Happy Fathers Day!
Today’s message is titled: Being a man of God
Not going to address all the traits the world says a real man is, but rather what God says, in His word, what a man should be.
Three key passages today:
Luke 15:11 til I get tired of reading.
Here we’ll examine the parable of The Prodigal Son, from a little different perspective
Matthew 5:33-37 a snippet of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
1 Timothy 6:6-12 (20-21) Paul’S advice to Timothy
Let’s begin in Luke 15:11-32 read from my bible
• In 1984, I returned home from college, after mostly wasting about six years of my life.
• Not too long after my return, I went to see my dad with the intent of borrowing $400.
• He said he would lend me the $400 but he didn’t want me to get my ear pierced.
• It struck me funny, because I already had my ear pierced, and I’m pretty sure he knew that.
• However, I understood him and that he meant he didn’t want me to wear an ear ring.
• He did loan me the $, in fact he gave it to me, knowing I would probably still wear the ear ring, just not in his presence.
Go with me to:
Luke 15:11-32 read from my bible
• I was the Prodigal son, I did all those things, with two exceptions:
• I didn’t ask for my inheritance
• I didn’t eat with pigs, although some of my friends during that time, were pig-like
In this parable, we see several characters; including the Prodigal Son, his older brother, and the father.
This story we see:
• Rebellion
• Repentance, and
• Rejoicing
It is the last of 3 parables Jesus tells back to back with a common thread of “something lost”.
Lost coin, Lost sheep, Lost son
It is interesting that
• with the lost coin, the woman actively seeks to find the coin.
• with lost sheep, the shepherd actively goes after the lost sheep.
• But with the lost son, we aren’t told the father searched for the lost son, but we get the impression the father vigilantly watched for his son’s return.
Today, I’d like to consider how the father responds to both of his sons.
• First off, the Prodigal Son deeply insults and disrespects his father by insisting on getting his inheritance NOW.
• He basically says “I don’t have time to wait for you to die, I’m ready to get on with my life and live it as I please”. (Here we see the rebellious spirit)
• The father responds by giving the younger son his inheritance.
• The son squanders his inheritance, then:
• Luke 15:17 ““But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (He is still only thinking only of himself, but at least he came out of that fog “but when he came to himself”
• NLT says “when he finally came to his senses”
So, he puts a plan together of approaching his father (probably much like I did when I approached my father)
Luke 15:18–19 “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’”
We see signs of repentance in v18-19.
Now, watch the father’s response:
Luke 15:20 ““And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
Parents, have you ever experienced that feeling, for a brief few moments in a store, or any other situation, when you didn’t know where your child was?
-story of Bobby being lost-
That feeling of total chaos in your mind during that time, to complete relief and joy when your child was found?
Can you imagine this fathers overwhelming joy?
Luke 15:21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” (He didn’t even get the chance to finish his rehearsed speech)
Luke 15:22–24 ““But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
He immediately showers his son with gifts:
• best robe
• ring on his hand
• sandals on his feet
• fatted calf
There is so much to chew on in v22-24, I encourage you to go back and spend a little time to dig in to what Jesus is telling us here.
Here’s one thing I saw:
Three of those four gifts are what would be considered necessities of life:
Food and clothing
The ring was an extravagance! His joy in his son’s return, was extravagantly shown with a ring!
“Children”, speaking to every age group.
• Have you ever insulted, disrespected or grieved your parents?
• Did your rebellious spirit ever submit to repentance?
Fathers, has your child ever insulted, disrespected or grieved you?
• How did you respond?
We have all insulted, disrespected, and grieved our Heavenly Father.
How did He respond? John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The Prodigal Sons father responded with joy, and expression of extravagant love.
How much more does our Heavenly Father do so for us?
I’d like to wrap this up with a quick look at the older brother.
Luke 15:25–27 ““Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’”
Luke 15:28–29 ““But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.”
Catch v 30: Luke 15:30 “But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’”
• There are times when I say to Lisa “that son of yours” or “that daughter of yours”, denying any claim of kinship!
We see the older son slap his father in the face “this son of yours”.
Again “children” have you ever been angry with your father because you felt he treated one or all of your siblings, better than you?
Back to the parable:
How does the father respond?
Luke 15:31 ““And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
This is how our Heavenly Father responds to us “all that I have is yours”!
Let’s go to:
Matthew 5:33 down payment story
Years ago, as I was selling a car, the buyer and I began to discuss the down payment. It went like this:
Me: I can’t remember if the down payment written on the windshield is 700 or 800.
Cx: 700
Me: I took the money, placed it in the drawer, and turned back towards him and said “you know, every good relationship is built on trust”.
