.310 --> 00:08:29.709 I know he said, who is he in Dutch? That's what 00:08:29.709 --> 00:08:31.910 I found out later. And he looked at me and said, 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:35.309 he's Tootie Saiboo. And I thought, what did he 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:40.110 call me? My father's name was Tootie, and I was 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:45.039 Tootie's boy, Tootie Saiboo. And I said, I've 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.220 never met you. How do you know I'm Tootie's son? 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:49.419 He said, you have a big nose and bushy eyebrows. 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:56.559 I can see it. I look like my father. If you've 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:00.539 seen my father, you've seen me. It's comical. 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:05.440 Except my daughter plucks her eyebrows. But she 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.759 can't do anything about her big nose. When they 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:12.919 see her, they see me. Now we have some serious 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:16.500 business to get to. An ugly father. There's a 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:19.399 lot of ugly fathers out there. It doesn't matter 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:23.220 who your parents are, who your relation is. It 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:24.980 doesn't matter when it comes to being a father. 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:29.379 Lot was Abraham's nephew. You'd think that would 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:33.139 account for something, but it didn't. Genesis 00:09:33.139 --> 00:09:36.899 19, verses 1 through 8. The two angels arrived 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.259 at Sodom in the evening and Lot was sitting there 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:41.259 in the gateway of the city. That's important 00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:43.879 right there. He was a hypocrite. He was living 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:45.779 in a sinful city. He should have known better. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.840 He's sitting at the gate trying to be some kind 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.059 of judge. And he has no right to be a judge. 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:53.879 He said he saw the men. He got up and bowed down 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:57.019 to them and put his face to the ground. My Lord, 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.059 he said, please turn aside to your servant's 00:09:59.059 --> 00:10:01.700 house. You can wash your feet and spend the night 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:04.220 and go on your way early in the morning. Know 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.340 the answer, we will spend the night in the square. 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:09.179 But he insisted so strongly that they did go 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:12.340 with him and entered his house. He prepared a 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:14.259 meal for them, bacon bread without yeast, and 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:16.559 they ate. And before they had gone to bed, all 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:19.340 the men of every part of the city of Sodom, both 00:10:19.340 --> 00:10:21.659 the young and old, surrounded the house. They 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:24.139 called to Lot, where are the men who came with 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.740 you tonight? Bring them out here so that we can, 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:31.409 you know what, with them. Lot went outside to 00:10:31.409 --> 00:10:33.509 meet and shut the door behind him and said, no, 00:10:33.509 --> 00:10:37.009 my friends, don't do this wicked thing. Look, 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:40.330 I have two daughters. I will bring them out for 00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:44.389 you. It doesn't get any uglier than that. I can 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:47.409 barely say that, the thought that a man would 00:10:47.409 --> 00:10:51.429 think of doing something like that. But God doesn't 00:10:51.429 --> 00:10:54.870 hide anything. He shows us exactly what men are 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:58.919 like, what the world is like without him. Ugly 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:01.279 father, how can anyone even imagine doing something 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.159 like this? But it's there for us to read, to 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.659 understand that men can be horrible, not have 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:11.620 any concern whatsoever for their family, and 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:16.100 do such a horrific thing like this. I just can't 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:19.679 even imagine it, the thought of it. A father 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:21.799 is supposed to nurture, protect, and care for 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:25.080 his children. That's what God says. We are responsible 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:28.259 for them. not to do some despicable thing like 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:31.179 this. You can make excuses and say, well, he 00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:32.879 had the lesser of two evils to choose beside. 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:34.919 Was he going to send the angels out or send his 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:38.259 kids out? So he had no choice. Sin is sin. There's 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:42.159 no two choices here. Both were sinful, and he 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.080 chose a horrible choice. Looked like the angels 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.600 spared his daughters. Does this happen today 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.840 yet, or is this just in the Bible? Up to last 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.139 year, we supported Bo Raines and his family in 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:58.840 India. They came off the field last year. Bo 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:02.360 Raines was a soccer player, and he went to India 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:04.639 with one specific purpose, and that was to teach 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.559 young men and boys how to play soccer. And with 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:12.620 it, we'd teach them the gospel. Because the habit 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.279 in India was, if you couldn't afford a daughter, 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:19.220 you sold her into prostitution. And Bo was trying 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:22.659 his best. to save as many dollars as he could. 