WHO’S YOUR DADDY
John 8:23-59
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?"
One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we’ve decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."
Of course, the reverend was taken aback. "You boys shouldn’t be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don’t you boys know it’s a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the reverend was beginning to think he’d gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog."
According to one expert children go through 4 stages of dealing with their fathers. In stage one, they call you da-da. In stage 2 they grow and call you daddy. As they mature and reach stage 3 they call you dad. Finally in stage 4 they call you collect....
One morning, a family was eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished-looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here.” But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
“Howdy! Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice. “Oklahoma,” they answered. “Well, great to have you here in Tennessee,” the stranger said. “What do you do for a living?” “I teach at a seminary,” he replied. “Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really good story for you.” And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great, just what I need—another preacher story!”
The man started, “See that mountain over there?” (pointing out a restaurant window). “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question. ‘Hey boy, who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so much.
When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about the boy, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘son, who’s your daddy?’
“The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’
“The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy. ‘Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.’
“With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’
“With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them, ‘I’m a child of God.’ ”
The distinguished gentlemen got up from the table and said, “Isn’t this a great story?” The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!” And he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “Do you know that man who just left that was sitting at our table?”
The waitress grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!”
In downtown St. Louis there was a Billboard with this message: A photo of a baby with the words "Who’s my Daddy" and the telephone number 1-800-DNA-1005. I guess it’s a sign of the times that the market for these services is great enough that the Billboards have now sprung up all over the country.
Who uses these service? Well, I think that’s a topic for another sermon, but I can tell you who doesn’t use them--those whose family resemblance is clear. Where the resemblance is strong, parentage is clear. Where the resemblance is missing, then parentage could possibly be called into question.
There’s a popular notion in our world that God is the Father of all mankind. That No matter our creed or religion or our concept of God, He is the Father of all of us and we are all brothers and sisters, The song "Let There Be Peace on Earth," happily proclaimed "With God as our father, Brothers all are we."
There’s only one problem with that pleasant picture--It’s not true. In our passage today Jesus makes it abundantly clear that not only is God not the Father of all mankind, He’s not even the Father of mnay who consider themselves His children.
So how do we know if God is our Father or if we are spiritual heirs of the Devil? Is there a DNA test? Well no, but there are some diagnostic measures I’d like to apply this morning—
Let’s explore the attributes of Satan first.
So we know he is a Liar, false accuser, destroyer, tempter, appears to be something he isn’t, because we find in
2 Cor 11:13-15
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Liar: this is more than just saying a little lie that doesn’t amount to anything.
Let’s talk about the lies that destroy people. I have heard so many say, did you hear about this or did you hear about that affair, or did you hear this or that, but in reality they never seen it happen, so they go around spreading rumors and lies and deceit. Did you hear about the preacher is doing now, or which way the church is going, or I heard, or they told me this, I am telling you whoever does this, this is a personality that coincides with their father the devil.
Doesn’t matter if they talk in tongues, wear Holy clothes and shout that God is good all the time, what they are doing goes with their father the devil.
False Accuser:
This is a great personality or make up of the devil. He is a false accuser of the brethren. I saw the preacher doing this, and I saw brother so-so do this, I heard that this was going on at that church, or that preacher’s wife was this, or them preacher kids, or that Sunday school teacher.
It amazes me how many people will reveal their true daddy whenever they get in a bind.
The devil is not loyal. That’s a big problem. He wasn’t loyal to God, so that why he got kicked out of heaven. He wanted to be bigger than God. I have had that problem around here with some preacher’s. God sent me here to replace Bro. Walker and do a better job. I had a man tell me that I might be the Pastor, but God sent him here to Pastor me. It has never been in the plan of God, for lay member’s to run the Pastor. Be loyal to other’s around you.
He is full of pride.
Look at me! Look what I done for the church! Look what I gave to the preacher! Look what I gave to the saints! Look who I loaned money too! Look at me, I cleaned the church! Look at me I mowed the church yard and picked up paper around the church yard! I cleaned the bathrooms! I dusted! I gave!
The devil is very self serving. He is selfish.
He is a thief. He robs God. He steals things. He steals toilet paper, and plug-ins and money. He steals tithes and offerings. I have heard people say I don’t have the money to pay what belongs to God. As a Pastor, I do not ask God to bless people who steals from him.Well that is a attribute of the devil.
He steals other people’s joy.
He is a gossiper, and a back biter and a tale bearer, and he runs from house to house or from text message to text message, or email to email.
He will even try to plants seeds of doubt in your mind about the man of God, or the church, or your brother’s or sister’s.
