“WHOSE YOUR HERO?”
FATHER’S DAY 2008
June 15, 2008
INTRODUCTION:
Webster’s Dictionary defines HERO as...
“noble person, grand person, a champion, a man of distinguished valor,
intrepid or enterprising in danger, a great illustrious or extraordinary person”
A Hero is Heroic. Webster says of HEROIC as..
“Pertaining to a hero, bold, daring, illustrious,
brave, intrepid, magnanimous, enterprising
I. EVERYBODY WANTS & NEEDS A HERO!
I’m 51 years old & I’ve had many heros in my life. We all have Heros. Heros are something that we long for & something we need. Heros give us something or someone to look up to.
In America today & recent history most of our Heros were Movie Stars: Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Paul Newman, Robert Redford just to name a few. It’s really kind of sad and hollow that these people are, for the most part, Heros to America.
Even more sadder is some Heros aren’t even REAL PEOPLE! They’re just characters in a Movie from Hollywood. Rambo, Rocky, Rooster Cogburn (no relation to Sis. Cogburn), Forest Gump, Will Smith in Independence Day, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, again I could go on & one. Suffice it to say, these are not even real people that people have set them up as their Heros. They want to emulate & imitate them. I’ve been guilty we all have been guilty at one time or another. That goes to show how hungry we are to have HEROS in our lives.
There are sports Heros like, Jo Dimaggio, Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth, Joe Namath, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong,
Everybody Wants A Hero! Everybody longs to have a Hero.
We’ve seen Heros like John Wayne, Rambo, Rocky, Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Sports figures like Jo Dimaggio, Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth, Joe Namath, Nolan Ryan. Now these are REAL PEOPLE but just because they are sports figures & stars doesn’t make them real Heros as well.
Other & Real Heros can be found in our founding fathers & Politicians like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, men who gave their lives for our country & the cause & cost of Freedom so that you & I could know, experience & live in Freedom.
THOSE ARE REAL HEROS!
There are HEROS who are giving of themselves everyday in foreign lands & at home for the cause & cost of Freedom. Men like Pat Tillman who gave up the NFL to serve his country & was tragically killed & others like my nephew Ryan Moore who serve this country with distinction keeping our shores safe from attack & sneak attack. I never let an opportunity go by when I see a young man or woman in Uniform to tell them how proud I am of them & am praying for them!
THOSE ARE REAL HEROS!
Then there are the everyday “HERO” who you never hear about. Men & Women like our Police Officers & Firefighters keeping our streets as safe as possible.
I’m a man so I can speak with some experience & even a little bit on liberty on the subject. I know down deep in the heart of every man sitting here at the sound of my voice there is a guy who wants to be a “HERO!” Every man in this room wants to be somebody’s “HERO!” He wants his wife to look upon him as her “HERO!” He wants & longs for his Children to look upon him as the “HERO” in their eyes who can do anything! He wants to be that knight in shining armor!
YOU SEE THAT IS THE WAY THAT GOD MADE US! WE ARE HARD WIRED THAT WAY & WE WILL NOT CHANGE! YOU TAKE TOY GUNS AWAY FROM BOYS & THEY’LL FIND A STICK TO SHOOT THE BAD GUYS WITH! THAT IS WHO WE ARE! & THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!
Men are really quite simple. We need a Battle to Fight, an Adventure to Live & a Beauty to Rescue! If we as men meet those three things in our lives we are HEROS! WE WANT TO BE HEROS! GOD MADE US THAT WAY!
Dads in our Society, in America today, WE NEED HEROS! “HEROS” Start at home. They are bred by Fathers who show them what it means to be a Man of Honor, to take Pride in Themselves & Their Actions, to have a Conscience as to what is right Morally & Spiritually, to have Pride In Actions, to Defend the Defenseless, to Help the Elderly, to have a Sense of Community & Family, to put God & Family FIRST!
II. DAD YOUR FAMILY NEEDS A HERO!
In Mark 5:22 a man named Jarius came to Jesus asking for healing for his daughter.