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.559 And that's why he went to India. It happens today 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.759 yet. There are still ugly fathers out there today 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.580 that don't know how God wants them to live a 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:36.639 life and please him. So it does happen today. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:40.940 And I said, only without God reaching the person 00:12:40.940 --> 00:12:44.720 can there be a change. Because while we all are 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.559 sinful, we would be like that person if we didn't 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.210 have... the grace that God has given us and changed 00:12:51.210 --> 00:12:54.789 our lives, we would be that ugly person. Thank 00:12:54.789 --> 00:12:58.269 God that he's changed some of us and made us 00:12:58.269 --> 00:13:01.289 the person that we are today. Well, Jody, I got 00:13:01.289 --> 00:13:07.549 the ugly one out of the way. There are some bad 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:10.789 fathers in the Bible also. Fathers that neglect 00:13:10.789 --> 00:13:13.690 their family or are more concerned about their 00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:16.610 wealth and their possessions in doing what God 00:13:16.610 --> 00:13:20.070 has commanded them to do. This is a long one, 00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:24.710 so I will read this one. It's 1 Samuel 25, verses 00:13:24.710 --> 00:13:28.029 2 to 17. You should all be familiar with this 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:31.110 story. Then David moved down into the desert 00:13:31.110 --> 00:13:33.809 of Moan. A certain man in Moan who had property 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:37.490 there in Carmel was very wealthy. He had a lot 00:13:37.490 --> 00:13:40.370 of possessions. He had 1 ,000 goats and 3 ,000 00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:43.509 sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. His name 00:13:43.509 --> 00:13:46.529 was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She 00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:49.379 was intelligent and beautiful. But her husband, 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:52.360 Akebonai, was surly and mean in his dealings. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.139 When David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:57.600 was shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.080 and said to them, Go up to Nabal at Carmel and 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.000 greet him in my name. Say to him, Long life to 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.779 you, good health to you and your household, and 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:08.700 good health to all that is yours. Now I hear 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.480 that it is sheep -shearing time. When the shepherds 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.259 were with us, We did not mistreat them. And the 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.620 whole time they were at Carmel, nothing of theirs 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:19.460 was missing. We took care of them for you. Ask 00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:21.500 your own servants, and they will testify to this. 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:24.240 Therefore, be favorable toward my young men, 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:27.279 since we have come at a festive time. Please 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:29.899 give your servants to your son David, whatever 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:32.700 you find for them. When David's men arrived, 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.580 they gave Nabal a message in David's name, and 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:41.450 they waited. Nabal was greedy, conceited. prideful, 00:14:41.529 --> 00:14:44.809 what is mine is mine. God will not get any of 00:14:44.809 --> 00:14:48.230 it. Not teaching his children the way God wanted 00:14:48.230 --> 00:14:50.970 us to be good stewards. Nabal answered David's 00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:53.610 servant, who is this David? Who is the son of 00:14:53.610 --> 00:14:56.210 Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their 00:14:56.210 --> 00:14:58.850 masters these days. Why should I take my bread 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:01.309 and my water and meat that I have slaughtered 00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:03.990 from my shears and give it to men coming from 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:07.470 who knows where? David's men turned around and 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:09.490 went back. And when they arrived, they reported 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:13.250 every word. David said to his men, put on your 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:16.070 swords. So they put on his swords and David put 00:15:16.070 --> 00:15:21.830 on his also. He took 400 men with him. And guess 00:15:21.830 --> 00:15:25.129 what they were going to do? To kill Nabal and 00:15:25.129 --> 00:15:28.669 all his household. The men went to Abigail, the 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:31.649 wife, and told her what had happened. And she 00:15:31.649 --> 00:15:34.830 realized how bad her husband was in treating 00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:38.759 God's servant. And she took out. bread and other 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:41.039 things for the men and came before David and 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:44.399 said, forgive my husband. He is a mean and miserable 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.700 man. He is a fool. That's what his name means. 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:51.120 And David said, far be it that you would not 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.320 come. I would have committed murder. I would 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:57.159 have killed Nabal and all of his male children. 00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:00.860 No one would have survived till morning because 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:03.919 David realized this man was evil and needed to 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.350 be put to death. And so this man, jeopardize 00:16:07.350 --> 00:16:10.649 his family because he was greedy and stingy and 00:16:10.649 --> 00:16:14.990 didn't recognize God's servants. We ought to 00:16:14.990 --> 00:16:16.990 recognize God's servants and treat them well. 00:16:17.090 --> 00:16:18.970 We ought to recognize that God has given us our 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.830 possessions, not so we can hang on to them, but 00:16:21.830 --> 00:16:24.389 to give them back to him. Whenever he's given 00:16:24.389 --> 00:16:26.590 us wealth, we're supposed to share it. We're 00:16:26.590 --> 00:16:29.049 supposed to be good stewards of it and make sure 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:30.809 that we're not just hoarding it for some time. 00:16:31.529 --> 00:16:36.110 But in this particular case, He was not doing 00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:38.710 what he should be doing. Does it happen today? 