Part 2: Dads that Make a Difference
(Series: Heavenly Help for Your Family)
1 Thessalonians 2:4-13
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - June 18, 2006
*On this Father’s Day in 2006, I hope you are thankful for Dad. I hope you can look back and say, “I had a dad who made a difference!”
*And if you have the privilege of being a father this morning, I’ve got some great news for you today... --God wants to help you be a dad who makes a difference.
1. First of all, God will take away your guilt...
*Paul reminds us of this in vs. 4, when he mentions the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ. *Paul said: -But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
*In other words: -God has trusted us with the Gospel and we speak the Gospel...
-Because that is what God wants us to do.
*God wanted them to speak the Good News, because He wanted us to hear the Good News! -That He loves you, that He sent His Son to take the punishment for your sins, that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and rose again to take away all of your guilt...
-If you will trust in Him.
*Paul knew all about guilt. Before he met Jesus, he was full of self-righteousness and murderous hatred, but Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus one day, and Paul heard the good news of the Cross.
*Paul was guilty... -But he found out that God can take away our guilt...
-And that’s what God wants to do in your life, because you are guilty too.
*All of us fail. All of us fall short. All of us need to be forgiven...
-And God wants to take your guilt away.
*I am not just talking about feelings of guilt, although Jesus Christ will take those away too...
*By the way, some guilty feelings are actually good for us. The Bible calls it Godly sorrow. --Guilty feelings that help us turn away from sin and turn toward the Savior.
*The people in the greatest danger today are the ones who justify themselves, and admit no guilt before God.
*But I am not just talking about guilty feelings; I am talking about the facts. And the fact is that you are guilty, and so am I. Without Jesus Christ, we all stand guilty in the Court of Heaven, and it doesn’t matter how we plead. We are guilty before the highest court in the universe.
*But Paul found forgiveness and so can you! If you are alive today, it’s not too late for you! William Barclay reminded us of this when he wrote about the Lord’s miraculous mercy to the thief on the cross beside Him...
-That thief said: “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
-And Jesus told him: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
*Barclay then remembered a poet who compared the thief on the cross to a man who was killed as he was thrown from his galloping horse. And the poem said this:
-Between the stirrup and the ground,
-Mercy I asked... --Mercy I found. (1)
*God will take away your guilt right now, but what do you have to do? Just do what these people did down in vs. 13. Paul said:
-We thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men...
-But as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
*Forgiveness is found in the Word of God! You just have to receive it and believe it...
-Receive the Good News about Jesus Christ...
-Believe in Him and receive Him as your Savior and Lord.
2. You know I’m not just talking to Dads today, but Dad, God will take you guilt away.
-And He will give you the goodness you need.
*The world needs good men! James McCullen once heard Zig Ziglar say that there are 40,000 male prisoners in Texas prisons. Then he said very few of them had a good relationship with their father.
*McCullen even heard that one year Hallmark Cards offered to give free Father’s Day Cards for the prisoners to send to their fathers, and sadly, no one took them. (2)
*The world needs good men. Your family needs a good man. Your children need a good father, and the good news is that God can fill you with all the goodness you need!
*That’s how Paul got it. He was a good man. We see this so clearly in vs. 5-10. Listen to it from the New Living Testament:
-Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know. And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money!
-As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else.
-As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you...
--But we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children.
-We loved you so much that we gave you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. -Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone there as we preached God’s Good News among you.
-You yourselves are our witnesses-and so is God-that we were pure and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.
*Paul was a good man, and let me make a bold statement:
-By God’s grace, you can be as good as Paul!
*God can give you all of the good things we see here: -Honesty, humility, holiness and a big heart. God can turn you into a hard worker. He can give you kindness, love and all of the courage you will ever need.
*How does He do it? One of the main ways is through His Word. Listen to vs. 13 again, as it says: -When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
*Believers, the Word of God works in our lives. Let me give you an example from one of my favorite family vs., Eph 5:25:
-Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,
*This vs. is extremely important for all husbands, but in an extra way for dads, because one of the most important things you can do for your children is love your wife...
*Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it...
-I’ve got to tell you that I’m still working on that! But I can honestly tell you that I love my wife a whole lot more than I used to. How did that happen?
*Well, I look at God’s Word in 1 John 5:14 and see that: This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
--And the next verse promises that God will answer.
*So I can pray: -God please help me love my wife as you love the church...
-And I can pray with complete confidence, because God has promised to answer.
*God will fill you with all the goodness you need. He can even make a brand new man out of you!
*Pastor Jay Piper got saved on his wedding day. His bride’s mother actually led Jay to the Lord that day. And I love what he said about it:
-My wife went to church to marry one man...
-But she wound up marrying a different man. (3)
*Jesus Christ can make a new man out of anybody! He can turn any life around!
3. God will give you the goodness you need, and He will give you the guidance you need...
*Every dad is a guide for his children. Where are you leading yours?
*Jon Winokur has compiled a book simply called Fathers. In this book Jon quotes many high profile celebrities concerning their fathers. For example, media giant Ted Turner said: “One summer I made $50 a week and my father charged me $25 a week rent.
-I asked him if that wasn’t a little high. -He said that if I could do better than that for food and lodging seven days a week, I could move out.”
*Do you think Ted Turner’s dad helped lead him closer to God? I don’t think so, and I think TV commentator, Pat Buchanan’s dad was even worse. Buchanan said:
-To impress upon us what the loss of the soul through mortal sin meant...
