Daddy Issues

John 8:31-47

John 8:31–47 NLT

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.” 39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.” 42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

Daddy Issues

Heavenly Father, I pray that you decrease me in this moment… And You increase in Your people’s sight…

Hide me behind your veil, so that the hearers of this word do not see me… but only hear from you… May this word fall on tilled soiled and take root in fertile ground…

Heavenly Father, bless this preached Word that it may transform the hearts of the listeners… So that they may go out transform the lives of those they come in contact with…

Let the words of my mouth… And the meditation of my heart… Be acceptable in your sight… Oh Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer. Amen

INTRO

I want to preface today’s message by saying I understand that this is the day of the year that we honor fathers by allowing them to BBQ for the entire family…

On a serious note, I'm mindful that it's a very difficult day for some people. Many are dealing with the reality that their fathers are no longer here on this earth… Some fathers are here but not present in our lives… And some fathers are presently absent… That’s the dad’s that are present, but life’s circumstances have them so preoccupied that they have not known how to be emotionally available to their children… For some people, whose every thought about their earthly father is one of pain, know there is the grace of God for all of us in our Heavenly Father…

We honor all of the dads in the world that are doing the best they can with what they have. Dads… A Good dad makes all the difference in the life of our children… Good Dads are dynamic… Good Dads are daughters first loves… Good Dads are sons first heroes… Good dads make sure some lil dusty boy won’t excite their daughter with a trip to Atlanta… And Good Dads make sure their children cringe at a Dad Joke… It’s true…

What do you call a sad strawberry? A blue berry!

See… I know I know I know...

The role of a father can never be underestimated… Sons learn how to be men through a father… Daughters learn how to be loved from a father… Now I’m not saying that’s the only way these traits are learned… There are excellent male role models in the world… Step/Bonus Fathers… Grandfathers… Uncles… Coaches… Mentors… Teachers… But no matter the relationship these individuals hold… There is no substitute that can replace the impact of the 1/2 of the DNA that flows through our blood…

The problem arises when we lose sight of this… Children are impacted by absentee fathers… Communities are impacted by absentee fathers… Schools are impacted by absentee fathers… Prisons are impacted by absentee fathers…

The truth of the matter is… Fathers are vital…

The Bible says in

Ephesians 6:4 NIV

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Fathers are commanded to not treat our children in a manner that causes them to hate us… It doesn’t say to be your child’s best friend… It does not say to give your child everything he or she wants… But it does tell us to train them… To instruct them… And to do these things in a manner that God desires… I love that it says to train and instruct… Training implies implies getting down in the gritty with them… Using your hands to help mold them… Putting the proper effort to see an outcome… And instructing them is literally impacting wisdom…

God’s discipline and God’s instruction produces Kingdom Children… Our youth are depending on us to be the ones to lead them in the right way…

Adults that lose sight of what it means to be a good Christian dad… Grow up with Daddy Issues…

Transition #1

Daddy issues… Listen… This is NOT the type of sermon I wanted to preach today… This is Father’s Day… Last week we look at how the prayers of a father saved his son… This father claimed that He Believed in Jesus, but help his unbelief… This father is the type of father that you highlight on father’s day… There are so many fathers that you see in the Bible that could have easily been the subject of our time together… The father who rushes to Jesus to help his sick daughter in Mark 5… Father Abraham… who had many sons… And many sons had Father Abraham… There’s even the surrogate father of Samuel… The Priest Eli who raised Samuel as his own son after Samuel’s mother dedicated him to the Lord to live in the Temple…

But every time I tried to ask God for a different revelation… God kept sending me back to John chapter 8 verse 12-59… No matter which translation of the Bible I picked up to run from this message… God kept downloading in me that many of us call ourselves Christians… But we don’t live a Christian life… We aren’t doing this because we reject our Christian values… We aren’t doing this because we hate God… Even those that have strayed far from God… Aren’t doing this because they lost God along the way… Many of us our just like the children in the text… We have lost sight of who our Father is because of Daddy Issues… We aren’t following the Father because we have confused earthly fathers with the Heavenly Father… We have come to materialize that what we see here on earth is a reflection of He who is heaven…

Ecclesiastes 1:9 CSB

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

I love the Bible… It is the one book that you have to be careful reading… Because IF you read it, it WILL read you back…