Cx: “awww man”, and he pulled out another $100 bill.
Matthew 5:33 ““Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’”
Matthew 5:34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;”
Matthew 5:35 “nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.”
Matthew 5:36 “Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.”
Matthew 5:37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Heading on some translations reads:
• Jesus forbids oaths
others read: Teaching about vows
Jesus is teaching that when we make a commitment, we are to live up to that commitment, and we are to be truthful in everything we do.
Ever seen the movie “Liar, liar” with Jim Carrie?
• Son makes a birthday wish that for one day, his dad could go the whole day without telling a lie.
• Hilarious story, but sad that it reflects our society as a whole.
Dads, our children see a whole lot more than we realize.
v33 Don’t lie and do what you say you are going to do
v34-36 He covers all the bases.
• tell story of 4 boys who got to class late:
• flat tire
• desk in each corner of the room, facing the wall
• which tire was flat?
Matthew 5:37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Strong words!
Men, it has become all too convenient, in this world of no accountability, not to live up to our word.
Which brings us to our final passage:
1 Timothy 6 set it up
• Paul considers himself Timothy’s spiritual father.
• So he speaks to Timothy as a father would speak to his son.
• Six chapters of solid advice on church leadership, but chapter 6 gets to the heart of the matter in being a man of God.
1 Timothy 6:6–9 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
1 Timothy 6:10–12 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Quickly break this down:
I believe in v6 Paul gives the key to spiritual growth and personal fulfilment:
1 Timothy 6:6 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”
In chapter 6, Paul gives Timothy these admonitions or warnings;
1 Timothy 6:11 “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness.
Flee: advising Timothy to separate himself (a spiritual fleeing, if you will) from love of money and the trappings with it.
We see this same type of context of the word flee in a couple of other OT verses.
With Joseph in: Genesis 39:12 “that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.”
With David in 1 Samuel 19:10 “Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.”
In both of these passages, Joseph and David could have responded differently, but God’s favor would not have been on them.
Paul is advising Timothy how to respond to the false doctrine, etc.
1 Timothy 6:11 “and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
4 of 6 Paul lists as fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 and
Paul is saying “chase after, run after, pursue” these 6 things!
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Men, the Christian life is a battlefield and there will never be a ceasefire!
I love Paul’s passion as he closes his 1st letter to Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:20–21 “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”
Paul considers Timothy a man of God and that is one reason he wrote this letter.
Here are 4 other scriptural references of Men of God:
Moses Deuteronomy 33:1 “Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.”
Samuel 1 Samuel 9:6 “And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.””
Elijah 1 Kings 17:18 “So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?””
King David Nehemiah 12:24 “And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man of God.”
Men, as fathers we have plenty of scriptural wisdom to guide us:
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”
We are also called to be:
A protector and provider:
Mark 3:27 “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.”
• Physical protector
• Moral protector:
• Quotes from articles from a few years back:
• The then director of Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, said this: “Gays are tired of riding in the back of the bus. The issue of gay rights is now being joined and the schools are a very important balttleground”.
• Here’s another quote from a different source from a gay activist teacher in New York:
• “Starting in kindergarten is a must, since children at that age are still developing their values. Even at that age, the saturation process needs to begin”.
• One final quote, before we can’t stomach anymore, from yet another source from a lesbian author:
• Whoever captures the kids, owns the future.
Fathers, we must be the moral protector of our children, and be an active part of turning our nation back to God:
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Numbers Chapter 13.
God told Moses to send 12 men into the Promised Land as spies and bring back a report.
10 came back as fraidy cats!
2 of them Joshua and Caleb came back with a different report. We can take this city with God on our side!
Men, don’t be one of the 10 fraidy cats, be a Joshua or Caleb and fight for your children!
This week, I read this quote:
Values are not taught to children,
they are caught by them!
I’d like to close with a story from a couple of weeks ago in our small group session @ Celebrate Recovery.
The topic question was:
What character defect do you need to ask God to remove from your life?
• I began with- Fathers if we honestly want to hear about our character defects, we just need to ask our children!
• I’m still trying to get the courage up to actually do that!
• But I can tell you a couple in what I am certain is a long list, without yet asking:
• What I do, is never good enough for you dad!
• Quick to point out my mistakes, but rarely praise the good things I do.
My point is this, if we are to be the best fathers God has called us to be, we’ve got to examine our character defects!
Here’s my closing question for you, dads:
• What legacy are you leaving for your children?
• Here’s the legacy my dad left for me. Although it may seem insignificant to you, they were guiding posts for me:
• He was a God fearing man
• He was a hard-working common man
• He was a man of his word
