1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,320 God, as we celebrate those who have led us, who have guided us, who have given us structure, 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:14,840 direction, or God, we ask that you would continue to point us to who you are, because you are 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:20,120 our True Father, the one who continues to shine in the darkness, even at the times when 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:28,160 we struggle. We thank you that your love never fails. In Jesus Christ, amen. 5 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:33,920 Howdy. Well, now, at least the phone ringer was in the right key with the band, okay? 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:39,280 So at least that part is great. Happy Father's Day, everybody. How are you all today? 7 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,560 Yeah, I know. Now, let me check, though. All right. Are you all going to lunch afterwards? 8 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,280 You're going to take your father and all the children are paying with their own money, 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:53,560 right? Yeah, yeah. Let's check and see how many ties and how many wallets will be given 10 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:59,720 out over the next week. It should be good. But today, what a day to be able to celebrate 11 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:05,120 fathers. And I want to make sure that I also remember that in celebrating Father's Day, 12 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,440 we know that there are a lot of people who also serve in that capacity, those who are 13 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:15,520 uncles, brothers, grandparents, those who are mentors and teachers, and even at times 14 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:22,120 whenever single parents need to serve in both roles in a family, is that there is this parent 15 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:28,760 that ends up providing so much of what guides us and lead us in our future. See, the thing 16 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:35,760 is, is that fathers in so many ways are the ones who plant the seeds of what we end up 17 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:42,480 prioritizing in our lives, the ones who help us to find structure for who we are, and the 18 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:48,880 ones who help us in becoming who we're meant to be, or sometimes show us the people that 19 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:54,600 we're trying not to be. I promised myself as a child that my jokes would be much better 20 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,600 than my father's someday, and I have proven myself wrong. They are terrible. They are 21 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:05,960 terrible. My father's legacy lives on and always will. But the thing with this is that 22 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:13,920 when we discover how influential fathers really are in our lives, we also realize what a responsibility 23 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:21,480 that truly is. You see, it turns out that if you were to actually look at children and 24 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:30,840 identify whether they will or will not, stay in their faith or be worshiping in church regularly, 25 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:38,480 the biggest indicator is their fathers. Two thirds to three fourths of children, whether 26 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:45,760 they do or do not, stay in their faith and continue in worship, is based directly on 27 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:55,840 their fathers and what they do. This is not just something to feel as a weight, but rather 28 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:03,360 is a hope and a joy, because so much can be transformed by the love of fathers for their 29 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:10,560 children. Now, I have to say, though, is that oftentimes when we see what fathers are teaching 30 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:17,000 us, it can sometimes be a little bit tricky in what they do, because fathers, they're 31 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,600 trying to figure it out just like everybody else. For example, when it's time for fathers 32 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:30,080 to teach their children how to ride a bicycle. Now, my father taught me how to ride a bike 33 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:37,560 just like others may have. Now, you may have in your mind that scene in any movie where 34 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,880 the father is holding the back of the seat, right, and you're running along and you're 35 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:48,600 running along and the child's pedaling and then the father lets go. And then after a 36 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:54,120 little bit, the child realizes, I'm riding my bike, I'm riding my bike, and the dad says, 37 00:03:54,120 --> 00:04:00,200 you're doing great, you're doing great, and the kid is so overjoyed. That is a huge lie. 38 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:05,520 Absolutely not. Because as soon as I realized what was going on, and I fell right over it, 39 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:11,160 I'm like, dad, you betrayed me. And I ran in. I did not touch that bike for like at least 40 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:17,680 a year. I'm like, no, my dad betrayed me. I cannot trust him. Absolutely not. Absolutely 41 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:29,160 not. Oh, man, what's up with fathers? But what ends up happening? My dad gets me back 42 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,760 out there, and I'm like, dad, are you going to let go of that seat again? He's like, when 43 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:44,520 you're ready? Yes, I will. And I've been riding my bike ever since. The thing is, though, 44 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:52,000 I'd say that I had kind of ridden my bike a little ways, and I fell over. Even though 45 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:59,360 I'd been pedaling on my own. But at that moment, I was like, oh no, my father's not there. 