A Father's Courage

Welcome fathers/ pray Sermon called

Welcome fathers/ pray Sermon called

A Father’s Courage/ Pic

Dads are important also. Mother’s day I talked about moms being there raising most of our nations kids.

Fifteen million children—that’s one in three kids—live without a father.

That’s according to the Washington Times, which also reports that the number of children with fathers at home has decreased significantly in the last half century: in 1960, 89 percent of children had a dad at home. Today, only two-thirds do.

If you know a kid without a father, or if your son or daughter is in that position, give that child some extra thought this Sunday as the world around him or her celebrates dads.

Statistics: Poverty, violence, and behavior

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, growing up without a father increase the probability of trouble later in life.

Kids without dad at home are:

Four times more likely to live in poverty than kids with two parents at home.

More likely to show aggressive behavior than others.

More likely to end up in jail, with a Department of Justice survey showing that 39 percent of inmates came from mother-only households, At increased risk of anger problems and behavior disorders, with 85 percent of children with the latter, in one survey, coming from fatherless homes.

With that said there are a lot of hurting kids out there and they need their father in heaven to comfort them. We need to show them a father’s love.

I found this video on the internet and it broke my heart.

It is a kid causing trouble and jenny jones has a drill sergeant scare them straight. Well it turns out a little differently than planned.

PLAY VIDEO

Wow I can only imagine the pain. I know some here today don’t have a father in your life. I think that is where the church needs to come in.

We need to be a father to this nation. There are kids out there begging for attention, begging for someone they can look up to.

I thank God for all the step- dads that stood up and raised a kid as their own.

I am a blessed man as we know from my last sermon that I have a mom and a great relationship. Well I also have a great Dad too. So I can’t go on and say that I fully understand what it is like not to have a dad, I only know what it is like to be around others and what they go through in that situation.

I see the hurt, the anger, the pain. And that is why I try to be a positive male role model to the kids, because if they don’t have a dad at least they can see a man of God trying to stand in that gap. I try to be a big brother for them.

That’s what we as a church need to be doing finding a need in a person’s life and trying to meet it with God. I heard on air one say a better way to enhance your relationship with anyone, is to simply ask how can I, help?

The whole I will pray for you thing let them come to that conclusion and then actually pray from them. The problem is we try to help the easy way the fast way.

We hear that someone is in needing food but they can’t drive so we give them money for food. They can’t drive to get it, what they needed was someone to get them food or to take them.

Father’s Day. Again listening to the radio at work I heard something believe it or not and they give you 3 tings and one is not real. But the not real thing was. “With the lack of interest hallmark is not doing father’s day.”

Or a thing were moms get all the attention and dads don’t like we will spend 150 on mom and only 25 on dad. it seams like today we don’t value dad’s. that might be due to the fact that lot of people grow up with out one.

I see Satan at work. if we don’t have a father then we won’t want a relationship with God the father because our earthly one failed. It is a another way Satan can get you away from God.

Why is it God the Father?

Jesus taught his disciples to call God "our heavenly Father." Therefore, the loving relationship he has with the Father from eternity now extends to those adopted into God's family

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”

The father-son relationship is the most intimate personal relationship, one marked by reciprocal love and respect, and it is God's supremely personal and loving nature that the term father is meant to underscore.

God knew that we were going to live in a world with less and less dads, and he wanted to make sure that you could have a dad.

DAD and I Pic

My mom taught me to love and care and to have a passion.

My dad taught me first to stand strong on the word of God. He also taught me to do construction and to build and to work hard to get things done right the first time. Also my work ethic.

Mowing the big yard with him. Story endurance now I work even when I am tired I can still go on.

Roofing story. Left me in charge at 12

My dad also taught me how to work for things that I wanted. I wasn’t always given things if I wanted something I had to work for it. I wanted to dive so he took me got me licensed he paid for it and the gear so I would have it so I could go with him.

Grouting cabins got dive gear.

Diving with my dad. I worked for it but I got to dive with my dad. after work comes play. I work hard and play harder.

Bat ray story. I do have limits and I do know when to let it go.

Video BATRAY TOOK MY GUN.

Talk about it Scary but boy was it fun and yes I will shot another one but it will be with a vengeance.

Now I am following my dad’s steps by becoming a minister. So I have a dad that I can look up and become a great man. And I want to thank him for that.

Jesus can relate to us even more than we thought. Jesus had a step dad. and his name was Joseph. So Jesus knows what it is like to have a stepdad. And because the name step is in front doesn’t mean that it is any less important.

Joseph taught Jesus and raised him to be a man of God the Son of God and a Carpenter. Jesus followed in his dad steps too. He was a carpenter and he learned it from his dad his step dad. Joseph stepped in and took the Role as father.

And that’s what we need to do step up and be fathers to this world.

I want to encourage the fathers and men hear today to be men that step up in the gap. We need gap fillers today.

Last father’s day I talked about fathers of steel. Today I want to talk about a father’s courage. I want to turn our bibles to

20 There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior[a] from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions[b] of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. 21 Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. 22 Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. 23 He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.

