WEBVTT 00:00:02.250 --> 00:00:05.250 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:07.669 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.669 --> 00:00:10.169 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:12.689 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:15.929 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:20.109 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:24.929 enjoy this week's message. Well, it's great. 00:00:25.390 --> 00:00:28.329 to stand in front of you today and to begin to 00:00:28.329 --> 00:00:30.609 deliver a message. We had an incredible time 00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:33.609 last night at Fire on the Altar, and I am going 00:00:33.609 --> 00:00:37.950 to shift messages. This weekend, the Lord dropped 00:00:37.950 --> 00:00:40.649 multiple things into my heart, and when that 00:00:40.649 --> 00:00:44.969 happens, there's always a, Lord, what do you 00:00:44.969 --> 00:00:48.289 want to do? What time, what season, how far? 00:00:48.649 --> 00:00:52.189 But sometimes when God just begins to speak in 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:55.869 Revelation, it's hard. to get out of that pocket. 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:59.969 And I'm going to do my best to give some things 00:00:59.969 --> 00:01:02.289 that I believe are on his heart to strengthen 00:01:02.289 --> 00:01:06.409 us today. I want to talk today about a blessed 00:01:06.409 --> 00:01:10.829 man or a blessed father. Now, of course, we do 00:01:10.829 --> 00:01:16.590 not want to negate the women and sons and daughters 00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:19.959 that will that are all part of the covenant here, 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:23.340 but meetings on Father's Day, I'd like you men, 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.659 especially to clue into this. Ladies, you're 00:01:26.659 --> 00:01:28.400 going to be able to receive some things from 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:32.019 it. But I want to start this, this kind of this 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:35.120 path that we're going to walk down with a little 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:41.400 bit more kind of somberness as we set the stage 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.840 of what's before us. If we take a moment before 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:47.219 we get into this message and we just look around 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:51.540 a little bit at our world and our society, and 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:53.780 if we look at it in the lens of the scriptures, 00:01:54.099 --> 00:01:58.400 we see two things happening. One, we sang about 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:01.879 it today in the song. We know how the story ends. 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.900 Our eyes are upon the son, the one who's risen 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:08.840 and the one who's coming back. But if we also 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:11.080 look in the natural and look at what's coming 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.360 down the line, we are also told in the same book 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.580 of God's revelation to us that the times are 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.439 not just going to get better. Actually, times 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.439 are going to get worse. And so every time we 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.639 hear a message like this, it's not a marker. 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:28.599 It's a marker of two things. It should mark, 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.099 number one, remind us where our focus should 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:38.120 be always. And two, a reminder of how important 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:42.139 it is in this moment and forward that I recognize 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:47.759 before God and understand that I have a responsibility 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.979 to him. It doesn't get less responsibility. It 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.219 actually increases in responsibility as we move 00:02:55.219 --> 00:03:00.669 forward in time. It's a big deal. As you look 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:02.930 around in the news and see there is a lot of 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:06.069 devastation and destruction going on in the physical 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:09.370 realm. And that seems to be all that the news 00:03:09.370 --> 00:03:12.129 and all that people can talk about. But I'm here 00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:14.090 to tell you that it's not about the physical 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:17.530 realm that where the action is. It's the spiritual 00:03:17.530 --> 00:03:20.569 realm that actually is predicating the physical 00:03:20.569 --> 00:03:25.479 realm. And when you look closer. And you look 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:27.939 at the attacks that are taking place in the natural 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:31.620 realm, they're connected at every level to the 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:34.379 spiritual realm. When we think about disobedience, 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:36.580 when we think about anarchy, when we think about 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:39.699 pride, when we think about covetousness or rebellion, 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:42.939 they don't have their source in just natural 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:47.240 wicked sin nature. They do, but they also have 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:51.229 a plug -in into a spiritual nature. And these 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:53.590 are rooted in spiritual forces. They seek to 00:03:53.590 --> 00:03:58.669 combine fleshly carnal mind and heart so that 00:03:58.669 --> 00:04:02.550 they can operate from a spiritual realm in a 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:06.389 greater natural presence. And together with people 00:04:06.389 --> 00:04:09.810 that actually embrace these type of things, the 00:04:09.810 --> 00:04:13.610 rebellion, the pride, and some of it we get by 00:04:13.610 --> 00:04:15.990 nature, but when we actually give ourselves to 00:04:15.990 --> 00:04:20.350 these things, there is a primary focus of its 00:04:20.350 --> 00:04:24.810 target. Its target is for the elimination and 00:04:24.810 --> 00:04:28.490 destruction of the natural order of God's design, 00:04:28.589 --> 00:04:32.230 not only for the natural family, but of the spiritual 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:36.220 family called his church. The attack has been 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:39.220 concentrated, speaks right at the foundations 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:43.339 of God's original charter for the authority and 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:47.139 the role of mother and father in marriage, the 00:04:47.139 --> 00:04:50.920 role of the church in its governmental and missional 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.459 role extending the kingdom of God. Every assignment 00:04:54.459 --> 00:05:00.319 of natural and spiritual are set to remove the 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.800 places of authority that they are to operate 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.350 from. Each of these two realms, each of these 00:05:07.350 --> 00:05:10.850 two planes, natural and spiritual, are connected 00:05:10.850 --> 00:05:14.910 to the core of our society, our health, our welfare, 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:18.209 are connected in natural and spiritual things 00:05:18.209 --> 00:05:20.529 of the family of God. And if we're watching, 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:24.110 if we've been alert, we can see not only the 00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:27.829 overt attacks, but the subtle ones