The Original Father Figure
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· 12 viewsThe last physical contact made with Jesus before He ascended was - fascinatingly - with His hands and feet...
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The Original Father Figure
The Original Father Figure
Text
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
Introduction
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!”
My, my! I’ve been shook by that scripture almost every time I’ve heard or read it.
But I feel a certain something special about it in my spirit today.
The angels told the women that they were seeking the living among the dead.
And today, in a world that feels to many of us as if it is on the brink, we cannot be seeking something spiritually alive in a place that is spiritually dead!
I’m just going to put it real plain today: The world doesn’t have an answer to the division and the violence!
The world doesn’t have an answer to the disease and the injustice!
And that’s because the only real answer is a spiritual one!
If I were to apply this to today, I might say: “Why do you seek The Spirit within the World? It is not there, but it is in Him!”
I want to tell somebody today that if you’re waiting around for the world to get the problems sorted out, you’ll be waiting until the end! Because it won’t happen, and you can’t find comfort there.
But if you want a REAL answer, I suggest you seek the living among the living! BECAUSE WHAT I HAVE FOUND OUT IS THAT GOD IS VERY MUCH AT WORK IN HIS CHURCH!
AND HE IS ALIVE! HIS SPIRIT IS ALIVE!
AND THE ANSWER IS FOUND IN HIS SPIRIT, AT WORK IN HIS CHURCH!
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!!!”
I don’t want to miss out on it!
Body
Then, later in the same chapter, when in distress at whether they were being visited by a ghost or a spirit, Jesus suggested to the disciples that they see and touch His hands and feet.
The Father Figure
I am overtaken today by thoughts and snapshots of my father and what he has been in my life.
I have recently been able to enjoy some tremendous fishing with him in the early morning hours.
I can remember great stories of my dad, stories he told, and stories I’ve witnessed. {“Hey, dude!” “Skunk in the Camp” “Fast-food Item Outrage”}
My dad has long been an advocate for the violent death of all red wasps. (And I’m not here to make fun of him… there’s that protector-like instinct there…)
But some of the most fond memories that I think we all have are those times in which our father showed us how to do something...
You know… “Son, this is how you check your oil,” and, “Sweetheart, this is how you tune the guitar...” {My dad: catch a baseball, safety with a gun}
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
22 Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
Dad would sometimes put his hands over mine to show me...
You remember the hands of your dad at work. So much of what we remember of our dads is what they DID. They showed us with their own hands and their own feet, and then they turned to us to let us do it for ourselves.
Not only that, but they showed us how to act, how to talk, how to treat people, and how to carry ourselves.
OPTIONAL: There is a tearing down of men and fathers in our society today. But I say that we need some godly men!
The Wall Street Journal, this morning: “Men are delaying fatherhood to an average of 27 years old.” Why?
“A potential reason for the delay in fatherhood, the researchers found, is what demographers call the ‘lengthening transition to adulthood’—the point at which men (and women) feel as if they’ve achieved adult status.”
The only way you reach adulthood is by the hand of a father and a mother. Again, we need, good, godly men of integrity today! Prayerful men! Worshipping men!
They are the father figures in our lives. And today, we’re celebrating them.
The Original Father Figure
But many years before your father or his father, there was the Original Father Figure!
And He was LITERALLY the father figure - He was the ONE AND ONLY image of God!
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Jesus was God!!!
And His purpose was like that of a father!
You remember that protective role a father has that I mentioned? With His blood, He offered to everyone a protection from destruction and a salvation from hell! It was an act of love, like a father!
He LOVED US - like a father! And this whole book is one big love letter from the father to His children!
And with His steps, His words, and His actions, He showed us how to live! …Like a teaching father!
13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
He would show us how to act, and live and function in unity with others in the church - who, conveniently, we call brothers and sisters in our Father’s kingdom!!!
Jesus was the Original Father Figure!
And we were always meant to follow His example.
Now let me return to our text...
Jesus was about to leave earth, and ascend before the disciples. He would be passing the ministry to the church now.
And what was the last physical contact that humanity would make with Jesus before He ascended?
What was it that Jesus wanted them to touch and remember after He left them?
...
Jesus made sure, before He left them, that they would see and touch His hands and feet.
...
Some have touched the hem of his garment - there was a time for that. (A time for healing)
Some have waved palm leaves, and perhaps grazed His head or shoulder. (A time for praise)
But when it was time to pass on His ministry to the Church, He directed us to, and desired for the focus to be on... His hands and feet!
And we - the church - what are we to be, but “His hands and feet” in the earth!
And like a dad, He made contact with humanity and said, “This is how you do it! This is the example to follow! Follow me! I’m going to help you and give you the power to accomplish this!”
Final Contact Before Liftoff
Recently, there was a major spacecraft launch that took place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. {Show pictures}
SpaceX and NASA worked together to make this launch happen and it was a major ordeal, covering the news even in the middle of the early coronavirus scare.
It was a great achievement on several fronts, but when I began to see pictures... something caught my eye.
There was this great big arm that came out to the top of the ship, and when you see the footage of the liftoff, that arm or hand quickly detaches and shifts out of the way.
I had never seen anything like that before and so I got interested and looked into it.
That arm that comes out is called the crew access arm. And it is actually a walkway that the astronauts use to board the ship.
And when I read that, it hit me...
In order for that ship to successfully lift off and complete its goal… it has to make contact with the arm that hands off the power to run it.
And in order for the church - you and I - to complete our purpose for God, we’ve got to make contact with the hand of the Original Father Figure, and let the power of His Spirit flow into our lives and change us and empower us to do His will!
And what’s powerful and what’s amazing to me is that TODAY, WE CAN STILL REACH OUT AND TOUCH HIM!
As a matter of fact, EVERYONE needs to REACH OUT AND TOUCH HIM!
Maybe you’ve felt the touch of Jesus before, or many times before - TOUCH HIM AGAIN!
Let me ask you right now: Has the touch of Jesus become common to you today? Has the hand of the King of Glory gotten old? I hope not! I hope not!
But the good news is, whether you’ve never felt His touch, or if you’ve felt it every day of your life - that same Spirit is present! It’s still here to flood every heart and wet every dry place! Reach out and touch Jesus!!!
What that touch did that day:
When they touched His hands and feet: It drew the attention to what Jesus did (his sacrifice for us)
They were touching God-in-Christ.
His appearance there was designed to reassure the disciples of what had happened.
And He could have easily sealed the holes where the nails had been. But He didn’t do that. He wanted the focus to be on His mighty act!
I can remember shaking the hand of Bill Gray. Handshakes are memorable. You remember whether they were warm and firm or whether they felt like a cold, damp fish fillet!
But if you’ve ever shook the hand of Bill Gray, or Tom Gray - any Gray - you remembered it! MASSIVE hands. You would say to yourself, “There’s the hand of a man that’s been some places!” But you also think, “There’s the hand of somebody who’s done some things for God!” From tent revivals to planting churches to playing a banjo to winning souls, you better believe: The Grays knew how to work for the Kingdom of God!
As a matter of fact, this very church (New Life) stems out of the work Chuck Gray did for God! What work by his hands!
But can I tell you something today (and I’m sure Bro. Gray would be fine with me saying it)? If you think you would be amazed to shake the hand of Bro. Gray, you outta touch the hand of Jesus!!!
That’s who Bro. Gray would point you to!
When you touch the hand of Jesus, you touch the hand of your Savior!
When you touch the hand of Jesus, you touch the hand of your Creator!
When they touched His hands and feet: It was to give confidence that, in our despair and trouble, He is not an illusion - He’s really HERE!
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
They were “terrified and frightened,” the scripture says. They thought that they were seeing some sort of ghost. An apparition.
And one of the reasons Jesus wanted them to touch Him is to see that it was really Him. He was present.
You might look at our world today and begin to wonder where God is at in all of this? Is He present? Does He see?
But I believe in my heart that desperate times call for desperate measures.
If you feel frightened or troubled today… the best thing we can do as the church is to reach out and touch Him!
When they touched His hands and feet: It allowed the church to touch that which they should demonstrate (We are His hands and feet)
God designed for it to be that His church was active when He left!
Can I tell you that in the last 24 hours, a person’s been healed?
Can I tell you that in the last 24 hours, prophecy has went forth?
And I can statistically prove that in the last hour, somebody has gotten the Holy Ghost!
God uses His people for His work in the earth! You and me!
Sometimes a church needs a harvest and sometimes it needs a healing. The great thing about flowing in the Spirit is that God gives each individual what is needed!
And the thing is, that’s not just happening everywhere else! These things are also happening HERE!
It’s not a time to be less involved in what God is doing!
WE ARE HIS HANDS AND FEET!
And if I am the hands of Jesus, I need to find where I can put His hands to work!
Conclusion
We need to make contact with the hand of Jesus today!
18 years ago this year, I made the initial contact with Jesus!
I felt the touch of His hand!
We need a fresh touch of the father today!