46 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:05,440 Would I technically be able to say that I knew how to ride my bike? Just from that one 47 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:12,800 moment, never getting back on it again. That question is something that was on my mind 48 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:20,040 in looking at Mark chapter four. You see, we're talking a little bit about the parable 49 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:26,200 of the seeds. But you see earlier in there, there's a context. Jesus had been talking 50 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:31,680 about the parable of the sower. And one of the things that's interesting about this is 51 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:42,360 that looking at this parable, it can genuinely cause us to have concern about faith. You 52 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:48,560 see, in it, there are these seeds that are being sown. And some of the seeds, depending 53 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:53,280 on where they go, may or may not do well. You see, some of the seeds, they're being 54 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:59,920 sown and they're eaten. And it turns out that for some, the Word of God is proclaimed 55 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:08,720 and nothing comes of it. Or for others, it says that the seed produces joy. And yet, 56 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:16,480 those very people will fall away, the ones that are withered as they grow up. And then 57 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,280 there are others that are choked because of the thorns and they don't end up bearing 58 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:30,640 any fruit. But this passage ends up asking a very difficult question. Does this mean 59 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:38,560 that a person can hear the Word and come to faith, but then lose their faith? And subsequently 60 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:46,000 lose salvation? Now, when I say this, I know that many of you who are here, you've already 61 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:51,400 got different thoughts in your head, different ideas, different views of this. Because the 62 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:58,800 church for centuries has debated this question in a lot of ways. And what's difficult is 63 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:06,360 that Scripture actually does have examples that may prove one way or the other. There 64 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:14,280 are some passages that say, like in John 10, 28, 29, no one can snatch us out of Christ's 65 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:23,080 hand. Or Romans 11, 29, that talks about God's gifts and his calling are irrevocable. You 66 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:33,160 can't lose them. Or John 6, 39, I shall lose none of those whom God has given me. But then 67 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:40,320 there are other passages, like Hebrews 6, those who are enlightened and having the Holy 68 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:47,400 Spirit can fall away. Hebrews 10, if we keep on sinning after learning the truth, then 69 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:54,960 there is judgment. Galatians 5, people falling from grace because they believe in a different 70 00:07:54,960 --> 00:08:03,760 gospel. Or 1 Corinthians 9, Hebrews 12, James 1, 12, needing to persevere in the faith in 71 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:10,400 order to have the crown of life. It becomes this difficult question that leads people 72 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:21,280 to ask, once saved, always saved? See, that statement, once saved, always saved, it actually 73 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:30,800 did not originate here. You see, in reality, that idea that if you got saved at some point 74 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:39,240 in your life, but then later stopped believing that, well, if this is real, then therefore 75 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:47,360 everything else doesn't matter. It actually originated way, way back. You see, there was 76 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:58,040 this view that God only chose some people to be saved. And other people, God created 77 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:05,800 in order to be damned. And I say that because I'm hoping that we have taught you enough 78 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:13,680 by now to know that that is not what we teach here. But you see, teachers like Augustine 79 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,800 and then later John Calvin, they were spending all this time trying to figure out, is it 80 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:26,720 you? Are you saved? Are you one of the elect? Are you not? And in so doing, it was this idea 81 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:33,160 that if you could at least hear them say it one time that they believed in Jesus that now, 82 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:40,880 oh, you've just proven that you're one of them. But in order to go that route, we would 83 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:48,680 have to believe that God's love, the love of a father, did not really want to save all 84 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:57,640 of us. Could you imagine what it is to believe that the father would not love all of his 85 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:08,000 children? With that, though, is that that makes me wonder sometimes about how much we are 86 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:15,800 just desperate to hope that God still loves us even at the times when we feel far away. 87 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:22,080 See, there was some years back, you know, long, long, long time ago when I was a young 88 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:27,760 buck in my mid-thirties, not the old fart that you see in front of you today. Hey, I'm 89 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,040 shaving this beard. There's way too much white in it. I'm just, I don't know where that came 90 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:37,480 from. But with it, though, is I was getting ready to go to China. And I was talking to 91 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:42,320 my parents on the phone, and I called my dad, and I was letting him know that I was going 92 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:51,760 to China. And he was very concerned for good reason. But as I talked with him about what 93 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:57,160 the plans were and how things would work out while I'm there, but also how it was going 94 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,800 to be a part of my career and moving forward, and I felt like this is a chance to be able 95 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:08,080 to move forward as a person as well. And he heard it, and he said, you know, I understand, 96 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:12,480 son. You know, I'll be praying for you, and I hope that all goes well. Let me know how 97 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:20,520 I can help. I did not realize at that moment how much I needed my dad's approval. I was 98 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:28,720 in my thirties, and I was still looking to my dad because the weight lifted. See, that's 99 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:37,560 the thing about this debate and this question is that while we may question about, can we 100 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:45,240 