as well. That 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:30.850 they're trying to remove God's truth and his 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:34.879 loving mandates. in every form of blessed relationship 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:40.699 that he has meant to be created to be good. Over 00:05:40.699 --> 00:05:45.540 the last 11 years, it was in June 26, just a 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:51.180 few days from now, 11 years ago, in 2015, the 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:54.759 U .S. Supreme Court made a ruling that same -sex 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:57.680 marriage was legal. Not just a union, not just 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:02.040 a civil union, but now marriage. A covenantal 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:07.079 institution ordained by God now tried to be written 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.259 over by the laws of the land. From that point 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:13.420 forward, we have watched the embracing of not 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:16.939 just a protection of alternate lifestyles, but 00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:20.379 we've watched an enshrining of a whole month 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:24.060 of celebration of alternate lifestyles during 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:28.759 Pride Month. We've watched the LBTG. T -B -I 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:33.139 -Q -I -A -L -M -N -O -P. We've watched the movement 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:37.439 multiply to the inclusion of transgenderism and 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:43.279 to other form of obscene identities. We've watched 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.660 this aggressive form of transgenderism now trying 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:48.060 to take over even forums of women's sporting 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.970 events. And what was the once leading on edge 00:06:51.970 --> 00:06:56.970 cultural aggressive form of feminism is now being 00:06:56.970 --> 00:07:00.949 eaten from the inside through this spirit of 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:04.290 transgenderism. We're now watching this trend 00:07:04.290 --> 00:07:09.470 of popular agenda of perversion take over in 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:12.889 other forms called gender fluidity. It's kind 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:17.129 of a hydrostatic level of sexuality. We've watched 00:07:17.660 --> 00:07:21.899 this clear type of destruction in its aggressive 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:28.699 pursuit, move and work to bring depravity and 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:31.980 removal of any form of God -ordained boundaries 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:36.399 of righteousness, morality, and love. Not because 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:43.019 it's natural only, but it's natural infused by 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:50.439 spiritual. Even now, The current culture is embracing 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.759 just articles, even this last couple of weeks 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.740 that I get from various sources, embracing a 00:07:56.740 --> 00:08:02.519 new level of polyamory and throuples and new 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:05.759 definition of marriage that is now multiple people 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.680 in marriage covenants. The people's quest for 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.319 security, housing, love. And the meeting of their 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:16.279 financial needs and obligations, they're pursuing 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:20.800 in new levels of depravity. And in doing so, 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:24.600 they find themselves more and more in poverty, 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:31.220 body, soul, and spirit. One man, one woman, in 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:35.580 a loving covenant, having been given charge by 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:39.519 the Lord to love, to lead, to model life in God 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:43.600 through the family naturally. Spiritually, it 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.419 was one man given to now what God would make 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:51.899 the one body in Christ. The model is designed 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:56.120 by God. It's the Lord who created and gave us 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:58.980 both of these structures of love and training 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:02.740 to develop unity and discipline and service and 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:06.700 faith. And all this is done in God's heart and 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:11.299 mind to share with us his nature, his character, 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.139 His fellowship and his love in the midst of that 00:09:15.139 --> 00:09:18.759 fellowship were called to partnership, to fulfill 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:22.759 his desire to have what? Godly offspring that 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.539 will embrace and love God and love his will. 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:29.500 And this is the setting for mankind to not only 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:35.299 exist, but to thrive. But the enemy's plan through 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:39.480 mocking and the mockery of God always starts 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:43.870 with the undermining of God's selection. Let 00:09:43.870 --> 00:09:48.029 me just say that again. Every form of mocking 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:52.169 and every form of mockery of God and the things 00:09:52.169 --> 00:09:56.509 of God, the purposes of God, always starts with 00:09:56.509 --> 00:10:00.690 God's selection of who he chooses and why he 00:10:00.690 --> 00:10:03.830 does what he does first. If you look through 00:10:03.830 --> 00:10:07.820 all of the scriptures, every major argument that 00:10:07.820 --> 00:10:10.960 mankind had, that partnered with things that 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:13.960 were not of Holy Spirit, but of another spirit, 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:19.080 always focused in on the one representing his 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:23.740 authority. Every argument focused on the leader, 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:27.799 on the father, on the assignment that was given 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.899 to that person. To what? To acquiesce and give 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:35.090 it to someone else. It's been revealed in scripture 00:10:35.090 --> 00:10:37.970 over and over. This is the way of the enemy. 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:43.750 Attack the place of delegated authority. And 00:10:43.750 --> 00:10:47.110 this is the mark of all rebellion. The enemy 00:10:47.110 --> 00:10:51.330 starts by dismantling and trying to deconstruct 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:54.710 all of God's ways, God's wills, God's holy purpose. 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:58.759 By robbing God of his glory because authority, 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:01.919 Jesus said, you would not have authority unless 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.960 all authority was given to you by my Father. 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:09.220 The whole form of authority is to bring God honor 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:13.419 and glory. That's what real authority is about. 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:16.519 Now, of course, man has perverted that, but the 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.320 truth of why God gives it is to what? Honor the 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:25.210 one who actually is honor and authority. The 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:27.570 apostle Paul reminds us that I'm getting close 00:11:27.570 --> 00:11:29.789 to, we've almost painted the picture. Are you 00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:33.009 feeling kind of almost hopeless? But there's 00:11:33.009 --> 00:11:36.350 hope. I'm trying to get you low so that my preaching, 00:11:36.389 --> 00:11:38.230 even just if it's a little good, will bring you 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:44.250 higher. Hallelujah. Second Timothy one, or excuse 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:46.610 me, second Timothy chapter three, verse one through 00:11:46.610 --> 00:11:50.210 five kind of lays out what Paul says, or not 00:11:50.210 --> 00:11:53.100 really Paul, the Holy Spirit had said. Just so 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:55.039 you know, this is going to be the atmosphere 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.360 in the last days. Here's what he says. But understand 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.960 this, that in the last days there will come times 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.779 of difficulty. Now that is a, I'm quoting from 00:12:05.779 --> 00:12:09.059 the ESV, and that's a good translation. I really 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:12.940 like that translation. It seems to be most accurate 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:15.000 most of the time in the Greek. It includes the 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:18.000 Dead Sea Scrolls as part of its manuscript understanding. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:23.159 But it really... Times of difficulty, the New 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:25.820 King James actually says it better. It says, 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:28.539 in the last days there will be perilous times. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:33.539 Difficult times just sounds like, man, I kind 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:35.899 of got a D in a class I should have got a B in. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.820 No, the scripture is saying here, in the last 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:43.820 days there will be perilous times. Perilous means 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:50.070 unprecedentedly difficult. Turn to somebody and 00:12:50.070 --> 00:12:55.009 say, he's talking unprecedented. He says, here's 00:12:55.009 --> 00:12:58.529 the atmosphere. People will be lovers of self, 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:05.990 lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient 00:13:05.990 --> 00:13:10.889 to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, 00:13:11.049 --> 00:13:15.309 slanderous, without self -control, brutal, not 00:13:15.309 --> 00:13:19.360 loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.460 conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:25.740 of God, having an appearance of godliness, but 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:29.580 denying its true power. We got that to look forward 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:33.200 to. So the Bible says it's happening in the last 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.240 days. Can I tell you, biblically speaking, we're 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.539 actually there. The Bible says we are in the 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:43.259 last days, and this is the atmosphere that's 00:13:43.259 --> 00:13:48.360 all around us. So if we're right in the middle 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.799 of it right now, if there's ever been a time 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:56.779 that God's truth, his boundaries, his ordained 00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:02.679 ways, and his calling was needed, it's now. We 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:04.980 must remember that God loves all people. God 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:08.299 loves women, children, men, but he starts with 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:17.690 men and fathers. God gave man a place. Man is 00:14:17.690 --> 00:14:22.629 to be a blessed man. A blessed father is to be 00:14:22.629 --> 00:14:27.490 a what? A family man. A blessed man is to be 00:14:27.490 --> 00:14:31.490 a father, a godly man, a righteous steward, a 00:14:31.490 --> 00:14:35.169 spiritual man, an upright man, a man of love, 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:39.029 a man of integrity, a man of compassion, and 00:14:39.029 --> 00:14:44.470 a man of grace. That is your calling and there 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:49.750 is no shaving of those things. We can easily 00:14:49.750 --> 00:14:53.870 see that the places that God has now called us 00:14:53.870 --> 00:14:57.149 to be and the identity of man are areas that 00:14:57.149 --> 00:14:59.789 have truly been under assault in every direction. 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:04.009 And here's the truth. The men of the church need 00:15:04.009 --> 00:15:08.830 to wake up. And the men of the nation need the 00:15:08.830 --> 00:15:11.860 church men To be the ones that deliver their 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:16.559 wake up call. God has given us an incredible 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.440 responsibility. In stewarding what is called 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.659 this leadership high calling. And if we could 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:27.700 put this on the screen. The calling. of a blessed 00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:31.940 man or a blessed father is an invitation to partake 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:35.559 of the divine plan of God for the purpose of 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.299 God's salvation of people, his redemption, and 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:42.919 kingdom extension. That encompasses your high 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.279 calling. We have to remind ourselves, why would 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:49.129 God do this? Well, first of all, In order for 00:15:49.129 --> 00:15:51.730 us to really grasp this understanding of what 00:15:51.730 --> 00:15:54.570 is the high calling of men, the extension of 00:15:54.570 --> 00:15:57.350 his kingdom, that means everything that's good 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:01.029 and peaceful and holy and righteous, you're called 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:04.639 to. moving it from a place of darkness into a 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:07.360 place of light. What does it mean? The redemption. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.039 It means that you would be involved in seeing 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:14.879 brokenness turned over and finding its place 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:18.259 in full restoration. That which has got broken, 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:24.059 destroyed, worn out, and disassembled, restoration 00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:29.559 is part of your calling. And of course, salvation 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:33.799 to every nation. every kindred, every tribe, 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:40.019 and every family member first. Why do I say this? 00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:42.340 How can I say it so confidently? Because the 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:47.960 Bible says in Romans 11, 29, for the gifts and 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:54.820 callings of God are irrevocable. Let me say that 00:16:54.820 --> 00:17:00.000 again. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:04.170 We place this In a mindset, when we think about 00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:07.690 gifts, we think about, oh, wonderful piano playing 00:17:07.690 --> 00:17:10.509 or guitar playing or maybe a spiritual gift of 00:17:10.509 --> 00:17:15.410 healing or word of knowledge or even you're a 00:17:15.410 --> 00:17:18.650 steward, a good giver, an administrator, mercy, 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:24.809 compassion. Yes, that's part of callings. But 00:17:24.809 --> 00:17:27.509 it's a derivative, if I could say it that way, 00:17:27.630 --> 00:17:36.730 of... a more simple, holistic calling. The gifts, 00:17:36.730 --> 00:17:42.230 if I have any, that come out of me, I would call 00:17:42.230 --> 00:17:46.049 them gift graces that come out of primary calling. 00:17:46.869 --> 00:17:50.609 Primary calling is that which I'm called to, 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:55.170 that every man in this building, father or not, 00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:59.460 is called to a high calling of the things we 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:02.680 just mentioned. Of what? Partaking and being 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:07.500 invited to the process of winning people to Christ 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:11.359 and watching the love of God change them. The 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:15.319 process of being involved at some level of restoration. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.000 In a variety of ways. And three, extending the 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.740 kingdom of God by his mercy, by his love and 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:26.119 by his grace and his compassion. And of course, 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:30.480 walking in the mandate. That is my calling. And 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.779 from that calling, that's your calling. And from 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:37.240 that calling come the other spiritual grace gifts 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.180 that flow out of that because it's being empowered 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:43.460 by the central theme of the high calling of God. 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:51.420 Now. They're irrevocable. Not just gifts. He 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:53.900 talks about the gifts and calling. Notice, the 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:58.440 gifts are irrevocable, but the calling is irrevocable. 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:01.099 Meaning that the moment you've given your life 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:04.960 to God, the moment as a man, as a father, you've 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.640 given your life to God, God deposited something 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.960 in you that he will never take away from you. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:17.000 It means that it's come to you by the authority 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.440 of the eternal father that has bound himself 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:25.319 to say, I will never remove the calling of my 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:29.859 inclusion of you in bringing my salvation, in 00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:32.660 bringing restoration and extending the kingdom 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:36.759 through the nature of who I am. I call you to 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:40.460 that. And as long as you live, that calling will 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:43.440 remain upon your life. Whether you felt like 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.339 you have been a failure, you've missed it as 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:50.539 a father or a husband or a son, the reality is 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:54.220 no devil in hell can take that calling because 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:59.589 it's been given to you. Why? Because the father 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:03.210 wants you to understand that your calling is 00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:06.430 connected not to your performance, but to his. 00:20:07.250 --> 00:20:12.630 And his nature as a good father is always trying 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:17.190 to put on you the mantle of who he is to get 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:20.849 it in you, on you, around you, no matter what 00:20:20.849 --> 00:20:23.809 you've done to begin to work those things through 00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:27.420 you. That's the nature of his tenacity. That's 00:20:27.420 --> 00:20:33.000 why it's irrevocable. Your calling's not revocable. 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.799 You're connected to the eternal one. Your calling 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:43.200 was not given to you by society. Yes, thank God. 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:50.200 And that's why you can just go to those that 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:54.519 seek to cancel your thought. You can cancel my 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.180 thought all you want. You can't cancel the one 00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:02.400 who's irrevocable. He's eternal. Society didn't 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.799 give it to you. Culture didn't give it to you. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:08.539 The government didn't give it to you. And the 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:12.839 jury of your peers didn't give it to you. Your 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:17.220 call is established in God, fixed and immovable. 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.779 The Holy Spirit, if that wasn't enough, as Paul 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:23.980 was writing to the Romans, he turned his attention 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:26.059 to the Corinthian church and he brought this 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:29.160 truth back out about calling. He said, I need 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:34.559 you to consider your calling, brothers. 1 Corinthians 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.519 1 .26, right in the beginning of the letter, 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:41.259 before he would ever begin to adjust mindsets, 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:44.140 before he would ever begin to get into any doctrinal 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:47.200 issues of how to build the church, one of the 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:50.000 very first things that he would lay out for all 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.970 of the church to see is, You need to consider 00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:58.690 the weight, the authority, the irrevocable nature 00:21:58.690 --> 00:22:03.829 of what God calls your holy calling. It must 00:22:03.829 --> 00:22:09.250 be considered. It must be weighed. You see, Jesus 00:22:09.250 --> 00:22:13.849 uses that word considered quite a bit. When he 00:22:13.849 --> 00:22:18.940 says, when you go to war, Don't be like someone 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:21.480 that doesn't consider anything. You must weigh 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:26.460 and consider. Can I go the distance with 10 ,000 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:29.839 men when 20 ,000 are against me? Meaning what? 