We are living in the same situation as the Jews in the text… They have lost sight of the true Living God… Not because the don’t go to the Temple and pray… Not because they didn’t read the Torah… They read it… Or at least was familiar with enough of their Jewish scriptures… To be sure… Their repeated argument that they are the descendant of Abraham ensures us that they had an understanding of the ancient scroll… But the problem we see is they are comfortable with knowing it… even if they didn’t live it…

Uh oh… That sounds familiar… We know the Bible says Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” But yet this country decided to separate children from their parents at the border… We know the Bible says Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” But we can’t WAIT to give somebody a piece of our minds if they step wrong… Trust me… I know… I’m guilty… Play with my family and we gone have a unholy conversation… God is still working on me… I’m telling yall… The Bible will read you back...

What I’m trying to illustrate is this… We are FAMILIAR with the Word of God… But we aren’t always living His Word… Not because we don’t know it… But because we are dealing with Daddy Issues…

The people that Jesus are talking to are dealing with Daddy Issues…

Transition #2

Journey with me… Is it okay if I teach for a minute?

(Judge the crowd) Even if yall said no, I still was going to teach it…

In John 8 verse 12-20… Jesus is having a conversation with the Pharisees… The Pharisees are a powerful set of religious leaders during that day… They have gained power by oppressing and condemning others… The Pharisees would walk around with PHYLACTERIES *phy LAC te ries* on their foreheads with tiny scrolls of scriptures on them… The intent was to always be a guide for them, but they used it as a way to show that they were better than others… The Pharisees are the ones who orchestrated the arrest of Jesus… When Jesus is challenged in an audience, it was usually the Pharisees trying to do so… The Pharisees took the written law and then added their on oral versions to extend it… But the problem is, everyone doesn’t know what everyone else said… They weren’t going on Instagram live to let everyone know the “extend” laws…

The conversation they are having in verse 12-20 is about Jesus’ claim that He is the Light of the World… Back then, anything you said about yourself had to be vouched by someone else before it was believed to be true… So their are saying Jesus’s claim isn’t valid because he speaks for only himself… Jesus says The Father who sent him makes the claim also because they are One… Jesus is a witness… And the Father is the witness…

The Pharisees retort back in verse 19 “Where is your father?” lowercase f… This is important because they are saying… Even you don’t know who your father is… They all know about the mother from the projects of Nazareth who gets pregnant before she is married… Jesus… Even Joseph isn’t your daddy… So how can you make the claim that any father validates you… Jesus… You clearly have Daddy Issues…

That’s a reminder to us right there… People around you think they know your story… But they don’t know what God has placed on the inside of you to make you who you are...

And Jesus says in verse 19… If you knew me… You would know my Father…

Jesus says in Matt 10:33

Matthew 10:33 NIV

33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Knowing Jesus grants us access to the Father… Being connected to Jesus connects us to the Father… Being in relationship with Jesus puts us in relationship with the Father… I don’t know about you… But I desire to know the Father and the Father to know me… I don’t want to show up at the gates of heaven and he tell me “You did not know me on earth, I do not know you in heaven”

Transition #3

As the text transitions to verse 21… Jesus now predicts his death for the third time… But this time he adds “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” This is an important turn of events… Jesus is telling them not only will he be gone, but they will die in their sins… Hold up… Flag on the play… Now they think Jesus is talking about taking his own life… Because surely he is dealing with something dark… And Jesus quickly dispels that… John 8:23-24 “23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”” And they simply reply WHO ARE YOU??? Clearly… Jesus is dealing with some Daddy Issues…

Can you feel the tension building?

Transition #4

As we transition to the set of scriptures that led to the open of this message… Jesus is no longer arguing with the Pharisees… Jesus has said what he will to the unbelievers… To the naysayers… And to the ones that’s just their to start trouble… And I’m not talking about Good Trouble…

Jesus turns his attention to those who call themselves followers of Christ… The beginning of this dialogue… we have had the beauty to sit back, shake our heads in disgust, and point our fingers and THOSE PEOPLE… We have had the privilege of turning up our sanctified noses… But now Jesus speaks to us directly… This is that part of the Bible that reads you back…

John 8:31–38 NLT

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

I do hope you still have your Bibles or devices opened… That I haven’t lost you to only believing what I said…

Jesus says to them… You can claim who you want to be followers of me… But my true followers are faithful to my teachings… AND you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…

What are you remaining faithful to… Are you living the words that we find in red? Are we loving our neighbors… Are we living a life of prayer… Are we holding fast to the teachings of God’s word… Or are we following the next fleeing social media trend?