“..one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jarius by name, & when
he saw Him he fell at His feet begging Him earnestly saying, My
little daughter lies at the point of death. Come & lay Your hands
on her, that she may be healed & she will live.”
There was a “HERO!” This was a man who was in leadership in the Synagogue. The Synagogue didn’t like Jesus. They didn’t like Jesus’ teaching or even liked Jesus for that fact, but Jarius risked his position, his office, his livelihood, his job, maybe even his life for his little daughter! & SHE WAS HEALED!
THAT IS THE “HEART OF A HERO” THAT IS THE “HEART OF FATHER!” FAMILIES NEED A “HERO” THAT IS NOT ON TELEVISION, A “HERO” WHO IS NOT IN THE MOVIES BUT A “HERO” WHO LIVES IN THE HOME!
AND KIDS NEED TO LOOK AT THEIR FATHERS AS A “HERO!” I’VE KNOWN FATHERS WHO GIVE THEIR ALL & ARE NOT APPRECIATED AS THE “HERO” THEY SHOULD BE!
MOMS YOU HAVE A “DISTINCT ROLE” IN THE VIEW YOUR CHILDREN HAVE ABOUT THEIR FATHERS!
DAD TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ROLE OF “HERO” IN YOUR FAMILY CAN BE A LONELY ONE BUT IT IS A GOD GIVEN NECESSARY ROLE & YOU SHOULD NOT EVER ALLOW ANYONE ELSE TO FILL THAT ROLE OF “HERO” BUT YOURSELF! BEING A HERO IS NOT A
“HEROS” DO WHAT IS RIGHT NO MATTER THE CONSENSUS OF OTHERS! DAD YOU WILL STAND FOR THE “RIGHT” WHEN OTHERS IN THE FAMILY MAY OR MAY NOT SEE IT THAT WAY BUT YOU WILL! & IN DOING SO YOU ARE THE “HERO” OF YOUR FAMILY!
DAD, BEING A “HERO” MEANS ISN’T JUST TAKING THEM WEEKEND FISHING OR BUYING A VIDEO GAME! BEING A “HERO” MEANS GETTING YOUR FAMILY UP ON SUNDAY & TELLING THEM IT’S GOD’S DAY! BEING A “HERO” MEANS “LEADING” YOUR FAMILY TO THE HOUSE OF GOD NOT JUST DROPPING THEM OFF OR SEEING THEM OUT THE DOOR! BEING A “HERO” MEANS FAITHFULNESS IN GIVING & SHOWING YOUR FAMILY “FAITH & TRUST” IN GOD FIRST!
BEING A “HERO” MEANS A CONSISTENT WALK WITH GOD IN FRONT OF YOUR FAMILY SO THAT WHEN YOUR GONE YOUR “HEROICS” WILL LONG OUT LIVE YOU!
“HEROS” DON’T DO WHAT IS EASY OR CONVENIENT! “HEROS” DO WHAT IS RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS SAY, THINK OR DO! “HEROS” ARE ABOVE THE EASY & CONVENIENT! “HEROS” ARE IN FOR THE LONG HAUL. DAD YOUR FAMILY NEEDS A HERO!
III. DAD YOUR CHURCH NEEDS A HERO
“HEROS” are FAITHFUL! DAD, the greatest thing you can teach & give you children is a good work ethic, biblical training & FAITHFULNESS TO THE HOUSE OF GOD!
Hebrews 10:25 tells us HEROS!
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...exhorting one
another & so much the more as you see the day approaching.”
Dad the church needs “HEROS” in you as well. When you fulfill the role of a “HERO” in the church you are serving not only God but, again, your family as well.
We are told in this passage to exhort or to encourage, inspire, incite, prod, cajole, push, even pull one another to “HEROICS!” YEA! THERE IS THAT “HERO” THING AGAIN!