What? Wow that’s a man. For most of us when we see a lion in the wild we would think get away hide get to safety. What dose Benaiah do? He chases the Lion showing no fear into a pit oh and it was snowing. His gut reaction said get it.

The bible doesn’t tell us why he was after this lion. But in a book called Day of war suggest that the lion was in his village and was killing some of the people. So Benaiah ran after it jumped into the pit with it and fought a lion. This wasn’t something that was normal for the people of his day to do or it wouldn’t have been in David’s mighty men. These were only men that had valor and courage.

Imagine him jumping into the pit most of us would think that the lion would have been the one to come out and when we see the man we are like yeah that’s what I’m talking about.

We need to be this kind of man and father for this generation. Where the odds are against us and we can stand up and run where others flee to safety. But with God things like this are able to happen, When we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. When something needs to happen men of God need to stand up face the odds and chase your lions and attack them.

Sometimes the right place seems like the wrong place and the right time often seems like the wrong time. The thing is that God will place us in situations that will get us where he wants us to be. And sometimes we have to act against the odds.

I am not saying run into the African safari and find a lion and kill it. Most likely you will die. But if the spirit leads you to do so know that you will overcome.

Lets look at verse 23.

23 He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

Talk about something to put down on your résumé when trying to get the captain of the bodyguard. I chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

Here’s the thing I don’t think that Benaiah was thinking about the captain of the bodyguard job when this bad day happened.

But God is a Resume builder and he will use our past experiences to prepare us for the future. But those God given opportunities can look like a man eating lions.

Our biggest fears could be our biggest opportunity. There is a family that was a BANKER STORY MOVED TO CHINA tell it

That is a lion chaser.

As men we need to stand up and face these lions, just not batrays.

The fun of fear is that the greatest moments double as the scariest moments. They are the same.

I would bet that Benaiah woke up from flashbacks. The lions roar echoing in the pit ringing in his minds ear forever.

I am no Benaiah but that Batray video doesn’t do justice to the fear it was scary I called out for help.

But now it is a great story to tell the man eating batray…

This is the time we start standing up and making the world realize that fathers are here and we do care for our kids and that we love them. we will be men of courage

Courage is doing what is right regardless of circumstances or consequences.

5 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.[c] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.[d] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

They could have compromised and just said God we love you we don’t mean this and bowed down. But they would have missed their God moment opportunity’s and missed out on miracles. I think that we forget we serve the creator.

They stood their ground and chose the fire over denying their God. It seemed like a bad day for the 3 men but after the fire came a miracle not one hair was singed or were there no smell on them. Then the king said.

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside[f] the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

One act of courage by three 20 something year olds changed a king and a kingdom. This is what God is call fathers and men to do today. Fight the odds and change a nation. And act with courage. We need the nation to see how powerful father are and can be.

We need to make a choice of boredom and safety or fear and lion chasers choose fear. ‘

David is a giant chaser. David is anointed king at his father’s house in he is killing Giants.

Wow that is why God anointed him he knew he would pick the fear over the boredom.

48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

Benaiah chased a lion into a pit/ David Ran out to face the giant the odds were against David too as a boy with a stick against a giant warrior. This boy David chose a lion chaser because David himself was one too.

Listen to the odds

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

David had been chasing after lions and bears Oh my work of God and destroys. God was using David’s past to prepare him to take on giants. This is the attitude we need to have at life that God is with us and when the enemy comes at us that we will stand firm in the word and attack it.

David later becomes the greatest king Israel ever had. It started when he was doing his job and didn’t back down from lions in the path. He later choses a lion chaser to be the Captain of his body guard. David knew that it would take a lion chaser to be able to protect him.

God is looking for Lion chasers today. he may have been calling you for a while now. Men lets take a stand to the evil in this world let us take a stand to conforming to this world. We need to stand up against the odds in humans minds

Cause in reality we are the odd if God is on our side. We need to stop living in fear and believe what the bible says, with God we can accomplish all things. And if God is the creator then he can create us out of our messes.

We get caught up in the now and the things of this world and forget that this life is but a moment to the grand scale of life. This is only a test for your eternity the holier life we live now the better life we will have forever. Think about that.

Jesus takes it a step further so that he can fully understand what it is like not to have a father. Sense the begging of of everything God and jesus were together there was never a moment that they were separated even on earth he was able to pray to him and talk with him. It wasn’t till he was on the cross dying. That he cried out

45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”[b]

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[a] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

God turned his back when Christ was sin. They were separated because Sin and God cannot coexist.

Jesus had felt what it is like to not have a father. We have a lord that understands and knows the pain we go through.

“We have no capacity to appreciate the utterly horrific experience of having the sins of the world put upon the Lord Jesus as He hung, in excruciating pain, from that cross. The physical pain was immense. The spiritual one must have been even greater.

That shows us clearly how much God loves us.”

-Matt Slick-

You have a father in heaven that will never fail you. You can cry to him Abba father, and he will take care of you. and as men and Fathers we need be there and become Christ like and regain the respect of the culture. By standing on the word of God.

LETS PRAY.