Being a Dad

Luke 1:13–17 CSB

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”

Intro: Today, I’ve selected a familiar passage of scripture, howbeit a slightly unusual one for father’s day. It comes from the narrative concerning Elizabeth and Zechariah. For years they had prayed for a child. God in his perfect timing granted their request. The passage goes on to tell who this child will be and what he will do. Of course, we know this child as John the Baptist. The forerunner of Christ. As the scripture tells us, John’s mission was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel. In other words, He was to till the hard soil and prepare it for the gospel seed to take root.

Now many of you maybe thinking, What does this have to do with being a dad? Well their is this one phrase in this passage of scripture that has caught my eye in a way I have never seen it before. I simply read over it and never really questioned it’s significance. It is found in verse 17

Luke 1:17 CSB

17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”

“To Turn the hearts of fathers to their children”

When I look at all of the other job descriptions they all seem to fit with the ministry John was given. Then their is this one. It sticks out from the rest. I have found in my years of studying that the one that doesn’t seem to flow like the rest it means that it is meant to grab our attention. Although, I think our tendency is to just move along. So today we are going to look at this phrase in it’s context and relate that to the everyday job of being a dad.

Q: what is John’s job?(Context)

A: To prepare the way of the Lord

I. John would be set apart to the Lord

A. “He would never drink wine or beer”. - Throughout scripture this was symbol of being set apart for the Lord’s work. People often ask me do I drink? The answer is I do not. I see this pattern throughout scripture that those that are called out for His service were to be distinctly different in this way. No matter what your stance on this issue is.. one thing is for sure. We need to be careful about who or what we are identifying with.

example:

Back in the early 2000’s there was a very prominent pastor who did many great things for the Lord. He even started a church planting network. One Sunday to prove a point he sipped a beer from the pulpit. As the months went by he did other bold things to prove a point. Later another pastor friend pulled him aside and confronted him. He asked him this question? Do you know what your reputation is? Your known as the cool pastor who cusses and drinks.

Why am I telling you all this? In the eyes of the world and church, he was no longer known by his simple service to Christ, even though he had done many great things. Just make sure that when you practice your Christian liberty(whatever you believe they are) that your liberty doesn’t become your identity. Be known as a person who is filled with the Spirit of Christ and serves him faithfully, nothing else.

John was known as a man filled by the Holy Spirit, a servant of God, which aided him in his mission.

II. He will turn many.....to the Lord their God.

He will preach the truth of the coming judgement. He will preach the truth of the the grace of God toward those who repent. John the baptist preached repent and in this way he went in the likeness or “spirit” of Elijah. He preached the truth to a tough crowd.

Trans: But then look what follows when God gets a hold of a man’s heart.

III. He will go in the spirit of Elijah to turn their hearts of fathers to their children.

This is the part that I want to focus on today. In preparing the world for the advent of the savior, the gospel message and mission, fathers were mentioned as a major part of that plan. Think about this. In the bringing the gospel to the world, fathers were a big part of the plan.

Now think about where we are today as a society

(Show powerpoint)

we don’t have a youth problem in the U.S. We have a fatherhood problem.

When the gospel takes root in a father’s heart it changes a generation. We see that one of the main ways to plow the ground for the gospel seed to be planted is through the fathers being concerned with the raising of their children.

So God-fearing fathers what is your plan to take the Gospel to this next generation.