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:33.880 The consideration of what it's going to cost 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.819 me and what I'm going to have to do to win this 00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:42.650 fight. is the same principle that Paul was trying 00:22:42.650 --> 00:22:46.569 to write by the Holy Spirit to stir men and godly 00:22:46.569 --> 00:22:50.650 men to be blessed men up to consider this incredible 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:54.769 thing. In order to carry it, in order to carry 00:22:54.769 --> 00:22:57.329 it with how God designed us to carry it, we're 00:22:57.329 --> 00:23:00.369 going to have to consider it and weigh it against 00:23:00.369 --> 00:23:05.369 other options in life. If we're not mindful, 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:08.480 If we're not aware of what our great calling 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:12.460 is as a man or a father, we will lose the fullness 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:16.059 of what is meant to be yours and what was meant 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:20.380 to be your part in helping with God's salvation. 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:23.220 Not that you can't save, we can't save anybody. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:26.640 God does it. But we get the opportunity to have 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:30.140 the blessing. Blessed are the feet of those that 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:32.440 bring the good news. He's not just talking about 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:34.799 the feet. He's talking about the whole person. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.740 And a blessed man understands the incredible 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:45.519 wealth and weight of carrying the message of 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:50.019 his father. What's meant to be yours? What's 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:52.480 meant to be in your family and your heritage? 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:56.500 Paul, again, you notice that. The Holy Spirit 00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:58.740 through the Apostle Paul keeps picking this up. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:01.259 He talked about it to the Romans. He talked about 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.440 it to the Corinthians. Now he's talking about 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:05.759 it to the Ephesians and he writes it this way. 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:11.420 I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:15.960 calling to which you've been called. It means 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:20.079 it must move past consideration. That there are 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:23.500 deliberate actions and attitudes that must be 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:28.039 embraced and translate into real living in this 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:31.799 world. The calling, and this is where men, we 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:34.400 have to change. The calling is not ethereal. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:39.859 It's not in the realm of somehow lived out in 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:44.579 this theoretic sense. The calling is meant to 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:49.839 be lived. in and out through your life on a natural 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:53.720 plane. It's spiritual that lives natural, just 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:56.779 like all the things that the enemy does bring 00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:59.480 spiritual and tries to live out through natural 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:03.700 means. God has a calling that starts from him 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.579 and is meant to live out naturally, spiritually 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:10.200 through you. And if that wasn't enough, he moves 00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:13.420 to the Thessalonica, the church in Thessalonica 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:17.299 and to the Thessalonica. He says, and to this 00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:21.279 end, we pray that our God would make you worthy 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:26.119 of his calling and that you may fulfill, listen 00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:31.519 to the words, every resolve for good and every 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:34.920 work of faith by his power so that the name of 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:38.279 our Lord may be glorified in him according to 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:40.839 the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:45.849 You see, our calling is never sustained. By self 00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:49.029 -sufficiency. Our calling is never sustained 00:25:49.029 --> 00:25:56.589 just surely by self -will and grit. The world 00:25:56.589 --> 00:26:03.089 comes up with icons like the Marlboro Man. Or 00:26:03.089 --> 00:26:11.750 Dos Equis. The most incredible, exciting man. 00:26:16.300 --> 00:26:20.460 That's not the nature of your calling to be on 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:24.380 a cigarette or a beer commercial. Yeah, some 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:25.779 of the wives are looking at their husbands right 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:33.759 now. Are you hearing this? The reality is the 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:39.880 most incredible calling is to be a man that has 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:44.799 actually spent time in the Father's presence. 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:50.359 Starts to sound like our heavenly father. Live 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:53.079 like our heavenly father. Love like our heavenly 00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:57.039 father. Forgive like our heavenly father. Is 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.660 generous with his wife, his children, and others 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:03.980 like our heavenly father. And begins to think 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:09.619 beyond himself like our heavenly father. That's 00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:13.900 our calling. See, it's God who makes us. It's 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:17.440 God. our father who expands us. It's God, our 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:20.099 father who should be leading us, strengthening 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:22.920 us and transforming us. Our father should be 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:26.819 working through us. And it is those kind of truths 00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:29.200 that how that works, that this is what happens. 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:34.660 Our nation needs blessed men and fathers that 00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:37.539 look like our heavenly father more than ever 00:27:37.539 --> 00:27:43.720 before. Our community needs godly men. Our wives 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:48.119 need godly men. Our children need godly men. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:52.759 Our church needs godly men. Our places of employment 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.759 need godly men. Our community and every facet 00:27:56.759 --> 00:28:01.019 of leadership needs godly men. And my God, society 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:05.660 and the world needs godly men. And I am convinced 00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:12.529 today, with all that is in me, the family unit 00:28:12.529 --> 00:28:16.890 and the church is going to survive the 21st century, 00:28:17.029 --> 00:28:22.890 then God is about to do something inside of men 00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:26.690 that will cause a blessing and will cause a father 00:28:26.690 --> 00:28:30.750 anointing that will begin to draw people, sons, 00:28:30.849 --> 00:28:34.190 daughters, world back to something that he's 00:28:34.190 --> 00:28:43.039 doing. Without getting too deep in it, that was 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:46.180 the charge of the Old Testament right to the 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:50.220 new. In that day, I will cause the spirit of 00:28:50.220 --> 00:28:53.259 Elijah to cause... The fathers to turn to the 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:55.359 children and the children to the fathers. What 00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:58.220 we haven't understood is there was the beginning 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:01.640 of that drawing. John picked up that anointing 00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:04.720 and prepared the way for Jesus. What the church 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:08.759 hasn't realized is Jesus has started it and men 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:12.220 are supposed to be joining on to it to begin 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:15.359 to bring the hymn and the loop around for the 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:24.869 drawing to happen. Jesus Christ in a godly man 00:29:24.869 --> 00:29:27.630 can begin to serve his wife and serve his children 00:29:27.630 --> 00:29:30.730 and that circle starts to happen where children 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:33.789 are drawn to the heart of the father and the 00:29:33.789 --> 00:29:36.109 father's heart because the father's heart's been 00:29:36.109 --> 00:29:39.470 drawn to them. It won't take long between it 00:29:39.470 --> 00:29:46.049 starts to happen over and over and over. And 00:29:46.049 --> 00:29:48.730 here's what we are wanting to see as witnesses. 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:52.980 The world will witness what we see when this 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:55.900 begins to take place by godly men who are blessed 00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:58.980 men, who are blessed fathers, and that is families 00:29:58.980 --> 00:30:03.259 will begin to see other families stay together 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:06.559 during crumbling times and they'll recognize 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:11.180 something is different. They will witness a family 00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:16.029 thriving in the midst of tests. trials, unexpected 00:30:16.029 --> 00:30:20.349 accidents, even deaths and injury. And that will 00:30:20.349 --> 00:30:24.809 be an anomaly and a sign to them. They will witness 00:30:24.809 --> 00:30:28.470 families moving and making forward progress, 00:30:28.529 --> 00:30:32.930 even when economic opposition and all other things 00:30:32.930 --> 00:30:36.170 are pressed against them. And it will cause them 00:30:36.170 --> 00:30:40.609 to ponder and say, what do they have as a family 00:30:40.609 --> 00:30:42.990 that is different than what I've experienced? 00:30:48.399 --> 00:30:51.880 Think about this. If I was just to describe, 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:55.460 there's probably one man in the scripture that 00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:59.160 I love studying his life, and he's a type and 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.720 shadow of Jesus Christ. He lived in the Old Testament, 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:05.539 but there's so many things that David was. I'm 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:09.799 a King David guy. I love King David worship. 00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:12.079 I love a lot of the stories. I don't like the 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:16.779 errors that he made. But I can identify with 00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:22.359 a lot of them. Just not the one, Jenny, wherever 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:28.799 you're at. I don't identify with that. Stay away 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:31.500 from the Bathsheba. Just take a shower. Hallelujah. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:43.079 All right. All right. All right. There's a little 00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:44.720 voice that says, where are you going to go now? 00:31:45.220 --> 00:31:49.740 All right. All right. What do we know about David? 00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:55.180 Well, David was a lawyer. David was a man's man. 00:31:56.099 --> 00:32:00.039 But David was a family man. He had responsibilities 00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:03.279 of wife and children. In fact, this was probably 00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:06.240 one of the areas in David's life where it produced 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:12.170 his greatest failures. Like most men, David allowed 00:32:12.170 --> 00:32:16.049 other things to distract him from priority and 00:32:16.049 --> 00:32:19.349 attention that should have been given to his 00:32:19.349 --> 00:32:26.490 family, primarily his sons. David, on the good 00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:31.630 side, was a businessman. He was increasing in 00:32:31.630 --> 00:32:36.049 responsibility. He was a builder, not only a 00:32:36.049 --> 00:32:39.640 builder of of vision, but a builder of teams 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.400 of people. If you study his life, one of the 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.880 things that he was known for was he was a man 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:48.250 of restoration. And if I think about what David 00:32:48.250 --> 00:32:52.190 did, David was involved in singing and worshiping 00:32:52.190 --> 00:32:54.789 and understanding the salvation of God, God's 00:32:54.789 --> 00:32:57.750 mercy and grace. He was involved in restoration 00:32:57.750 --> 00:33:01.109 and he was involved in extending territory of 00:33:01.109 --> 00:33:03.309 the kingdom. And so if I could pick a man, when 00:33:03.309 --> 00:33:05.890 I looked in the scriptures that understood these 00:33:05.890 --> 00:33:09.569 three avenues yet had areas in his life where 00:33:09.569 --> 00:33:12.289 there was real weakness, David was one of them. 00:33:13.289 --> 00:33:15.809 David was an administrator. David was visionary. 00:33:16.109 --> 00:33:19.289 David was a spiritual man. David was a leader 00:33:19.289 --> 00:33:22.450 in worship and prayer. David was a skilled musician. 00:33:22.769 --> 00:33:28.849 David set the pace of atmosphere, of understanding 00:33:28.849 --> 00:33:33.009 how important presence of God was to the health 00:33:33.009 --> 00:33:37.109 of not only his own family unit, but to the nation. 00:33:38.410 --> 00:33:44.140 David related to every person on his team. He 00:33:44.140 --> 00:33:49.279 could be with Baraselli, who was the million 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:53.160 heir of his time, and he could relate to every 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:55.160 person that followed him in the cave that was 00:33:55.160 --> 00:34:01.200 distressed and in debt. David experienced everything 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:07.119 that we experience as men. And amid all of his 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:11.159 imperfections, most of us can find something 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:15.630 in David that we can relate to. But the truth 00:34:15.630 --> 00:34:18.750 is, all of us can recognize we see David's flaws. 00:34:19.329 --> 00:34:24.250 And yet, in David's failures and in David's flaws, 00:34:24.449 --> 00:34:29.429 God was able to use him for the advancement of 00:34:29.429 --> 00:34:32.929 all three things. The salvation, honoring of 00:34:32.929 --> 00:34:36.010 the salvation of God, the restoration process 00:34:36.010 --> 00:34:39.610 of what God wants for every person, and the extending 00:34:39.610 --> 00:34:44.150 of the kingdom. David carried that mantle as 00:34:44.150 --> 00:34:47.949 a man, not as a king, but as a man, because those 00:34:47.949 --> 00:34:51.349 things came to David, not in his kingship, but 00:34:51.349 --> 00:34:56.230 in his heart before the Lord. And his failures 00:34:56.230 --> 00:35:02.860 never revoked. The calling. I'm speaking to some 00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:06.340 men this morning. You've heard some lying voices 00:35:06.340 --> 00:35:09.239 that said your failures have revoked your calling. 