00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:42.049 Are there still bad men like this? One of the 00:16:42.049 --> 00:16:45.110 saddest things I heard from White's Christmas 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:48.129 tree farm in Freedon's. I used to buy greens 00:16:48.129 --> 00:16:50.350 off of him. And he said, you want to hear a good 00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:53.129 one? I said, yeah, sure. He said, what really 00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:55.830 gets me is when I look down from my house at 00:16:55.830 --> 00:16:59.490 the trees in the field and I see a car pull up. 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:02.179 And a man gets out and takes off his Sunday jacket 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:05.000 and his tie and goes in the field with his son 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.720 and a saw and they cut down one of my trees. 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:10.940 A father is bringing his son home from church 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:13.480 and teaches him how to steal a Christmas tree. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.380 Pretty bad, isn't it? There are bad fathers today 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:21.140 yet because they haven't been taught. They haven't 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:24.279 had God touch them, let them realize that there's 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:26.740 a better way. Back then, a Christmas tree cost 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:30.000 about 20 bucks. You were risked. The future of 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:36.200 your son, over $20. Hang on to $20 and teach 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:39.099 your kid how to steal a Christmas tree. I'll 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:42.920 say it. Engaging your kids, it does still happen 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:45.700 today. The second one I think we all should know 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:48.619 about, and that is Eli, the priest, who had two 00:17:48.619 --> 00:17:52.119 wicked sons, Phoenicians and Habniah. It says 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:55.779 in 1 Samuel 2, 12 -16, Eli's sons were wicked 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.180 men. They had no regard for the Lord. Now, it 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:00.980 was a practice that the priest, when the people 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:04.799 came with an offering and a sacrifice, while 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:06.799 the meat was being boiled, the servant was allowed 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:09.839 to take a three -pronged fork and plunge it into 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:12.579 the pan or kettle or cauldron, and whatever came 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:14.980 up, that would be used for the priest and also 00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:18.099 for the servants of the priest. But this is how 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:20.539 they treated all the Israelites. This was the 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:23.079 way it was done. But even before the fat was 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:27.500 burned, his sons would say, Give us now before 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:30.319 we boil this. We don't like boiled meat. We like 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.240 raw meat. So they were blaspheming the sacrifice 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:36.400 of the Lord. They were treating the Lord's offering 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:42.359 with contempt. In chapter 3, verse 13, this is 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:47.779 what it says. For I told him, Eli, that I would 00:18:47.779 --> 00:18:51.079 judge his family forever because of the sin he 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:55.369 knew about and did nothing about it. He knew 00:18:55.369 --> 00:18:57.910 about it. He knew what his sons were doing. He 00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.650 knew his sons were corrupt and blaspheming gods, 00:19:00.869 --> 00:19:03.869 and he did nothing about it. His sons have made 00:19:03.869 --> 00:19:06.769 themselves contemptible. His son says, blaspheming 00:19:06.769 --> 00:19:11.730 God, and Eli refrained from restraining them. 00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:15.410 He looked the other way. The guilt of Eli and 00:19:15.410 --> 00:19:18.630 his household will never be atoned for by any 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:22.650 sacrifice or any offering. It's pretty plain, 00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:25.299 isn't it? It's hard to discipline your kids. 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:29.059 It's hard to, oh, I've got to go tell them again. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:33.400 I don't want to. I don't want to be a father 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:36.599 today. One of the hardest things I had to do, 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:40.279 my son was a missionary in New York City, preaching 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:43.019 the gospel, and he got in trouble in New York. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.000 He did something he should not have done. And 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.180 I got a call from Word of Life in Scroon Lake, 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.940 and they said, is your son home? And I said, 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:53.900 yes. And Sam Fry, who was in charge of opening 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:58.079 evangelism, said, did your son talk to you? I 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.299 said, no. I said, he's going to New York this 00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:03.480 weekend to pass out food baskets for the homeless. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.339 He said, I think I better talk to you. He said, 00:20:07.380 --> 00:20:11.160 we've asked Lanny to resign. He's been doing 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.180 something in New York which is wrong. It's been 00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:16.880 brought to our attention, and we have to ask 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:21.329 him to resign from the mission field. I never 00:20:21.329 --> 00:20:25.410 thought as a father I'd have to experience that 00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:29.809 to go down and tell my son, who was a missionary, 00:20:30.069 --> 00:20:32.809 that he was not allowed to go back to New York 00:20:32.809 --> 00:20:37.230 City. I went down and told my son, son, you are 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:43.369 not fit to preach the gospel this weekend. Oh, 00:20:43.410 --> 00:20:45.849 God, why don't you ask somebody else to do this? 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:52.359 Because I was a father. That had to do it. I 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.240 said, I will not allow you as your father to 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.160 go down in New York this weekend. You will stay 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:03.079 with us. We will help you to heal. We will restore 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:08.599 you into God's favor. And we did. That was the 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:11.440 other side of being a father. Letting him know 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.259 that he has crossed the line. Letting him know 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:15.599 that he has sinned against God. But letting him 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.619 know that we are there for him. And we got him 00:21:18.619 --> 00:21:21.190 counseling. And he spent about a year in our 00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:24.349 house. And then he went back on his own again. 00:21:25.009 --> 00:21:28.970 But that discipline was one of the hardest things 00:21:28.970 --> 00:21:32.450 I ever had to do as a father. If I had turned 00:21:32.450 --> 00:21:36.430 away like Eli, God help us. You have to make 00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:39.569 some really tough decisions as a father. And 00:21:39.569 --> 00:21:45.069 you make a choice. Either I do or I don't. It's 00:21:45.069 --> 00:21:49.710 not an easy job. Sue wanted five. I'm glad she 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:52.250 stopped at three. Or I probably wouldn't have 00:21:52.250 --> 00:21:56.329 any hair left. Because there have been some trying 00:21:56.329 --> 00:22:00.490 times. But we have a tough job to do. It's not 00:22:00.490 --> 00:22:03.650 an easy job. And some fathers shrink away from 00:22:03.650 --> 00:22:06.490 it. But if you're following what God wants you 00:22:06.490 --> 00:22:09.190 to do, you do what he asks you to do. At whatever 00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:12.430 cost. Whatever hurt it costs you, you have to 00:22:12.430 --> 00:22:15.690 do it. You have no choice in the matter. And 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:17.710 as I said, that was one of the hardest things 00:22:17.710 --> 00:22:21.569 I ever had to do as a father. There's good news 00:22:21.569 --> 00:22:26.890 coming. The Bible shows us the ugly, the bad, 00:22:26.950 --> 00:22:30.650 but shows us good. And Job was a good father. 00:22:31.509 --> 00:22:34.690 He's our example. It says in the land of Uz, 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:37.490 there lived a man whose name was Job. The man 00:22:37.490 --> 00:22:41.329 was blameless, upright, feared God, shunned evil. 00:22:41.509 --> 00:22:44.980 He had seven sons and three daughters. He was 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:47.740 the greatest man among all the peoples of the 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:52.579 East. He provided for his children. It said they 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:54.779 all had their own houses. They had their own 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:56.839 servants. They had their own oxen, their own 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:59.960 donkeys. He was generous toward his children. 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:07.599 He also, though, gave them liberty. The scripture 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:11.200 says don't exasperate your children. Discipline 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:13.859 them, correct them. but give them some space. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:19.059 Don't hover over them all the time. It was a 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:21.200 lesson that I had to learn because I thought 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.079 if I didn't, I'd be missing something. They'd 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.420 go left or right, and I hovered over them a little 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:30.380 bit too much. He allowed his children youthful 00:23:30.380 --> 00:23:33.599 liberty, feasting, but it says he didn't allow 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.710 them youthful lusts. He put a limit on it. They're 00:23:37.710 --> 00:23:39.190 going to have some feasting, but I'm watching 00:23:39.190 --> 00:23:41.150 them. And when they step over the line, I'm going 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:42.609 to let them know they've stepped over the line. 00:23:42.789 --> 00:23:46.170 But just in case, he said that they cursed God 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:48.789 or just said something wrong about God. When 00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:50.690 the feasting was over, he made them come and 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:53.089 he would purify them. Each and every one of them, 00:23:53.150 --> 00:23:55.769 give sacrifices for them. Not just, okay, all 00:23:55.769 --> 00:23:58.069 you guys gather around, all 10 of you, you're 00:23:58.069 --> 00:24:00.309 blessed and that's it. He did a sacrifice for 00:24:00.309 --> 00:24:02.750 each and every individual child to make sure 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:05.190 they were covered if they had sinned against 00:24:05.190 --> 00:24:08.500 God. because he was still the priest of the family. 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:11.339 Even though they had left his home and his household, 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:13.940 he was still the priest, the one in charge of 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.140 them, the one to watch over them. And so it says 00:24:17.140 --> 00:24:19.039 that he instructed them to come purify themselves, 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:21.960 and when a period of feasting was done, he did 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:24.599 his course, what he always did, every time. Early 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:26.339 in the morning, he would sacrifice for them, 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.319 and he said this was his regular custom, every 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:33.440 time that they had a feasting or a party, let's 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:36.089 say, at his house, at their house. He would make 00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:39.130 sure he sacrificed for them. He was highly respected, 00:24:39.509 --> 00:24:44.289 Job 29, 7 -11. When I went to the gate and took 00:24:44.289 --> 00:24:47.190 my seat at the public square, whoever heard me 00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:49.789 spoke well of me, and