-My father would light a match, grab our hands and hold them briefly over the flame, saying: “See how that feels? Now imagine that for all eternity.”
*On the other hand, golfer, Chi Chi Rodriguez told this story: -One night at about 2 o’clock in the morning my father caught a man stealing bananas from our backyard.
*He went over to the man with his machete, took the bananas and cut the branch in half.
-Then he handed half of the bananas back to the thief and said: -Here, you can have it.
*Then Chi Chi’s dad said,
-From now on, if you need anything from the back of our house, come to the front. (4)
*That was great guidance for a young son, but which dad most resembles you?
-Take heart dads! God will guide you so that you can guide your children.
*Verses 11and12 show us that Paul gave good guidance. He said, You know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would have a walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
*Paul gave good guidance, and he was able to do that, because he was guided by God.
-I want you to know that God wants to guide you too! And even if you don’t have children of your own, God will put you in the place where you can help other people.
*You too can give words of comfort and encouragement like Paul talks about here:
-Calling people to join you in the journey of following Jesus Christ.
*God wants you to give hope to other people by telling them the story of how He has worked in your life. Let God guide you so that you can guide others, and especially so you can guide them to Him.
*This is so important for dads, because as Austin Sorensen once said:
-A child is not likely to find a father in God...
-Unless he finds something of God in his father. (5)
*Al Serhal once asked the preschoolers in his church to draw a picture of God. He wanted to use the pictures as an illustration for his Sunday sermon. Toward the end of class the children were excited to show their work to Pastor Al. They came up with rainbows and men with big hands. (I think it’s interesting that they would picture God as a man with big hands.)
*Finally, Al’s daughter showed him her picture. It was a man with a suit and tie on, and she said: -I don’t know what God looks like... -So I just drew my daddy instead. (6)
*Dad: They need their earthly father to guide them to our Heavenly Father.
*And God will guide you... -So that you can guide them.
4. God will give you the guidance you need, and He will give you a grateful heart...
*Paul was so thankful down in vs. 13... *He said:
-For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
*Paul said: -We thank God without ceasing...
-And we have so many reasons to be grateful today!
*I thank God for my wife and my children. I thank Him for this church!
-And I thank Him for saving my soul!
*But as we focus on Father’s Day, I want to say how grateful I am for my dad.
-He really was a great guy.
*My dad helped raise his two little sisters when his dad abandoned the family...
-My dad went off to war to help save us from the Nazis...
-And just like Prince Charming, he rescued my mother from a horrible home.
*My dad was compassionate and kind, hard working, funny, and full of faith in the Lord.
-I am so thankful that he didn’t treat me like a fool, when I was one of the biggest fools in town. Most of all, I am thankful for what my dad went through for me...
-Even though he didn’t know it was for me at the time.
*Dad took early retirement from Sears, with a good bit of money, and he tried to start several new businesses, but he hit a brick wall every time, and he lost it all.
*One time he told me he used to lay awake all night, worrying about how he had failed, and how he hadn’t provided for his wife and children.
*That stress helped put Dad in an early grave at the age of 55, but if he hadn’t gone through that, I wouldn’t be standing before you today. I never would have applied for the Teacher Corps to pay for college. I never would have come out here...
-Never would have met my wife...
-Never would have had our children...
-And I don’t think I ever would have gotten saved...
*But I did get saved 10 months before my dad died!
-And it was partly because of all that my dad went through.
*I am sure that it all made sense to Dad as soon as he got to Heaven, but sometimes being a dad means paying a high price. So thank God for Dad!
-And remember the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made.
-He was willing for Jesus to die on the Cross so that we could live forever.
Conclusion: *On this Father’s Day in 2006,
-I hope you can look back and say: -I had a dad who made a difference!
*But even if you can’t, you can still have a Father in Heaven who loves you more than we can measure! Trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior!
*And if you have the privilege of being a father this morning...
-God wants to help you be a dad who makes a difference.
--Trust Him to do it...
-God will take away your guilt.
-God will give you the goodness you need.
-He will give you the guidance you need.
-And He will give you a grateful heart.
(1) William Barclay, The Daily Studies Bible Series, Luke Volume, (Westminster Press, 1975), page 287. - Found in “The Last Seven Words of the Cross” - “TWO CONVERSATIONS WITH JESUS” - Luke 23:32-43 by Eric Ritz - www.sermons.com
(2) Cross and Crown Sermons by Dr. James McCullen - “Disciplined Fathers” - 2 Timothy 2:3-7
(3) Cross and Crown Sermons by Dr. James McCullen - “If the Apostle Paul Were My Dad” - Acts 26 11-29
(4) Richard G. Capen, Jr., Finish Strong: Living the Values That Take You the Distance (New York: Harper Collins, 1996), p. 62. (Found in sermon by King Duncan - “Things Dads Understand” - Romans 8 14 17)
(5) Austin L. Sorensen in These Times (June 1979). Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 13. (Found in Bible Illustrator - Topic: Fatherhood / Subtopic: Of God / Index: 1246-1247 - Date: 12/1997.1872 / Title: God, Our Father)
(6) Al Serhal, Oakford, Ind. "Lite Fare," Christian Reader. Leadership. (Found in Bible Illustrator - Topic: Fatherhood / Subtopic: Of God / Index: 1246-1247 - Date: 12/1997.1872 / Title: God, Our Father)