I love this … Their claim is swift and clear… Here it is in case you missed it… We can’t be set free because we were never slaves… WE KNOW WHO OUR DADDY IS… Our father is Abraham… We are the descendents of a free man…

Might I add… This is so ironic because you find so many times in the Old Testament the children of Israel living in captivity because of their disobedience to God…

Jesus lets them know… You are not a slave to a person… You are a slave to your sinful acts and sinful desires… You might be the children of Abraham, but somewhere along the way… You have forgotten who you are… You are living with so much hate towards me, that you’re willing to kill me without accepting me… I am from the capital F father… You are following your lowercase f father…

Did you see that? Jesus acknowledges they children of Abraham… But Abraham was not their father…

John 8:39–41 NLT

39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

Ah man… It’s getting good…

After everything Jesus just said… They holla back to Jesus, Our father is Abraham… And Jesus says NO…

I had to look up… What did it mean to follow Abraham’s example… Sure, Abraham was father of many nations… Abraham had a sons at an old age… But what I realized is this… Abraham was always obedient to God’s revelation… Whenever God spoke to Abraham, Abraham listened and followed his orders… When God told Abraham to go to a land he will show him… Abraham didn’t gripe and moan about not knowing WHERE he was going… He simply followed and believed God… When God told Abraham he would have descendents that would out number the stars… Abraham did remind God that he and his wife were old… But Abraham still believed God…

Know we are witnessing those that call themselves children of Abraham denying the example that their father laid out for them… They have Daddy Issues because their real father is their new example…

John 8:42–47 NLT

42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

They children of Isreal cannot believe the true Father, because they are now believing their real father… And Jesus does not hold back in letting them know their father is the devil… And as children of the devil… they love to do evil things…

To be honest many of us cannot believe God’s promise over our lives because we are dealing with Daddy Issues… We have lost sight of who our true Father is… We are listening to the father of lies… The father of deceit…

And I’m not saying anyone in here is following the devil… But what I am saying is that we allow the devil to distract us… The devil tells us that we are not worthy and we believe it… The devil tells us that we don’t deserve a second chance and we believe it… The devil tells us that God would not allow us to be in a bad situation… But I’m here to declare that God has us right where we are so we can fully depend on Him to get us out… So we can be ever so sure to give his name the glory… We are alive and in it because God has is hedge of protection over us…

Closing

We may have had Daddy Issues… But today we will rise up and declare that today is the last day that we live like this… Today is the last day that we forget whose our Daddy… Today is the last day that we allow the enemy to take hold of our lives… Today is the last day that we will continue in these cycles… The Bible says “Who the Son sets free is truly Free indeed...” We declare and decree that today the chains of confusion are broken… The chains of depression are broken… The chains of low self-esteem are broken… The chains of Daddy issues are broken… We will be set free…

We are free, because just went up on a hill called Calvary to ensure our freedom… Our circumstances on the outside may not reflect right now the power that’s working on the inside… But the power of the Holy Ghost is working… The fact that we are here today is evident of the wonder working power… The saving power… The healing power… The freeing power…

Today… I’m asking you to just believe… Just believe…

If you want to know more about that power… If you want to know more about this man name Jesus that died on the cross… And rose three days later with all power in his hands… I invite you to allow us to take this walk with you…

The Bible says in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

I invite you to right now to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior… Simply Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord… And Believe he died on the Cross and God raised him from the Dead… and walk into the freedom of being released from the struggles of the world…

I ask you this question before we pray… Do you really know who your daddy is? Do you have a relationship with Him… Or are you just familiar with Him… Let today be the last day of a happenstance familiarity… Connect with God… Connect with the Father of Fathers… Our Abba Father is standing there with arms stretched open ready to receive us...

This isn’t about adding members to the Bridge… This is about adding souls to the Kingdom… Say this prayer with me…

Because we KNOW that Prayer is the key to unlock God’s power within us… Let’s repeat this prayer together…

Sinner’s Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen