You Know The Deal

Happy Father’s Day!

This morning brings all kinds of emotions.

Those of us who didn’t have the greatest fathers in the world, maybe we didn’t even know our father

Perhaps, the word father means some sort of abuse

Perhaps you had the greatest father in the world, but now they aren’t here anymore. They have passed on - We miss them

Maybe the word dad, is reserved for another man who wasn’t your physical father, but nobody would ever know it. He has helped shape your life, he has loved you and made you feel as if you are his.

It’s a sinful world, with broken relationships, so days like this can be a great blessing or a great pain.

I say, let’s see the blessing in it.

For one thing, we have a Heavenly Father who is beyond anything that we could ever expect to have as a dad.

Matthew 7:9–11 NKJV

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Matthew 9

Matthew 7:9 NKJV

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

He has the best of thoughts for us as his children, even when we are wayward and on our own.

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

He has made promises to us, that unlike many father’s, he would never leave us.

We would never feel like orphans again

We would be provided for

We would be safe in his hands

He would love us with an undying love.

My brothers and sisters today, we are each a part of a family, the children in the family of God. Children who have a great and loving Father.

So Happy Father’s Day.

With Father’s and men in mind, let’s turn over to

Micah 6:1–8 NKJV

Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.” With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Here we have a Father who is hurt.

God’s people are doing whatever they want, whenever and however they want to do it.

And we see here that God is pretty serious about what he expects from his people and the punishment that refusal to do it brings.

Here we see that father’s heart that has been crushed.

Every Father at sometime has asked these questions, either in the middle of the situation or to themselves. Maybe even to God.

What have I done?

What did I do that made this happen?

Did I not love you enough? Was I not there enough? What could I have done better? Where did things go so wrong?

This is a father who really wants to know the answer. I cannot say that all men are as sincere as he is. Some say things, but they really don’t want to know the answers.

This father, wants to know.

For you see, this Father was a righteous father.

The guilt was not with him

The problem was not the time that he spent away from home

It wasn’t the long hours of the job, or the hobbies, or the money that he drank away.

It was simply that there was an enemy who had led his children’s hearts astray.

So brothers, You know the deal.

The Enemy and the Brokenness of Sin has Touched each of us

We want to be Loving, unselfish husbands. We want to lead our wives through the Love of Christ.

We want to be the greatest dads.

We want to love unconditionally

We want to give our children a spiritual legacy and lead them into worshiping the Lord

But we are flawed.

Our marriages are marked with failures.

Our children aren’t in church, they could care less about the things of the Lord

Even in our own lives we sense the spiritual joy of serving God winding down. That zeal for the Lord is no longer there.

God’s heart is the heart of every father. ’ve already said, He was the only one who could ask these questions knowing that he had not failed his children in any way.

There are too many of us asking ourselves, what have I done? Why wasn’t I there? Why didn’t I do that?

And the enemy is beating men up today. There is a loss in the American family relations

We are trying to buy bigger and better things to make amends, but that’s what is needed.

The apologizing is a great place to start, but what is it that changes the situation. Because before we know it, we are right back in the same predictament.

The Apostle Paul said it himself - There is this battle raging inside of me.

The Old man and the Spirit man. And He talks about how so many times the old man seems to continue to win.

The things I know and want to do, I end up not doing and the things I don’t want

Anybody here recognize that battle in themselves? Ladies? You can join in today.

Even when we look at God’s accounting of what he has done and how he has done it for them, we are reminded of the effects of sin in our lives.

Many of us would say, Pastor, I’ve done good things for my kids. I’ve been there for them.

I’ve supplied their needs, I’ve led them to Jesus

But even in that, do you notice there’s a weakness?

That no matter what we try to do, our weaknesses and failures of being a broken man still affect us?

And have you ever discovered this little gem of a fact? - You are never going to be able to please everyone.

That’s also a situation brought on by the brokenness of man.

So I’ll tell you what I’ve learned in my 30 years of being a pastor of all of you. - Stop trying to please people and please the one who matters - Father’s, men (women) let’s please God today.

So as we’ve been saying church family, outside of the presence of God and the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are still sinful people.

And the charges that the Lord brings against us, just like here with Israel, are founded and true.

There’s no way out of them.

So Brothers, You know the deal

Our Excuses Fall on Dead Ears with the Lord

Look at verses 6 and 7

Man they try everything. The present their case and they are found to be a fault

Then they go to the big excuse. And comeon, everyone we’ve been there.

Then what do you expect of me?

It doesn’t matter what we do, we can’t make you happy.

How many of us have said in our marriages, and life situations - “How much more do you want from me.” I’ve given my all

But is that true? Probably not

Oh we extend ourselves a little more when the problem gets a little more serious

I know in the situations of my life, I’ll put more into something until it wears me out and then I’m done.

I’ll just allow things to go back to the way their were and if we’re all honest - Just complain about it

That’s whats going on here. They are complaining.

Comeon God, I’ve given so much to you already. And you still want more?

What if I bring thousands of rams? Yeah like you could afford that

Maybe I should sacrifice my firstborn - That seemed to work for Abraham - and that was a whole different story.