He is a destroyer
He will cause division.
God is a God of ONE. When you have people coming and saying I just don’t believe that Bro. Walker is the man of the hour any more, or he is finished here and needs to move on, or what’s been happening down at the church, we hear? I am telling you, you should realize that person is of the their father the devil.
He is a murder:
He might not kill you with a knife or gun, but he will try and destroy your reputation, your family, your marriage, your kids, your good name in the community, the devil is this kind of person.
He hates authority
I heard a preachers wife say one time, he might be the head, but I am the neck that turns the head, I was young I thought yea, sounds like that head has a broken neck.
I have had questions for my Pastor’s in times past, but if I didn’t agree with him I didn’t blow up and go crazy and act a fool, go ballistic and act like an idiot and condemn him to hell and say horrible and mean things and try and hurt and destroy, I simply replied with yes sir, I will pray about this and ask God to help my understanding.
Problem with youth today is they hate authority in their lives.
I don’t care if someone has lived for God all their live came out their momma talking in tongues, wore dresses all their lives, hair dragging the floor looking like they got a wedding dress train, if they cannot submit to authority they are the children of the devil,.
Let’s explore God’s attributes now:
Gal 5:22-6:2
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Gal 6:1-2
6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
1. The Fruit of the Spirit is singular.
• Because of their personality, some people tend to have an easier time with certain aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit. But like buyers in a fruit store, they sometimes concentrate only on the fruit that interests them or comes easily to them.
• Sometimes the very loving are not self-controlled; sometimes the joyful are not at all gentle with those they razz; sometimes it’s hard for the gentle to be faithful when faithfulness requires drastic action; sometimes the faithful exercise their faithfulness so enthusiastically that their kindness comes into question!
• If we think about FRUIT rather than FRUITS, we take away the freedom to be picky about the fruit we like and the behavior we choose. Whether or not they come easily, all aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are to be desired and cultivated.
• The “Fruit of the Spirit” is not a collection of unrelated traits that can be selected or neglected according to personal preference, but rather a composite description of what a Christian acts like. It is a direct result of being filled with the Holy Spirit!
2. Gifts show my ministry – fruit shows my maturity.
• SPIRITUAL GIFTS are distinctive abilities given to each believer when they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to be used to minister to others and build up the Body of Christ. Some of these gifts are supernatural (operated only under the influence of God’s Spirit), while others are natural abilities enhanced by God’s Spirit.
The Bible does not lock us into tight restrictions as to the number of spiritual gifts, or even their definitions.
• The Fruit of the Spirit is not an option, but an essential part of the Christian experience! It may develop at different rates in different people, but it must be developing!
• The Fruit of the Spirit affects every relationship that you are involved in, including your relationship with God.
The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:16 that “God is love,” so it is no surprise that the first aspect of the fruit that He wants to grow in our lives is LOVE! Love is at the top of the list, because it is the FOUNDATION for the rest of the fruit God wants to grow in us.
Galatians 5:22-23 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
Love Love does not seek her own, is not selfish or self-centered
Joy Loves does not rejoice in iniquity but rather rejoices in the truth
Peace Love is not easily provoked, but is serene and stable
Patience (KJV – longsuffering) Love suffers long, perseveres, is patient
Kindness (KJV – gentleness) Love is merciful, thoughtful, and concerned; it envies not
Goodness Love is great, gracious, and generous; it is kind and good
Faithfulness (KJV – faith) Love thinks no evil but has faith in God and others
Gentleness (KJV – meekness) Love is humble and gentle, does not vaunt itself
Self-control (KJV – temperance) Love is disciplined and controlled, does not behave unbecomingly
A. Love is patient
• Love is alive when it has TIME
• Love is dying when it is hurried
• Love is dead when it cannot wait
• Patience means I take the time to wait for someone else to change, to recover, to get motivated. Patience means I make allowance for someone’s faults. That’s the tough part of love.
B. Love is kind
• Love is alive when it CARES
• Love is dying when it forgets
• Love is dead when it ignores
• Kindness means the ability to care for each other in the practical details of everyday life. It knows how to turn the grand vows that you make in a wedding ceremony into doing little tasks for each other. Kindness means adapting and inconveniencing yourself.
Greeting cards: "If I had an ice cream cone, I'd give you half. If I had six candies, you'd get three. If I had two apples, one would be yours. If I won the lottery, I'd send you a postcard from Tahiti.
If God is our Father, then our love for one another should over look other’s faults and failures. I am glad that God is my daddy.