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:19.500 Whether it's been financial issues, immoral issues, 00:35:19.820 --> 00:35:29.469 integrity issues, addiction issues. Maybe it's 00:35:29.469 --> 00:35:34.369 been the fact that you've got like cane, itchy 00:35:34.369 --> 00:35:37.809 feet. You can't stay at anything. You're not 00:35:37.809 --> 00:35:42.050 diligent or haven't been. Whatever the shortcoming 00:35:42.050 --> 00:35:46.869 is, God cuts through all of the blanket of shame 00:35:46.869 --> 00:35:50.409 and fear and today speaks to you and says, my 00:35:50.409 --> 00:35:54.650 calling to you and me is irrevocable. I didn't 00:35:54.650 --> 00:36:00.130 take it off of you. Who took it off of you? It's 00:36:00.130 --> 00:36:04.250 the question you have to ask. Who told you? Same 00:36:04.250 --> 00:36:07.489 question that was in the garden. Who told you 00:36:07.489 --> 00:36:12.789 that? God's asking that question today among 00:36:12.789 --> 00:36:16.329 every man. Who told you that your calling was 00:36:16.329 --> 00:36:19.670 irrevocable? Or that your calling was revocable? 00:36:20.510 --> 00:36:25.489 My word and my voice and what I stepped on the 00:36:25.489 --> 00:36:28.590 inside of you the moment you came to me was. 00:36:29.369 --> 00:36:37.130 Your gifts and callings are irrevocable. We can 00:36:37.130 --> 00:36:42.690 walk with God. God does not ask for perfection. 00:36:43.769 --> 00:36:47.769 He's not looking for a perfect man. He is looking 00:36:47.769 --> 00:36:52.230 for a man who will look to a perfect father for 00:36:52.230 --> 00:36:56.210 direction. You see, Psalms 12, one through nine, 00:36:56.269 --> 00:36:59.420 we read it earlier. But listen to what the psalmist 00:36:59.420 --> 00:37:04.079 says. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord and 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:09.360 greatly delights in his commandments. A father 00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:14.519 is blessed because he fears the Lord. The fear 00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:20.059 of God. Not scared of God. Hiding from God. That's 00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:23.500 not what fear means. It means there is a holy 00:37:23.500 --> 00:37:31.420 reverence and an awe and a respect. I'm gonna 00:37:31.420 --> 00:37:34.860 try not to get myself, man, we got a flood going 00:37:34.860 --> 00:37:39.199 on, hallelujah. Preaching the water right out 00:37:39.199 --> 00:37:45.780 of the tank, hallelujah. You have to understand, 00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:51.719 think about culture. You got all sorts of gangs. 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:55.559 I mean, even in our baptism today, we got old 00:37:55.559 --> 00:38:00.039 gang bangers that aren't banging or ganging for 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:05.119 the world anymore. You got kids hanging on the 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:10.420 corner, you know, with their signs. Kind of look 00:38:10.420 --> 00:38:12.599 like they're having epileptic seizures. I mean, 00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:17.190 you know, I mean. You got people wearing, sorry, 00:38:17.429 --> 00:38:19.690 we're just getting, it's probably more me now 00:38:19.690 --> 00:38:23.889 talking than, but the reality is you have all 00:38:23.889 --> 00:38:27.510 of this stuff that everybody wants respect. You 00:38:27.510 --> 00:38:30.869 deal with prison culture. Anybody that's ever 00:38:30.869 --> 00:38:33.210 worked in prisons, everybody that's ever done 00:38:33.210 --> 00:38:36.090 prison ministry, it's all about the respect, 00:38:36.230 --> 00:38:39.849 man. You respect me and I respect you. Let me 00:38:39.849 --> 00:38:43.190 tell you something. It's not that kind of negative 00:38:43.190 --> 00:38:46.349 respect that God is looking for. It's an honor 00:38:46.349 --> 00:38:50.489 respect that's saying, you see all things, know 00:38:50.489 --> 00:38:53.809 all things, nothing's hidden from you and there's 00:38:53.809 --> 00:38:57.789 nothing to be improved on with you. I recognize 00:38:57.789 --> 00:39:02.889 that you are above it all. That's what it means 00:39:02.889 --> 00:39:04.989 when it says the fear of the Lord. And because 00:39:04.989 --> 00:39:07.929 you're above it all and you don't lord it over 00:39:07.929 --> 00:39:11.960 me or use it over me like, Are you kidding me? 00:39:12.619 --> 00:39:15.340 I've modeled this for you, David. Come on, man. 00:39:15.900 --> 00:39:19.559 Get this right. You'll never hear the Holy Spirit 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:23.000 talk that way. Now, you might hear Pastor Derek 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:27.260 talk. No, I'm just kidding. Okay, the reality 00:39:27.260 --> 00:39:31.159 is you'll never hear the Holy Spirit talk that 00:39:31.159 --> 00:39:34.460 way because he'll never put it on you that way. 00:39:38.039 --> 00:39:41.530 It may have been said that Many men do not have 00:39:41.530 --> 00:39:44.730 a healthy fear of God and they don't delight 00:39:44.730 --> 00:39:48.550 in his commands, but men with this kind of thinking, 00:39:48.630 --> 00:39:55.789 we come up far less and way short of what your 00:39:55.789 --> 00:40:00.190 calling is. Proverbs 1, 7 says this, the fear 00:40:00.190 --> 00:40:03.550 of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but 00:40:03.550 --> 00:40:08.250 fools despise wisdom and instruction. When a 00:40:08.250 --> 00:40:13.889 man fears God, and knows God's commands, not 00:40:13.889 --> 00:40:20.030 from just reciting them, but allows those truths 00:40:20.030 --> 00:40:23.909 of who he is, of his perfectness and his holiness 00:40:23.909 --> 00:40:27.510 and his love to get in our heart, that's what 00:40:27.510 --> 00:40:35.670 begins to make man blessed. Psalms 1 and 2 leads 00:40:35.670 --> 00:40:38.170 it this way. And you go ahead and just play a 00:40:38.170 --> 00:40:41.170 little something for me. Blessed is the man who 00:40:41.170 --> 00:40:44.570 does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or 00:40:44.570 --> 00:40:48.590 stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat 00:40:48.590 --> 00:40:51.710 of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of 00:40:51.710 --> 00:40:54.909 the Lord. He meditates on it day and night. You 00:40:54.909 --> 00:40:59.730 see, that gives us an understanding what blessing 00:40:59.730 --> 00:41:07.429 is trying to be transferred to men. As I'm ending 00:41:07.429 --> 00:41:10.030 here, I want to focus on the middle of that Psalm, 00:41:10.090 --> 00:41:14.170 Psalm 112, just that last part, verses probably 00:41:14.170 --> 00:41:17.050 six and seven. Notice what it says, six, seven, 00:41:17.070 --> 00:41:19.250 a little bit of eight. It says this, for the 00:41:19.250 --> 00:41:23.989 righteous will never be moved. He will be remembered 00:41:23.989 --> 00:41:29.570 forever. He's not afraid of bad news, but his 00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:33.630 heart is firm in trusting the Lord. He's steady 00:41:33.630 --> 00:41:40.699 and not Not afraid of what's coming in the world. 00:41:40.780 --> 00:41:48.139 He's not afraid of God and pride keeping him 00:41:48.139 --> 00:41:55.219 from embracing who God is. A blessed man has 00:41:55.219 --> 00:42:01.440 learned that there is nothing in pride that honors 00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:07.750 him. It's the greatest lie of the enemy. Pride 00:42:07.750 --> 00:42:12.590 is the greatest lie. Somehow thinking it exalts 00:42:12.590 --> 00:42:15.809 you. When all it does, the scripture says, God 00:42:15.809 --> 00:42:20.510 puts down the proud, but he lifts up the humble. 00:42:20.610 --> 00:42:23.590 What's the humble man? The humble man, it doesn't 00:42:23.590 --> 00:42:26.309 mean he's just constantly bumbling around. Well, 00:42:26.489 --> 00:42:30.030 I'm just humble. I can't do anything. I can't 00:42:30.030 --> 00:42:36.090 even believe that God loves me. That's not humble. 00:42:40.030 --> 00:42:44.570 I wanted to say a few things, but I'm stopping. 00:42:47.730 --> 00:42:52.449 A humble man means he doesn't need to talk about 00:42:52.449 --> 00:42:57.309 himself. He doesn't need to list his qualifications. 00:42:58.809 --> 00:43:02.369 He doesn't need to bring a resume to every conversation. 00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:07.400 He recognizes that his counsel, his wisdom, his 00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:11.460 strength, the very thing that actually makes 00:43:11.460 --> 00:43:15.880 him comes from a father who's constantly pouring 00:43:15.880 --> 00:43:20.940 into him and he doesn't need to justify himself. 