And offering and a sacrifice mean nothing if the heart of the giver is not in it.

The New King James Version Chapter 6

With what shall I come before the LORD,

And bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

Ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

That’s what the deal with Abraham was all about - He was willing to sacrifice his son for in the belief in the promise of the Lord that God would supernaturally provide. - and the Bible tells us that it was accounted unto him as righteousness.

God does ask for it all today from us brothers. But He also gave His all to make it happen.

God does ask us to make sacrifices - But only if we really want more of him.

He

The scriptures are very clear - there is nothing that you will ever give up that will be greater than the reward that you will receive in return. God is faithful.

Does it cost to follow Jesus? Yes. But it also pays off in unbelievable ways.

Will there be pain in serving the Lord? Most definitely yes. But there will also be great joy, greater than the pain in doing so as well.

Will something have to die to make room for Jesus - yes. But the part of you that comes to life in doing so, is greater than you can ever know.

It’s not about what we give - it’s about what who we give to

It’s not about the sacrifice, it’s about the heart

And that’s what the prophet says here. Go on, keep complaining, keep making excuses

But you know the deal men

For He Has shown you O man What is Good!

It is not a secret. God hasn’t called you to accountable to something that he has first not told you that you were accountable to.

He tells Saul, soon to be the Apostle Paul, It is hard for you to kick against the goads.

Men, Fathers, grandfathers, my brothers today, let’s stop banging our heads against the wall.

You see, this was important to the people of Israel, because under the law, the Rabbi’s found 613 precepts that they were to live by.

And our country thinks the 10 commandments are bad.

In , those 613 precepts are reduced to 11 principles

And in , these are reduced even further to 6 commands.

Do you see why the people could make excuse that they were weary of trying to keep up with God’s commands for them?

But here it is condensed to 3 - For He has show you oh man what is good.

These three things, men, father’s , brothers are what the Lord requires of you today.

That you do justly

That you love mercy

that you walk humbly with your God.

This is it. And I want you to know today, that everyone of us here can do these things.

1. Do Justly

Remain honest in all that you do.

You want to be a great husband - love your wife honestly. Stick to those vows that you made to her - to love her ONLY, to cherish her ONLY

To be there in thick and thin in chaos and order, in brokenness and wholeness

Guard your heart brothers -

Watch your eyes

Stay in your word

You want to be the greatest father ever - Draw closer to Jesus

Let your kids see Jesus in your daily life

Let your kids see Jesus in your struggles and in your highs of life

Let your kids see you in the Word, and on your knees

Don’t leave them home when you come to church

You want to be the greatest Father, yes play with them, wrestle with them, have tea with them,

But more than anything, put those things down from time to time and be the priest of the home.

Be honest, have integrity

In work, don’t steal - minutes, paperclips or dirt

In life, be a man of your word

In your home, be an example of Jesus

With the Lord - give him your failures and weaknesses

Give him your dreams and ambitions

Trust in him for your daily provision

And serve him with all of your heart.

2. Love Mercy

Cherish Compassionate Faithfulness

Just look to Jesus - when he was tired and worn out

When he had already given everything he had

when it seemed like the crowd, the questions, the healing and teaching would never end

What did Jesus do? - He kept on - He was moved by compassion.

The extremes of Fatherhood never end. It can be daunting, it can be wearisome, it can be crazy

But be moved by compassion.

Never quit

Never give up

Even when your children aren’t walking with the Lord - You pray and believe for them.

You lead and guide them.

Being a husband in today’s society is hard.

There are so many other things vying for our attention and affections

But there is also a woman at home, who you committed for life to, who needs your love

The Bible says that husband sanctifies and cleanses the wife, with the washing of water, by the Word

Men, there is something that we can do for the spirituality of our wife simply by being a man of the Word

We are not called to frustrate our wives with the word

We are not called to beat them up with the Word

We are called to nurture them and see them released to be the proverbs 31 woman

Listen brothers, God uses us to do that. that’s powerful

If your wife is tempramental

If your wife is not easy to live with

If you are thinking about throwing in the towel, you can’t live with her anymore

I want you to know, don’t blame her. There is something that you are not doing as a man of God that should be making a difference in that relationship.

Seek God about that

Loving Mercy.

Choosing compassion over our prejudices

Choosing love and caring over our time schedules and finances

Allowing the Kingdom of Heaven to move through us, not just when we want it to, but whenever it wants to.

Be compassionate for the people you work with

Be compassionate for the people you share the road with

Be compassionate to see the plans of God released in everyone you meet.

3. Walk Humbly with Your God

This is to commit yourself to live in submission to your God.

This is giving God his proper place in our lives.

If you call Jesus Lord, then live like he’s your Lord

Master, owner, controller

Stop making your own decisions

Stop living life to yourself

Live fully for Jesus

Listen, men, if three things are still hard for you. Let me make it a little easier.

Jesus reduced to three.

You see with Jesus, life is so much easier.

It’s not that Jesus doesn’t expect anything from us, but that Jesus assist us in doing what needs to be done.

All of these things are still needed,

But Jesus says this.

Luke 10:27 NKJV

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Let’s PRAY