Family Made | Crowning Kings
Notes
Transcript
In our series Family Made, we’re inviting God’s renewal and restoration to meet us in our places of need and set our direction on a fresh path. Today, may I invite only the DADS to stand with me and speak all together in one strong voice the guiding verse of our series:
LED: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Lord Jesus, may the wisdom of your Spirit open our hearts and minds to you. In your name we make our prayer, Amen. You may be seated.
LED: Today, we celebrate Fathers Day in the United States, and what joy and gratitude we feel today for our fathers. Dads, we love you. We thank you. You do so much for us. We celebrate you today, along with all our father figures who have had a hand in shaping us us into the men and women we are today.
The Bible reveals God to us as a loving Father, who - like a good father - draws close to us in times of joy and in times of distress, who loves us in our best times and our worst times.
One of my favorite Psalms about God as Father says, you are a… “Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. Psalm 68:5-6.
Perhaps on this Fathers Day, some of us need to hear that God is a father to the fatherless and a protector to those without husbands. For some of us, this day represents old, tender wounds. Some of us woke up with heavy and hurting hearts, and I want you to know that our Heavenly Father sees you.
Do you know God like a father? Theologian A.W. Tozer once wrote: What do you think about when you think about God? Because we all do, including those who don’t think they do. We all think about God at some point in our lives, and the question that Father’s Day raises for us all is: LED: What do you think about when you think about God as your Heavenly Father?
Some of us already know God as your Heavenly Father. For others of us, this question raises all kinds of unsettling emotions associated with our own biological fathers or father-figures. Some of us might not even know what we think about God yet, let alone God as our heavenly Father.
Father’s Day gives us an opportunity to explore this question: what thoughts arise for you when you think about Gold as your Heavenly Father? We won’t be able to cover the whole range today on what the Bible says about God as Father, so I want to focus on one key verse that witnesses the interaction between God the Father and Christ the Son. LED: Let’s begin today at the trailhead of Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus refers to God as Father more than 150 times throughout the 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and each one of the Gospel writers documented Jesus’ baptism, which illustrates for us the significance of this event in Jesus’ life. His baptism is only one of two times in the New Testament when God the Father’s voice spoke through the boundary of heaven and earth.
Hear’s how Matthew recorded the event: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13–17, NIV.
Imagine witnessing this moment! What an awe-inspiring sight to behold! The Father’s declaration over the Son speaks words of LED: choice and affirmation. Words that we all long to hear from our Heavenly Father and our dads.
The first part of the phrase, ‘This is my Son, whom I love’ are choice words. The Father loves his son in freedom. Neither the Father nor the Son feel compelled or coerced to live in relationship with the other. Rather, in love, the Father chooses the Son as his very own LED: to save and redeem our world.
The second part of the phrase, ‘With Him, I am well pleased’ shows God’s affirmation over the Son. Jesus is the apple of his father’s eye. In him, the Father finds no fault. Some translations use the word ‘begotten,’ which means of the same substance. They share the same DNA. Jesus is of the Father. He even said in his own words, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” John 14:9.
Now, interestingly, the Father’s words at Jesus’ baptism in verse 17 are a mashup of two significant verses in the Old Testament. The first half of verse 17, which says: “This is my son, whom I love” quotes Psalm 2:7 and the second half of the verse, which reads: “with him, I am well pleased” quotes Isaiah 42:1.
To better understand the Father’s vision for Jesus, we need to understand the meaning behind these 2 chapters. Psalm 2 is a coronation song for kingship, and Isaiah 42 describes the character of God’s anointed Messiah who would one day save the world.
In Jesus’ baptism, the Father’s choice and affirmation over the Son reveal Jesus’ true identity as King and Messiah. Let’s take a closer look at these two chapters, beginning with Psalm 2.
Most scholars agree that when a new king would ascend to the throne of leadership over God’s people in Israel, the newly crowned king would sing Psalm 2:7-8 -
“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.” Psalm 2:7-8
These words marked a spiritual rebirth in the king as an adopted son into God’s family. He was no longer one among the people, but now set apart to lead God’s people as their king.
As an adopted son, this also meant that God assumed all responsibility for the king’s actions, even when kings wronged God’s people. Though God never condoned nor sanctioned any evil acts committed by Israel’s kings, God chose to take responsibility for his sons in leadership because, ultimately, the authority of the covenant rested in God’s hands, not in the hands of Israel’s kings. God’s promises aren’t contingent upon any man or woman, but solely upon God’s faithfulness to his covenant relationship with his people.
This same principle also applies to our faith today. As one theologian wrote, “Our God is a God who loves in freedom.” We can’t do anything to earn God’s love, nor can we do anything to lose God’s love. If anyone ever tries to tell you that you need to earn God’s love or that God wouldn’t love you anymore if you did this or that, then don’t believe it. They’re wrong. We can’t be certain of many things in this life, but Ephesians 2:8 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”
In Jesus’ baptism, the Father sings Psalm 2 as a coronation song over his one true beloved son, crowning him as the true king over all creation! All the former kings of Israel foreshadowed the future day when God’s true king would right the wrongs of every past sinful person and make a way for all God’s people to experience the fullness of his kingdom. That’s Jesus. He’s our true king!
Recently, the whole world witnessed LED: the coronation ceremony of King Charles the third and all the pomp and circumstance that surrounded his ceremony. Estimates place the cost of his coronation at 125 million US dollars. I’ll leave the judgment to you about all that, but here’s what I do know: the king of the universe and the Savior of our world received his coronation through LED: baptism in the humble muddy waters of the Jordan River, demonstrating that the greatest display of power is shown by its restraint. Brothers, restraint shows true Power. LED: Every person who steps into the waters of baptism follows the way of our true king who rules not with might but with love displayed through humility.
This is the first half of the Father’s blessing over the son. The second half of the phrase says, “with him, I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 quotes Isaiah 42:1, which says: “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.” Isaiah 42:1
Unlike the kings of Israel, the anointed Messiah King would do what no other king on earth could do. Isaiah 42 is one of four songs in the book of Isaiah that describes the character of the Messiah, and specifically, Isaiah 42:1 describes him as a Servant of God who suffers on behalf of God’s people to lead them to salvation. Each one of these four songs points to the mission of what Jesus ultimately fulfilled. In his own words, Jesus said: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28.
The nature of Jesus’ reign as a servant completely counters the way of all the world’s kingdoms. The hallmarks of God’s kingdom reflect the heart of its King who modeled humility, sacrifice, and service.
The Apostle Paul described Jesus like this: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7.
In his baptism, the Father clearly chooses and affirms the Son as our Servant King! And now, for all those who place their trust in God’s Son, the Father calls us his very own. The Apostle Paul quotes Psalm 2 in 2 Corinthians 6:18 to describe the kind of relationship that the Father invites all people to experience with him: “And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18
Prior to Jesus, the only ones adopted into spiritual sonship were the kings of Israel. Now, through Jesus, a right once reserved for kings is now accessible to all who believe, for “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5
LED: The Father is inviting you to access his whole heart and his whole kingdom. Every person who receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior is now called, charged, and crowned son or daughter, empowered to love and to lead with the same quality of character as our Savior King.
With today being Father’s Day, I’d like to talk to the dads listening, but everything that I am about to say applies to everyone across every age and stage, so stay tuned. Don’t drift, but dads, I want you to hear my heart. I understand that for some of us, what I just said, though rooted in Scripture, feels like a fairy tale. Kings and queens, c’mon? This sounds like a father’s day fairy tale. Others of us may feel unworthy of such a calling. Like, God could never see me like this. Some of us may be wondering: do I even have what it takes to live into such a calling?
If anyone is thinking like this, then I’d like to respond with 3 invitations today:
First, Jesus said to a dad in Mark 9:23-24, “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24
I’m so thankful that Mark included this interaction in his Gospel because these words represent the heart of every person, right? At various times throughout our lives, we find ourselves in the tension between belief and unbelief. Jesus welcomes the admission. Our Heavenly Father’s invitation to live as as a crowned son or daughter is available to anyone who chooses to believe. Invite him to lead you into a relationship of trust.
Second, for those of us who feel unworthy to receive this calling, As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 10:11. Jesus removes sin’s shame. We’re being made new, so we don’t have to live according to those old ways.
And then finally, for those of us who doubt that we have what it takes, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. You plus Jesus always equals a majority. His Spirit alive in you gives all you need to live and lead with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And perhaps most important, as kings over our homes, God takes responsibility for us. Like the kings of Israel’s past, God doesn’t condone our poor decisions, nor neither will he ever leave us. Rather, God promises always to remain faithful to us.
Dads, brothers, our Heavenly Father is calling us to love and lead our families with the same quality and care as our Savior: humility, sacrifice, and service. This is the calling of every dad in the face of whatever hardship or joy that we may encounter, and the way we live into this calling is by LED: leading on our knees.