those that saw me commended 00:24:49.789 --> 00:24:55.769 me. He was fair and honest, Job 29, 12 -17. I 00:24:55.769 --> 00:24:58.769 rescued the poor who cried for help, the fathers 00:24:58.769 --> 00:25:01.349 who had none to assist them. I was the eyes of 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:03.809 the blind and feet of the lame. I was father 00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:07.809 to the needy. He was a wise counselor, Job 29, 00:25:08.170 --> 00:25:11.710 21 to 24. Men listened to me expectantly, waiting 00:25:11.710 --> 00:25:15.190 in silence for my counsel. He was an honest employer, 00:25:15.670 --> 00:25:20.049 Job 31, 13 to 15. I had not denied justice for 00:25:20.049 --> 00:25:23.029 any of my manservants or maidservants. He was 00:25:23.029 --> 00:25:27.910 hospitable and generous, Job 31, 16 to 21. Let 00:25:27.910 --> 00:25:31.089 my arm fall off of the shoulder if I had deprived 00:25:31.089 --> 00:25:36.119 anyone who deserves rescue. or poor. I have kept 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:38.559 not my bread to myself. I have given everything 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.500 that I have to others. I have seen anyone perish. 00:25:41.819 --> 00:25:44.480 I have not seen anyone perish that I could give 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.299 clothing to. And lastly, it says he was even 00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:52.559 a farmer of crops. Job 31, 38 -40. Even the land 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:56.299 cannot cry against me. I've even treated the 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:59.819 land properly. That's a good man. I don't know 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:02.140 what else we could say about him. All that he 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:05.029 did. And yet even he was, what, put through trials 00:26:05.029 --> 00:26:10.730 to be tested to see just how he was. As I said, 00:26:10.730 --> 00:26:12.450 I hovered over my kids a little bit too much, 00:26:12.470 --> 00:26:15.430 and Sue said, lighten up a little bit. They're 00:26:15.430 --> 00:26:20.210 teenagers. Our son Daniel was kind of shy, and 00:26:20.210 --> 00:26:21.390 I thought it would be good for him to get around 00:26:21.390 --> 00:26:23.710 other teenagers, get out there away from me. 00:26:23.950 --> 00:26:26.970 And Eustace Christ was around at the area. And 00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:30.250 so I drove, and this isn't just how to do it. 00:26:30.309 --> 00:26:33.140 I drove an hour up to Strasburg. We'd sit in 00:26:33.140 --> 00:26:34.839 the car for two hours while the meeting went 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:37.559 on, then drive back again. It was pretty cold 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:39.019 in the wintertime, but I didn't want to be in 00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:41.720 there. John Miller said, you can come in. I said, 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:44.400 no, this is his time with other kids and with 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:46.980 you. But I knew he was getting sad teaching away 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.220 from me, getting it from another perspective. 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:52.700 He needed time of feasting because there was 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:55.339 no way he was going to drink a liter of Coke 00:26:55.339 --> 00:26:58.240 and eat 10 pieces of pizza in my living room. 00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:04.859 No way. No. He could do it somewhere else, but 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:07.980 not in my place. And so if he wants to mess up 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:10.440 John Miller's room, that's fine with me. More 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:12.819 power to you. But he needed that time to get 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:16.500 away from me and get a perspective of the gospel 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:20.079 from somebody else. Okay? Our daughter went one 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:22.160 time, she won a burping contest and never went 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:25.920 back. Imagine. They're not going to burp in my 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:26.960 house. You're going to tell them, what's wrong 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:29.769 with you? But they had a burping contest. Let 00:27:29.769 --> 00:27:34.529 your kids have some fun. Lighten up a little 00:27:34.529 --> 00:27:38.809 bit, right? They have to. Okay? It's all part 00:27:38.809 --> 00:27:43.289 of it. But don't exasperate your kids. Make sure 00:27:43.289 --> 00:27:45.930 you give them some time for themselves. All right? 00:27:47.910 --> 00:27:50.769 The perfect father. There is a perfect father. 00:27:51.809 --> 00:27:54.390 We haven't seen him yet. We've read about him. 00:27:54.670 --> 00:27:57.650 He's all through this book. One day we will see 00:27:57.650 --> 00:28:01.769 him. But we've read about his son. And he said, 00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:04.490 if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And 00:28:04.490 --> 00:28:07.430 we've seen everything that we need to see. Jesus 00:28:07.430 --> 00:28:10.809 was no respecter of persons. He was loving. He 00:28:10.809 --> 00:28:14.670 was kind. He was just. He healed the sick. He 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:16.710 fed the hungry. He wept for those that were suffering 00:28:16.710 --> 00:28:19.769 loss. He restored the sight to the blind. He 00:28:19.769 --> 00:28:21.910 brought back those who had died to their loved 00:28:21.910 --> 00:28:24.109 ones. He exercised discipline when necessary. 00:28:24.589 --> 00:28:26.589 He taught us about the Heavenly Father. He never 00:28:26.589 --> 00:28:29.250 left us alone. He said he would never lose any 00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:31.809 that had been trusted to him. He showed us mercy 00:28:31.809 --> 00:28:34.430 and kindness, taught us how to pray, how to resist 00:28:34.430 --> 00:28:37.190 temptation and the wiles of the devil. He told 00:28:37.190 --> 00:28:39.410 us he was preparing a place for us so that we 00:28:39.410 --> 00:28:42.269 could dwell with him for all of eternity. Around 00:28:42.269 --> 00:28:44.410 the clock, he's always available to answer any 00:28:44.410 --> 00:28:47.529 concern or problem we have. And he knew us before 00:28:47.529 --> 00:28:51.170 we were even born. And I could go on and on. 00:28:51.289 --> 00:28:54.839 The scripture backs it up. Matthew 5, 48, be 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:56.799 perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.420 perfect. Psalm 18, 30, as for God, his way is 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:03.839 perfect. Psalm 19, 7, the law of the Lord is 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:08.000 perfect. 1 Corinthians 13, 10, when the perfection 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.500 comes. Psalm 51 and 2, the mighty one, the God, 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:16.460 the Lord from Zion, perfect in beauty. Luke 11, 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:19.359 11, which of you fathers, if your son asks for 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:22.200 a fish, will give him a snake? If you then who 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:25.819 are evil and know how to give good gifts, how 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:28.180 much more will your Father in heaven give you 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:30.339 that perfect gift, the Holy Spirit, which will 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:32.359 be with you for all of eternity until I come 00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:36.640 back to get you? In Hebrews 1 .3, the Son is 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.500 the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:45.660 of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful 00:29:45.660 --> 00:29:49.700 word. So we have not yet seen the perfect father, 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:51.940 but we've seen a good representation of him in 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:54.599 the Bible. And remember what I said, the Bible 00:29:54.599 --> 00:29:57.720 tells us all, the ugly, the bad, and the good. 00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:02.000 And it shows us what the father is like. He also 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:04.460 talks about a perfect father which will discipline 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:08.640 us, and God does. Sometimes we wonder, and then 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.400 we realize, yeah, there's no wonder. I shouldn't 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.400 have did this, Lord. You're right. I shouldn't 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:15.599 have been here. I shouldn't have been there. 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:19.079 That's a perfect father. It says if your father 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:21.599 does not discipline, then you are an illegitimate 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:24.480 child. But God disciplines us because he cares 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:27.059 about us. And he wants us to go on that straight 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:31.680 path and stops us before we get off that path. 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:35.619 I won't tell you the times that he stopped me. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:39.920 That's between me and him. But there were times 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:42.859 that he stopped me and said, Lanny, I love you. 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:46.140 Don't do that. And I am the man I am today because 00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:49.000 he stopped me. When my father wasn't around to 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.839 stop me, God stopped me. And every one of us 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:54.819 have children that are on their own sometimes. 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:58.059 And that's when you pray, God, I'm not there, 00:30:58.099 --> 00:31:01.119 but would you stop them? Would you stop them 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:02.660 from doing what I know they're going to try to 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:08.200 do before they do it? And one minute could ruin 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:10.440 their life. But we're glad we have a Heavenly 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:13.240 Father that's perfect in every way. And even 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:15.619 when we are imperfect, he watches over us and 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:20.099 takes care of our children. I talked about this 00:31:20.099 --> 00:31:23.519 lady that said she had no legacy of her father. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:28.680 How sad. It is sad. John, here comes the rest 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:31.279 of the story. We talked about last week about 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:33.440 me not obeying my father and walking home when 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:35.819 I was eight years old, and luckily I got there. 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:39.259 My dad, oh boy, I tell you, I thought my sister 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:40.880 was bawling. She said, you're going to get it. 00:31:42.349 --> 00:31:44.109 Got in the cops, they were looking all over town 00:31:44.109 --> 00:31:48.309 for me, and I had walked home by myself. My dad 00:31:48.309 --> 00:31:50.450 never taught a Sunday school class. He never 00:31:50.450 --> 00:31:53.789 was involved in church at all. He took us, he 00:31:53.789 --> 00:31:56.029 went, but never had any position of authority 00:31:56.029 --> 00:32:00.930 or anything that I know of. And yet, I realized 00:32:00.930 --> 00:32:05.009 later in life that he was the Bible I saw. I 00:32:05.009 --> 00:32:08.269 saw in him the Heavenly Father. If you've seen 00:32:08.269 --> 00:32:11.500 Dad, you've seen the Heavenly Father. And that's 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:14.259 a legacy I have from him. When I thought I'd 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:16.140 be in my room all night and not have supper, 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:19.039 he came in, and I not knowing what was going 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:23.339 on, he said, I love you, but you caused me a 00:32:23.339 --> 00:32:26.180 lot of worry tonight. I thought I'd lost you. 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:30.259 He said, you know what you did was wrong. And 00:32:30.259 --> 00:32:33.720 I said, yes. You know, you disobeyed me. I said, 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:36.880 yes. He said, the next time when I ask you to 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:39.519 do something, will you obey me and listen to 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:43.640 me? And I said, yes. And you know what he said? 00:32:44.579 --> 00:32:48.559 Then I forgive you. And it's forgotten. A couple 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:51.200 years later when I heard a pastor say, you messed 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:55.980 up a lot. But the father says he forgives you 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:57.759 if you're willing to admit that you sinned against 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:01.059 him. And he will forget it. And he will tell 00:33:01.059 --> 00:33:03.880 you he loves you. My father, who never taught 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:07.440 a Sunday school class, gave me the gospel right 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:10.279 there. I don't know if he knew it. But he gave 00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:13.480 it to me in plain, simple terms. You have sinned 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:17.160 against me. I forgive you. Don't do it again. 