00:43:21.119 --> 00:43:25.480 He's already justified by the love and purpose 00:43:25.480 --> 00:43:29.019 of God. That's what makes him a blessed man. 00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:35.809 You know what happens? When we get that, what 00:43:35.809 --> 00:43:39.849 happens? Justifying stops happening in a marriage. 00:43:45.050 --> 00:43:51.730 Arguments over who's right stop happening. There's 00:43:51.730 --> 00:43:55.710 no more competition. Among sons and fathers because 00:43:55.710 --> 00:43:59.309 I'm not trying to relive my mistakes and what 00:43:59.309 --> 00:44:02.349 I wish I did in junior high and high school through 00:44:02.349 --> 00:44:09.909 the next generation. I'm not living with a competitive 00:44:09.909 --> 00:44:15.869 spirit. I'm actually living my life to see those 00:44:15.869 --> 00:44:20.989 that are connected to me flourish. Flourishing 00:44:20.989 --> 00:44:24.780 in my house. And flourishing in my friendships. 00:44:25.380 --> 00:44:28.739 And then finding people. That are connected to 00:44:28.739 --> 00:44:33.139 the one I love. My father. And his son. And those 00:44:33.139 --> 00:44:37.320 who say yes to him. I begin pouring in. And seeing 00:44:37.320 --> 00:44:46.000 them flourish. That's a blessed man. A blessed 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:51.440 man. And a blessed father. creates an atmosphere 00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:56.719 for a blessed family. A blessed family has a 00:44:56.719 --> 00:45:01.059 blessed legacy. Blessed legacies mean that there 00:45:01.059 --> 00:45:04.000 have been witnesses to those families and to 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:07.099 those blessings and people want to be connected 00:45:07.099 --> 00:45:11.159 to something that's thriving and is life -giving. 00:45:11.239 --> 00:45:16.099 Nobody sits on a ship that actually is set for 00:45:16.099 --> 00:45:20.539 destruction. You get on a ship manifest, Where's 00:45:20.539 --> 00:45:27.679 it going? Down to park next to the Titanic. Nobody's 00:45:27.679 --> 00:45:31.119 getting on that ship unless they're truly a moron. 00:45:33.400 --> 00:45:38.880 The spirit of moron, it's a Greek word. You're 00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:43.539 looking at the manifest of people's lives. You're 00:45:43.539 --> 00:45:46.199 going, why does that life look different? It's 00:45:46.199 --> 00:45:50.339 not because God has favorites. It's because Someone 00:45:50.339 --> 00:45:53.699 has tapped into what it means to receive a blessing 00:45:53.699 --> 00:45:58.780 and to know the blessing. I want to go to that 00:45:58.780 --> 00:46:03.960 last, last song. Can we do the last song? Awesome. 00:46:05.159 --> 00:46:07.239 Had a bunch of audibles. I'm not sure where I 00:46:07.239 --> 00:46:09.179 was going today. So we just gave a bunch of things. 00:46:11.480 --> 00:46:18.699 I want to pray for men. Fact is. Would you just 00:46:18.699 --> 00:46:20.440 bow your head and close your eyes for a moment? 00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:27.500 I'm speaking to all men and all fathers. Of course, 00:46:27.500 --> 00:46:31.519 sons, daughters, women are included in this, 00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:39.159 but men, I'm focusing on you today. Who told 00:46:39.159 --> 00:46:43.360 you your calling was revoked? It wasn't our father. 00:46:44.360 --> 00:46:50.409 Our father has a blessing for you. Our father 00:46:50.409 --> 00:46:54.829 has a blessing for you. You will never hear our 00:46:54.829 --> 00:46:59.570 father say, I've already given the blessing to 00:46:59.570 --> 00:47:02.769 someone else. I don't have anything for you. 00:47:04.789 --> 00:47:09.619 That's not who he is. He is the source. He is 00:47:09.619 --> 00:47:13.739 the author of all things. There is more of him 00:47:13.739 --> 00:47:17.980 than you could ever put your mind, hands, heart 00:47:17.980 --> 00:47:21.199 around. And I'm talking to you this morning, 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:26.420 men, fathers, those that are later in life and 00:47:26.420 --> 00:47:30.139 those just starting out in life. If you have 00:47:30.139 --> 00:47:33.000 been lied to and you've tried to prove yourself 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:37.300 by a resume of how you're trying to work yourself. 00:47:37.690 --> 00:47:41.070 prove yourself, live by your own strength, trying 00:47:41.070 --> 00:47:46.530 to argue, scratch, try to justify. Time is now 00:47:46.530 --> 00:47:50.630 to actually say, I'm done with that old lifestyle, 00:47:50.829 --> 00:47:54.570 and I'm coming to the Father that will erase 00:47:54.570 --> 00:47:58.730 my past and start brand new with me right now. 00:47:58.789 --> 00:48:02.010 That doesn't mean that... Maybe there's people 00:48:02.010 --> 00:48:04.510 in here this morning that need to start with 00:48:04.510 --> 00:48:07.989 just salvation. But for many of you, you already 00:48:07.989 --> 00:48:11.769 know your calling and that you love Jesus, but 00:48:11.769 --> 00:48:15.989 you have not walked in a blessing. It's time 00:48:15.989 --> 00:48:21.329 that God would begin to shift the mindset, shift. 00:48:22.010 --> 00:48:25.090 those lies and allow you to come to the one who 00:48:25.090 --> 00:48:28.829 is a blessing and you begin to live under that 00:48:28.829 --> 00:48:32.809 grace of his love and with humility and watch 00:48:32.809 --> 00:48:36.250 how God will begin to change the things around 00:48:36.250 --> 00:48:44.010 you. If that's you, I would love for you just 00:48:44.010 --> 00:48:46.809 right now. I know I'm doing a big ask on Father's 00:48:46.809 --> 00:48:49.090 Day. I'd like you just to get up from your seat 00:48:49.090 --> 00:48:53.219 right now. And just say, that's me. I've been 00:48:53.219 --> 00:48:56.900 living with a revoked calling. I've been modeling 00:48:56.900 --> 00:49:00.480 something that's not right. And I'm coming today 00:49:00.480 --> 00:49:03.119 for an exchange. Just come right now. Come right 00:49:03.119 --> 00:49:07.079 down and meet me right here. I am exchanging 00:49:07.079 --> 00:49:10.900 this. I'm coming to my Holy Father. And I'm going 00:49:10.900 --> 00:49:15.940 to receive a blessing. Wherever my kids are at 00:49:15.940 --> 00:49:18.019 in their journey, wherever my grandkids are at 00:49:18.019 --> 00:49:20.579 in the journey, wherever I am personally as a 00:49:20.579 --> 00:49:24.420 young man, I'm done trying to substantiate myself. 00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:29.500 Awesome. By my own justifications, by my own 00:49:29.500 --> 00:49:32.780 measurements, and I'm coming back to the Father 00:49:32.780 --> 00:49:36.500 above and saying, I'm coming back to the one 00:49:36.500 --> 00:49:43.570 who gives blessings. Come on. I'm coming back 00:49:43.570 --> 00:49:47.170 to the one who said his calling and his love 00:49:47.170 --> 00:49:51.590 and his blessings were irrevocable. And I'm exchanging 00:49:51.590 --> 00:49:57.809 now my way for his way. I want the legacy of 00:49:57.809 --> 00:50:02.550 my father upon my mind, upon my heart, and upon 00:50:02.550 --> 00:50:06.869 the fruit of my life. I will not be identified 00:50:06.869 --> 00:50:11.420 by my yesterdays. But I start my new identity 00:50:11.420 --> 00:50:17.159 today in Jesus' name. If I can have some men, 00:50:17.360 --> 00:50:21.679 you know, our elders, our staff, our prayer teams, 00:50:21.900 --> 00:50:24.460 all that have been trained, come, let's put a 00:50:24.460 --> 00:50:29.559 hand on these guys. Begin to pray. And for the 00:50:29.559 --> 00:50:32.820 rest of us, I want us to begin to sing this song 00:50:32.820 --> 00:50:36.260 as Stephanie and Sonny begin to just lead us 00:50:36.260 --> 00:50:39.010 in this song called The Blessing. Would you stand 00:50:39.010 --> 00:50:42.590 with me this morning? And this is what we believe. 00:50:42.750 --> 00:50:46.789 God is the author of every blessing. He's the 00:50:46.789 --> 00:50:50.090 author of every turnaround. He's the author of 00:50:50.090 --> 00:50:55.170 every success. Oh, Jesus, we come to that place 00:50:55.170 --> 00:50:59.570 of exchange now. We lay down the habits. We lay 00:50:59.570 --> 00:51:04.190 them down in Jesus' name. Every cycle, Lord, 00:51:04.289 --> 00:51:07.449 that's been destructive, we come for an exchange. 00:51:08.300 --> 00:51:40.460 Amen. 625 -1365 We would love to pray with you.