abandon God? Well, we can abandon God. But God will never abandon us. See, that's the 101 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:53,840 thing about this is that God is not forcing us to be in his kingdom. God wants us in his 102 00:11:53,840 --> 00:12:01,840 kingdom and has made the way. But he's not willing to force that on anyone. And because 103 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:09,480 of his word, he gives us the freedom to follow him. See, that's the thing about this is that 104 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:17,600 we made debate this idea that if someone, maybe somebody said that they believed in Jesus, 105 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:23,480 but they didn't really believe in him enough, or after all, and then later on they're just 106 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,640 expressing that they don't believe because they never did. But then there are others 107 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:34,880 who might say, well, but maybe they really did believe, but they allowed everything else 108 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:43,880 to distract and to pull them away. And the answer is, I have no idea. Because I am not 109 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:52,120 God and I can't look in anyone's heart. Neither can you. But in reality is that it doesn't 110 00:12:52,120 --> 00:13:00,360 as much matter what we look to in the past as much as today is the question to you today. 111 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:07,120 Do you believe in Jesus as your savior? Do you want to follow him? Because with all of 112 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:14,320 these different debates is that the struggle that we want to look at and take seriously 113 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:22,080 is how so many times when we lose sight of the father, we don't spend the time hearing 114 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:28,160 his word and listening to his spirit. Because that's the thing about our life of faith is 115 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:37,520 that that seed is meant to be grown and nourished and fed. We are meant to stay in God's word 116 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:47,080 to continue to grow in that and that as God's spirit is speaking to us, is that we are listening 117 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,760 and saying, yes, God, I know that I need to hear you. Because maybe there is something 118 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:57,720 that we continue to struggle with. Some sin, some failure, something that it is that we 119 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,640 keep trying to justify in our minds, but God is saying, no, I need you to let that go because 120 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:10,320 that keeps pulling you away from me. And that's a piece about what we see about the love of 121 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:21,400 the father. Because fathers, your legacy matters. You see, oftentimes what we'll end up doing 122 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:28,680 is kind of deciding, okay, I have to get this thing done. And then after that, everything's 123 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:35,240 okay. As long as I can get up to this point, and then everything's okay. I got my child 124 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:43,760 baptized. Okay, great, awesome. Good luck. Hope everything goes well. Good job. Or, oh, 125 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:49,360 my child got confirmed. They said that they believe in Jesus. Okay, great, awesome. Okay, 126 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:54,640 now go get a job and go figure out life. Okay, I don't care if you're 14. Come on, come on. 127 00:14:54,640 --> 00:15:01,160 The world's expensive. I need you to get out there. Let's go. There is no cutoff point 128 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:09,440 where the father no longer matters to the child. And that's a responsibility that we 129 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:19,760 need to hear. But it's also a joy that we get to hear. Because fathers, that seed that 130 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:29,200 is sprouting, is still growing and looking to you for where to go. As much as our society 131 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:35,960 may oftentimes dismiss and downplay the importance of fathers where we have images and ideas 132 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:45,480 of the bumbling dad who doesn't get stuff right, your words, your lives, your actions 133 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:55,640 matter. And not just whether or not you've brought this child to know who Jesus is, but 134 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:02,880 are they now going to do the same with their children as well? Because that's what we end 135 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:08,680 up seeing here in this question is not do we worry about once saved, always saved, but 136 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:15,920 rather right here right now. What is the faith that you see? And what is the word that is 137 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:27,440 strengthening you today? And that is my challenge to you. But at the end of the day, you know 138 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,680 as well as I do that you're going to stumble. You know as well as I'm due that you're going 139 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:37,880 to have the times when you're like, well, I raised my voice a little bit too much today. 140 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:46,560 For man, I really did exactly what I told my kids not to do. Or oh boy, I really wish 141 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:59,600 nobody had seen that. But here's the thing about faith. Like a mustard seed. That peace, 142 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:07,160 that faith that God has planted in you is what grows. We don't know how. We don't have all 143 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:14,560 the answers. We don't get it all the time. But God is still working in you. The frail, 144 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:22,960 flawed, imperfect, sometimes small person that you may feel like you are. But the people 145 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:33,920 around you need you. And so for you, my words are that God's salvation is still yours. And 146 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:40,360 that God's spirit is still speaking to you and has plans for you. So wherever you may 147 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:46,920 find yourself today, I hope that you find yourself in God's word and that his spirit 148 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:55,440 is speaking to you. May you live it out so that others can see the Father's love through 149 00:17:55,440 --> 00:18:03,520 yours. Happy Father's Day and thank you for all that you do. Thanks be to God.