00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:21.099 That's a legacy that I have of my father. The 00:33:21.099 --> 00:33:24.240 second point, my father wasn't perfect. He was 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.440 impatient at times. And he taught us. We didn't 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:30.700 have the money. My brother was sick a lot. A 00:33:30.700 --> 00:33:33.180 lot of the money went for medication. And he 00:33:33.180 --> 00:33:34.960 wanted to take us fishing. We had three of us. 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:37.039 He didn't have the money to buy a license. He 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:40.140 couldn't buy a license. So he said, Lane, I'm 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:42.640 going to teach you how to make that double loop. 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:46.059 So we've ripped a line. You can fix it. And how 00:33:46.059 --> 00:33:47.980 to put the hook through. And I practiced. I really 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:51.680 did. I tried. And I got it. And I said, Dad, 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.740 I can do it. Look at it. He said, good. I taught 00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:56.759 you well. Fishing day, no problems. We're going 00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:59.759 to go fishing. First time I throw in, I got a 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:05.000 rock bass. Ripped the line. He said, okay, son. 00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:07.950 I taught you how to do it. You can do it. Well, 00:34:08.090 --> 00:34:10.130 fishing back then was 5 in the morning. It was 00:34:10.130 --> 00:34:13.289 pitch black. I hadn't practiced in the dark. 00:34:13.869 --> 00:34:15.849 I practiced during the daytime when I could see 00:34:15.849 --> 00:34:18.989 my hands. And it was cold that morning. My hands 00:34:18.989 --> 00:34:21.630 were freezing. I couldn't do it. I tried, and 00:34:21.630 --> 00:34:24.289 he got impatient with me. And he said, didn't 00:34:24.289 --> 00:34:26.710 I teach you how to do this? He said, I did this 00:34:26.710 --> 00:34:30.329 so you wouldn't have this problem. And I didn't 00:34:30.329 --> 00:34:33.090 understand him. How could he be so impatient 00:34:33.090 --> 00:34:36.460 with me over a little thing like this? Well, 00:34:36.619 --> 00:34:38.940 I injured an insult. My sister had to go up and 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:41.300 show me how to do it. So she went up with me 00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:43.739 to the street where the light was, and she fixed 00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:45.320 it. We came back down, and I could fish the rest 00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:47.559 of the day. But that bothered me. How could my 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:50.280 dad be so impatient with me? If he loves me, 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:53.539 how could he do that to me? Well, there's a story 00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:57.440 in the Bible about that, and that is Jesus was 00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:01.000 talking about them not bringing bread, and the 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:03.159 disciples said, what are you talking about bread 00:35:03.159 --> 00:35:06.190 for? We have no idea what's going on. And Jesus 00:35:06.190 --> 00:35:09.250 got disturbed with them and said, have I been 00:35:09.250 --> 00:35:12.250 with you so long and you guys don't get it? I'm 00:35:12.250 --> 00:35:14.929 not talking about bread. I'm talking about other 00:35:14.929 --> 00:35:18.329 things. Was Jesus impatient with them? Yes. Why? 00:35:18.869 --> 00:35:21.150 Because he was trying to teach them a life lesson 00:35:21.150 --> 00:35:23.570 and they missed it. Because he wasn't going to 00:35:23.570 --> 00:35:25.630 be with them much longer. And he was trying to 00:35:25.630 --> 00:35:28.070 share something with them that they could have 00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:31.039 for the rest of their life, the gospel. And yes, 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:33.360 Jesus was impatient with them, but for a reason. 00:35:33.480 --> 00:35:36.320 Like my dad was impatient. This was something 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.980 important. He said, I want to teach you how to 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:39.880 do things. You know, if you don't learn this, 00:35:39.940 --> 00:35:41.420 when I teach you how to use a hammer, when I 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:43.780 teach you how to use a saw, you're going to miss 00:35:43.780 --> 00:35:46.219 the boat. And I want you to know these things. 00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:49.519 So that's why Jesus was impatient with them at 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:53.079 this time. And lastly, I don't have to look at 00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:57.099 my notes for this one. We, uh, she was at home 00:35:57.099 --> 00:36:01.150 with the kids for... I guess 10 years. So we 00:36:01.150 --> 00:36:02.829 didn't build our house until we were 38 years 00:36:02.829 --> 00:36:06.389 old. She wasn't working. She was home with the 00:36:06.389 --> 00:36:10.110 kids. We thought that was important. And my uncle's 00:36:10.110 --> 00:36:14.969 mother had died, and he couldn't get any insurance 00:36:14.969 --> 00:36:17.269 on the farm, the buildings, the equipment, nothing. 00:36:17.429 --> 00:36:19.809 And he said, why don't you come up and live on 00:36:19.809 --> 00:36:22.230 the farm? He said, I won't charge you rent. You 00:36:22.230 --> 00:36:24.730 can live there rent -free. Just pay for the electric. 00:36:25.719 --> 00:36:27.980 the oil, and just mow the grass for me, help 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:29.440 me out in the field. And that's what I did. I 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:31.059 helped bring the hay and helped other things. 00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:34.139 I plowed for him. And then after 13 years, we 00:36:34.139 --> 00:36:35.760 finally said, you know what? We're going to try 00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:38.159 to build our own home. So we went to the contractor. 00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:42.500 We got the price. $65 ,000. Back then, that was 00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:47.340 a lot of money. In the 80s, 12 % interest. They 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:53.219 complain about 4 % and 5 % now. $625 .25. I'll 00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:57.150 never forget. And I was scared. We hadn't had 00:36:57.150 --> 00:37:00.269 a mortgage or rent for 13 years. And we were 00:37:00.269 --> 00:37:02.710 barely making it now. So how are we going to 00:37:02.710 --> 00:37:06.150 do this? And so where did I go? To my father. 