I had a “HERO” when I was a boy in Gospel Temple on Steele Road in Kansas City, Kansas. I’ve mentioned him before! His name was Bro. Murphy. He was a heavy bald man with a huge Ford station wagon who loved the Boys Primary Class!
He picked us up on Saturday mornings & would take us bowling, miniature golfing, walk around the malls with us, take us to McDonald’s or buy us a pizza & he would pay for it all. & then he did one of the most “HEROIC” things I can remember as a Child. He made sure we new our Sunday School lessons for the next day. That sweet old man poured into me & taught me what a “HERO” really was! He didn’t look like Rocky or Rambo! He didn’t drink a Bud in one gulp! He loved us unconditionally and 46 years later old Bro. Murphy is still one of my “HEROS!”
Eric & Christina do “HEROICS” every other Friday nights for a bunch of kids who all they want to do is play ball but they are looking beyond the moment “HEROICALLY!”
The church needs “HEROS!” Dad! God is calling some of you to “HEROICS!” this morning!
IV. DAD, YOU NEED A HERO!
In Daniel there were three Hebrew young men. Nebuchadnezzar had built an idol of himself and told everyone to bow down to the idol. There were Israelites who did bow down but there were 3 who did not. This caused the wrath of the king to come down on them. They still refused to bow so he had a furnace stoked #7 times hotter than every before & they were thrown into the fiery furnace and that is where they found their “HERO!”
Daniel 3:24-25 says...
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; & he rose in haste & spoke, saying to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst
of the fire? They answered & said to the king, True O, King. Look! He answered, I see FOUR MEN LOOSE WALKING IN THE MIDST OF THE FIRE & THEY ARE NOT HURT & THE FORM OF THE FOURTH IS LIKE THE SON OF GOD!”
Dad, I know you’re busy being a “HERO!” to your family but you need a “HERO!” as well. Those three Hebrews were standing for what was right, not was easy, expedient for them but they were also standing as “HEROS!” for everybody who was there that day. But it wasn’t long before they found themselves in need of a “HERO!”
AND WITHOUT FAIL THEIR “HERO!” SHOWED UP IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL!
DAD WITHOUT A DOUBT YOU NEED A “HERO!” WHO CAN STAND WITH YOU IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL!
A “HERO” WHO WILL NOT LET YOU STAND ALONE!
A “HERO” WHO WILL BE THERE WITH YOU WHEN YOU NEED HIM THE MOST!
A “HERO” WHO WILL BE YOUR STRENGTH WHEN YOU ARE WEAK!
A “HERO” WHO WILL WALK WITH YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! A “HERO” WHO IN THE TRIAL OF MEDICINE WILL HEAL THE BODY!
A “HERO” WHO WILL DELIVER YOUR FINANCES WHEN YOU HAVE NONE LEFT!
A “HERO” LIKE NONE OTHER!
THERE IS ONLY ONE “HERO” LIKE THAT! AND THAT “HERO” IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD!
HE WAS THE “HERO” IN THE FIERY FURNACE!
HE WAS THE “HERO” ON THE SEA OF GALILEE WITH PETER.
HE WAS THE “HERO” TO JARIUS & HIS LITTLE DAUGHTER!
HE WAS THE “HERO” TO THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD! HE WAS THE “HERO” TO THE LAME MAN AT THE POOL!
HE WAS THE “HERO” OF THE BLIND MAN WHOM HE HEALED!
HE WAS THE “HERO” WHO HUNG ON THE CROSS!
HE WAS THE “HERO” WHO TOOK THE KEYS OF LIFE & DEATH!
HE WAS THE “HERO” TO THE LADY AT THE WELL WHEN HE SAID “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN!”
HE WANTS TO BE YOUR “HERO!”
Conclusion:
I want the “HEROS” to come down here with me this morning! If you are a “HERO” who needs a “HERO” I want you to come to my right & the rest of you to come to my left. (Pray with those who need a “HERO” first!)
I want all of you to come down here & stand by your “HERO” this morning and I want you to tell him how much you love him and how much of a “HERO” he really is to you.