In the days following Jesus’ baptism, he endured great testing and trial and overcame it all by remaining connected to the Father in prayer. Throughout his 3 year ministry, Jesus frequently went off on his own to connect with the Father in prayer. The kind of love and fellowship that the Father and Son enjoy together is exactly what Jesus is inviting us to experience whenever we go to him in prayer. What is prayer? Quite simply: it is connection with God. Talk to God. Listen for his voice. Prayer is like an ongoing dialogue. Prayer brings us into life on life contact with our Heavenly Father.
Dads, How might your leadership increase among your family and throughout your spheres of influence by championing prayer, beginning in your home?
Prayer is our greatest weapon. It is the source of our strength. It is the fountainhead of our wisdom.
Now, I know some of us might be thinking: I’m a protector. I’m a provider. But I’m not a prayer warrior. My wife is a prayer warrior. My mom is a prayer warrior. But not me. Prayer is mysterious and doesn’t make sense to me, so I am going to keep doing what I know how to do.
Brothers, I get it. Yet, everything that Jesus did in his ministry, including teaching, healing, and doing justice, directly resulted from the overflow of his life connected with the Father through prayer. Brothers, I know that so many of us want a home filled with the fruits of God’s Spirit. Every dad I know wants to lead to the full, but this doesn’t just ***snap*** happen. The strength of your leadership as a husband, father, provider, and protector is a direct result from the overflow of your life connected with the Father through prayer.
This week, may I invite you to step into your kingship by embracing this 5th keystone as your very own? Jesus modeled prayer as the strength of the king. Dads, this makes us the chief prayer warriors of our homes. How do we do this? A good friend of Christ Journey, Pablo Ceron, from a ministry called Wildsons in Colorado shared a simple prayer at our last JourneyMen gathering that I want to invite every dad - and quite frankly, every person - to pray, especially those of us who feel hesitant about prayer. Every morning, try to begin your day with these words:
LED: God, You are my Father; I am your son. Will you father me today?
Whenever the heat rises for me or whenever I am ready to give up or whenever I am at a loss of what to do next, I am learning how to invite God to father me through the hardship to help me make the next wise decision. Father, give me the strength to calm my emotions. Father, help me turn my eyes away. Father, give me the direction I need to offer. Father, comfort my weary soul. God, Father me today. I am your son, and you are my good, good Father.
I know some of us here grew up with great dads. I also know many of us didn’t grow up with the kind of father that we needed, and when you think about God, you don’t think about a good father. But, today, what if that could change, even just a little? The invitation for us today is to receive God as the good father that you always needed. In Christ, your Heavenly Father sees you right now in the same way that he sees his own begotten son. He sees you as right and good, and our Father is calling us all - Dads, Moms, grandparents, daughters, and sons, alike - to steward our influence as his redeemed kings and redeemed queens, being made new and restored in his name.
As dads, as kings, as leaders, we wear our crowns not like some authoritarian ruler who puffs up and tells everyone, ‘my way or the highway.’ No, our love and leadership at home and wherever we go follows the love and leadership of our true King who lived with humility, sacrifice, and service, so raise your expectations. Let’s show up and be ready to lead into the unknown.
This brings me to my baseball glove, and I want to close with this. As a kid, part of the fun of attending a live action baseball game was the anticipation of maybe catching a fly ball. For 99.9% of us, that’ll never happen, but there’s always that chance it could, and as a kid, I relished that chance. Over time, though, as the years settle us into reality, what do we do in adulthood? We stop anticipating, and as a result, we stop bringing our gloves to the game.
Several years ago, on the weekend of my best bud’s wedding, we decided on the fly to go to a Pirates game in Pittsburgh, and of course, neither one of us brought our gloves. I don’t think the thought even crossed our minds.
We arrived early to watch the warm ups, and right right after the team finished, former Pirate outfielder, Jason Bay, tossed his ball right in my direction. I didn’t notice it at first until everyone around me stood up, and then all of a sudden, in a reflex, I caught it!!! I couldn’t believe what had just happened!!!
Everyone around me was cheering, and I was looking at a ball in my hand. Amazing! My buddy and I did what everyone does on TV. We jumped up and down, and since he was getting married in a couple days, I gave the ball to him. As I have reflected on that experience over the years, I am reminded not to lose anticipation… To keep my expectations high.
Dads, We’re kings. We’re prayer warriors. Our families need us, so let’s come ready with our gloves. Let’s remain expectant for God to do the unexpected. Nothing is too hard for our God. In Christ, our Heavenly Father is with us, fathering us every step of the way.
Father, we are your sons, and we are your daughters. Will you father us today?