A Good Dad
“face to Face” Sermon series
June 17th 2007 / Father’s Day
Intro: We are starting a new sermon series this morning called “face to Face”
There isn’t any better way to communicate than “face to face” We have continually made new ways to communicate over the years; we have, Letter writing then came telegraph, telephone, then cordless phones, cell phones, email, I.M and T.M. (If you don’t know what those last two are you need to spend more time with teenagers.)
But no form of communication is better than face to face, having eye contact and undivided, undistracted and unveiled communication.
The guest speakers at that Pastoral Couple retreat Tina and attended, recommended couples have “face time.” Time twice per day, at least 5minutes each, where you’re not even sitting side-by-side, but actually face-to-face.
Have you ever considered coming face to Face with God? But how do we do that?
How can anyone see God?
Moses did,
Exodus 33:11 “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
Paul spoke about it,
1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
Philip asked for to see,
John 14:8 “Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Hebrews explains it,
Hebrews 1:1 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
The Bible says if you want to get to know God, you look at Jesus. If you want to understand what God is like, study Jesus. If you want to get close to God, get close to Jesus.
I’ve selected (5) people from the Gospel narratives that came “face to Face.”
Some of these Characters will be familiar, others not so much. But all of their stories are Divinely recorded in the Bible, so that we may gain a glimpse of God for ourselves. We can identify with these people and ultimately, confidently come face to Face ourselves.
This morning we will be learning from Mark’s Gospel chapter 9. Here we see a Good dad, bringing his troubled son to Jesus.
Text: Mark 9:14-27 “When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. 17A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." 20So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21Jesus asked the boy’s father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23" ’If you can’?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" 25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He’s dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
I. A good Dad stays close
a. He was there to pull his son out of trouble
This man tells Jesus that the Demon often tries to kill his son. Someone is there to pull him out? Who do you think that person is? I think it’s the Dad.
Illustration: The father and son on the Tandem bike. The father coached and talked the son through the obstacles.
b. He Loved His son.
i. When many are walking away, a good man stays.
ii. The religious people of the day would have judged this man for his son’s condition.
50% of children from broken homes have not seen their father in over a year.
H.B. London says, “Parenting of any value does not leave the results to chance. Dads must take seriously the development of their family.”
c. He didn’t allow his shortcomings to stop him.
(Lord, I believe, help me…)
i. Most men shy away from things we don’t feel confident about.
ii. Hang in there. You’re making a difference
iii. You don’t have it “All Together”; you don’t have to be perfect.
iv. You kids aren’t looking for perfection but they do need your best.
More than likely your kids aren’t demon possessed; but that doesn’t mean that Satan isn’t trying to kill them, rob and destroy them.
v. Satan’s number one tactic to destroy our youth is to get Dad out of the picture.
93% of all people incarcerated are men, and 85% of them have no father figure.
Prison worker Bill Glass says that of the thousands of prisoners he has met in 25 years of service, not one of them genuinely loved their dad.
II. A good Dad leads his kids to Jesus.
a. Jesus is the only One who can help
i. The religious leaders couldn’t
ii. The Disciples couldn’t even help
b. He had to go straight to Jesus
c. Pray for your kids.
i. This includes your adult children as well.
ii. Remember my rock breaking illustration? (The 100th blow couldn’t break the rock without the first 99.)
iii. P.U.S.H (Pray Until Something Happens)
Every one of us dads needs a role model. We can see it in Jesus.
Even if you aren’t a dad, you have need for God to be your foremost Father.
III. Everyone of us can have a Good Dad
a. No one has a perfect earthly father
i. Every one of us has a NEED for a strong relationship with our Father.
ii. That need is partially filled by our earthly fathers (If possible)
iii. The “Fall” has left most men relationally deficient.
iv. That deficiency has shown up in you and it has shown up in your earthly fathers as well.
v. So, either to their own shame because of their own sin OR by reason of their humanity our earthly fathers didn’t meet all our needs. (Nor could they)
The Father I Never Had (by Joel Engle)
My dad left my mom and I when I was only a month old. I never had any contact with him my whole life; I never even saw a picture of him. My mom died when I was eleven. I lived with my grandparents until my grandpa died when I was fourteen. Because of all of this, I lived with a lot of emotional pain for many years. It even affected my marriage to my beautiful, godly wife for a season. But I have begun to realize that God is my father. Psalm 68:5 says that “God is a father to the fatherless.” Yes, I still feel the pain of my past at times but Christ “has replaced what the locusts have eaten.” This song didn’t need huge production with all the bells and whistles. Just a piano and a vocal will do. This is a song of intimacy. I pray that it will encourage a lot of people who have had to walk down the road of the fatherless like I had to walk.
Play the song
One line in the song says, “When I met you ‘face to Face,’ you wiped away my fears.”
How do you fit into this song? This story?
iv. Healing starts with forgiveness and moves to openness
v. Every earthly relationship is deficient in some capacity, we need relationship with God; a close personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
vi. You need to allow God to fill up in you what is missing.
b. God longs to be your Dad
i. Even though Scripture includes illustration of God filling a maternal role (such as a Hen covering her chicks), He primarily reveals Himself as our Heavenly Father.
ii. The revelation I want you to grab a hold of during this series (especially today) is this, “God will meet your needs, your individual, personal needs”
Conclusion / Application:
For some, you need to intercede as this Father did. Step up, be the Good Dad.
For all of us, we need God to fill this role on our behalf.
The Spirit searches the Heart and intercedes on our behalf.
Connecting, healing and changing our lives.
Happy Father’s Day God! Thanks for being there for us!