00:37:07.530 --> 00:37:11.750 And he said, what do you need, son? I said, I 00:37:11.750 --> 00:37:15.150 need to talk. Sit down, he said. What does the 00:37:15.150 --> 00:37:16.889 Heavenly Father say? Come before me. Sit down. 00:37:17.869 --> 00:37:21.829 Let's have a talk. And I said, Dad, we... We're 00:37:21.829 --> 00:37:23.309 thinking of building, you know that. He said, 00:37:23.349 --> 00:37:26.210 oh, he was so happy for us. And I said, I don't 00:37:26.210 --> 00:37:28.650 know if we can make it or not. I'm self -employed 00:37:28.650 --> 00:37:30.710 in wintertime. I got nothing. I mean, I can try 00:37:30.710 --> 00:37:33.429 to find other jobs, but December through April, 00:37:33.510 --> 00:37:36.710 we won't have any money coming in. And it's $625 00:37:36.710 --> 00:37:39.730 a month. I said, I don't know if we get in trouble. 00:37:39.829 --> 00:37:41.329 What's going to happen? We could lose the house. 00:37:42.170 --> 00:37:45.829 He looked at me and said, son, they will never 00:37:45.829 --> 00:37:49.829 take this house away from you. Never. I'm your 00:37:49.829 --> 00:37:53.869 father. And I won't let that happen. What does 00:37:53.869 --> 00:37:56.989 the Heavenly Father say? Jesus said, those that 00:37:56.989 --> 00:38:00.010 the Father has given to me, no one will take 00:38:00.010 --> 00:38:03.469 them away from me. They are mine. And don't you 00:38:03.469 --> 00:38:06.650 try to mess with them. My dad taught me another 00:38:06.650 --> 00:38:10.110 lesson from the Bible without preaching a word. 00:38:10.550 --> 00:38:12.590 And I'll tell you something else. The Bible says 00:38:12.590 --> 00:38:15.489 that the Father knows our need before we even 00:38:15.489 --> 00:38:18.949 ask it. I would walk in the house and he would 00:38:18.949 --> 00:38:23.210 say, Mom, Lanny's here for money. He just knew 00:38:23.210 --> 00:38:25.610 in my face because he knew I wouldn't ask for 00:38:25.610 --> 00:38:29.929 it. And she would come out with $625 and 25 cents 00:38:29.929 --> 00:38:32.389 in cash. I didn't have to wait for them to go 00:38:32.389 --> 00:38:33.730 to the bank. I didn't have to wait for a check 00:38:33.730 --> 00:38:36.769 to clear. He knew I needed now and then or I 00:38:36.769 --> 00:38:38.989 wouldn't have come for it. And he answered me 00:38:38.989 --> 00:38:41.869 on the spot, met all my needs. And if I needed 00:38:41.869 --> 00:38:44.349 the next month and I came in, he'd say, Mom, 00:38:44.650 --> 00:38:47.869 Lanny needs money. And he got paid back, but 00:38:47.869 --> 00:38:50.920 he never asked for it. If it took me till April, 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:54.139 he never said a word. He never taught a Sunday 00:38:54.139 --> 00:38:56.820 school lesson. He never was a deacon. He never 00:38:56.820 --> 00:39:01.320 was an elder. But he was a good father who taught 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:05.400 me the heavenly father. And I have a legacy of 00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:10.320 my father. It's hard because some people don't 00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:12.820 have a good father. And they wish they did. But 00:39:12.820 --> 00:39:15.760 I'll tell you what, my wife had a horrible father. 00:39:16.199 --> 00:39:20.199 He walked out on six kids. No support. She had 00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:23.239 to put the four boys into the home. She would 00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:26.199 take Sue and her sister to work with her. And 00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:28.599 they stayed in the locker room at Phoebe's home 00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:32.119 where she was a nurse's aide. She worked a night 00:39:32.119 --> 00:39:34.539 shift. That's where they stayed till morning. 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:38.519 And one by one, the mother got the kids out of 00:39:38.519 --> 00:39:42.440 the home. But God provided for her. There was 00:39:42.440 --> 00:39:44.699 a youth director that took her by the side and 00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:48.530 was a father for her. And my father. became her 00:39:48.530 --> 00:39:52.329 father. God will provide. So even people out 00:39:52.329 --> 00:39:54.789 there that have a bad, bad father and bad experience, 00:39:55.190 --> 00:39:58.030 God will provide for you. Someone in your life, 00:39:58.110 --> 00:40:00.389 there will be someone that he will send to you 00:40:00.389 --> 00:40:03.889 to help you to get over the hump for some of 00:40:03.889 --> 00:40:06.070 the things that you have gone through. Because 00:40:06.070 --> 00:40:09.389 God is that perfect father and that perfect provider. 00:40:10.070 --> 00:40:12.530 As I said, I wasn't picked for this because I'm 00:40:12.530 --> 00:40:16.230 a good father. I've made a lot of mistakes. But 00:40:16.230 --> 00:40:19.210 hopefully, We look at the Bible and we see that 00:40:19.210 --> 00:40:22.929 there is hope if God is our father. And he's 00:40:22.929 --> 00:40:24.650 the one that teaches us what is right and what 00:40:24.650 --> 00:40:27.610 is wrong and how we can impart that to our kids. 00:40:27.969 --> 00:40:30.849 And if I messed up with Lanny, and if I messed 00:40:30.849 --> 00:40:33.130 up with Daniel, and if I messed up with Michelle, 00:40:33.409 --> 00:40:37.190 I got grandkids and I can try to make it up. 00:40:38.610 --> 00:40:41.869 And little Larry says, you're a good grandpa. 00:40:43.909 --> 00:40:47.429 And that makes me feel good. We get our opportunities. 00:40:48.349 --> 00:40:50.369 Sometimes we miss the opportunities we're given, 00:40:50.429 --> 00:40:53.090 but God gives us other opportunities. And when 00:40:53.090 --> 00:40:56.849 he says, can I stay here, Grandpa? Say, no, just 00:40:56.849 --> 00:41:00.110 for the weekend. You're going back home. Okay, 00:41:00.230 --> 00:41:05.670 he says. That's good enough. Let's pray. Father, 00:41:05.769 --> 00:41:09.650 it is not easy being an earthly father. Oh, it's 00:41:09.650 --> 00:41:13.889 not easy. It's so hard. One day, Father, I pray 00:41:13.889 --> 00:41:16.150 that we will realize that we've done the best 00:41:16.150 --> 00:41:19.150 that we could do. We've made mistakes. We haven't 00:41:19.150 --> 00:41:21.710 been faithful to you, perhaps, in teaching them 00:41:21.710 --> 00:41:24.349 some of the things we should teach them. We've 00:41:24.349 --> 00:41:26.250 been impatient. We've been too busy for them. 00:41:26.309 --> 00:41:28.090 We've worked too hard. All the things we could 00:41:28.090 --> 00:41:31.489 say we did wrong. But we're thankful, Father, 00:41:31.570 --> 00:41:33.449 that in all our mistakes, you were there for 00:41:33.449 --> 00:41:36.030 us, too, that when we missed up, you were there 00:41:36.030 --> 00:41:41.440 to help them to stay on a straight path. We ask, 00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:43.260 Father, that you would touch each and every father 00:41:43.260 --> 00:41:45.599 here, each and every grandfather here, each and 00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:49.239 every father to be, and in a very special way, 00:41:49.320 --> 00:41:52.559 help them each and every day to be what you want 00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:55.659 them to be, the father for their children or 00:41:55.659 --> 00:41:58.900 the father for their grandchildren, and also 00:41:58.900 --> 00:42:01.719 to be good husbands. We thank you and praise 00:42:01.719 --> 00:42:03.980 you for everything you've done for us and will 00:42:03.980 --> 00:42:06.119 do in Christ's name. Amen.