Declaration of a Kingdom Man - Father's Day Message (Sunday Sermon, Dr. Tony Evans)

well good morning to everybody and happy happy happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there we hope you have a great day and that this is the beginning of a great new 12-month cycle of your daddy hood and fulfilling your your role as a father has never been a time when fathers have been more critical to the well-being of kind of like everything than they are right now and so I'm excited as a father to join with the fathers to wish you this happy day and mothers and kids make sure that daddy knows that you love him you cherish him you value him you respect him and yes you are following him so so that'll put a little pressure on him to lead you in the right way right but happy Father's Day and we're excited for this special day and what we want to talk to specifically the men about is what I'm calling the declaration of a kingdom man we want you to make a declaration all you men and fathers we want you to declare where you're coming from and you know a kingdom man is a male who has made the decision to operate consistently under the governance of God and other the lordship of Jesus Christ and so that's to be your posture a father one day was correcting his son you see his son had gone out and his son had gone to the outhouse and way out in the country and the son hated to go to this outhouse he just hated it I don't know stood on the side of a creek and he got so frustrated and having to go use the outhouse one day they he just pushed the outhouse real hard and it fell into the creek well the father came to him the next day and said son did you push the outhouse into the creek son said yes that I did it father took off his belt to do a little correcting but the son complained he said but Dad George Washington told the truth about chopping down the cherry tree that's when the father said yeah but George Washington's father wasn't in the tree you get the point the daddy was in the outhouse when they got pushed over the young man had made a bad decision because he didn't understand it understand all the ramifications of its choice we live in a day when choices have to be made we live in a day in the fork in the road when you look at what's happening all around us the chaos the confusion the lack of clarity and voices coming at us from all different directions it's time for men to make a choice choice is the ability that God has given each of us to make a decision regarding the options that are before us and with all the voices that we're hearing now it is time for men to make a decision God has given us a will and he does not make all of our decisions for us he gives us the option like he did the first man Adam but he gives us the ability to make the choice that just so we understand the theology of choice all of our choices are within sovereign boundaries like a football field there's sovereign boundaries their sidelines goal lines those those lines are not negotiable they don't move but on the field of play you get to choose you get to choose which play you run God is given us as human beings and yes especially men the ability to make a choice we will either choose his way or our own way we'll choose God's Way or man's way we'll choose the secular way or the sacred way the choice is yours now let me let us all know we don't get to choose the consequences we only get to make the choice the consequences are in the hand of God and the reality is God is waiting on men to make a choice he's waiting on men to choose him not just by throwing up some God words but by making the choice that their decision-making will be consistent with his word and his will and that will be the final word on all subjects and I know we've got some major cultural competing subjects right now but he wants to know that his word and his will and his way will determine our choice Isaiah three makes it clear that when men don't choose right the kids get in rebellion the women can possibly take an illegitimate authoritative role and it says and then the men become neutered and they become weak and they fall on the sword today we have too many men falling on the sword too many men who have been domesticated meaning operating in a way that is outside of your divinely ordained responsibility and it starts with a God choice that's why I love these two verses in Joshua chapter 24 let me read them now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father's served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord choose for yourselves today whom you will serve whether the gods which your father's served which were beyond the / gods of the amorite sin whose land you are living but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord here's a man Joshua who makes a choice the context is that he is concerned that the people who have left Egypt have not fully left Egypt they still got a little Egypt in them and this this Egypt that is stuck with them will give them the propensity to want the blessing of God without choosing god well what the benefits of the promises of God without the selection to the submission and service to God and so he wants to make it clear you're not in Egypt anymore and even in the world in which you are living and the way you are surrounded by a secular culture by the Emirates don't let the place where you're living in define the decisions that you make we're hearing voices all over telling us who we are how we ought to operate what we are to think how we ought to move what we ought to say how we ought to feel and those voices are coming at us hot and heavy on the street in the media Joshua says look I have made a decision that my decisions will be defined not by the culture around me but by the Christ inside of me by my commitment to the will and the word of God he knew that pressured by the culture the culture they came from Egypt and the environment they were in the Emirates there would be the propensity to spiritual compromise it is disheartening to see the generation of men today who are spiritually compromising they are one way in church but then they go secular when they leave Church they leave what God thinks and what God says and will allow what man thinks and what man says to override the authoritative Word of God which means they're not Kingdom men and they've not made a kingdom declaration this does not deny your realities your humanity but it does say they're subject to a greater Authority he does not want them to play with idols and Idol is a noun an unauthorized now person place thing of thought that you look to as your source now today we have American idols they're sophisticated it can be technology can be politics it can be your race it can be your education it can be your income can be your career it can be anything that Trump's God and your decision making anything or anyone including you that can overrule God means that is an idol in your life you need to understand God has an exclusivity clause he can't be second and he will not allow any other competing deities not if you want him in the vicinity my great concern with all the cultural turmoil we're going through is that we'll want God pray to God while having competing idols that we are entertaining when you do that you have exited God in spite of your church attendance in spite of your prayers in spite of your cultural nuances you want God we need God right in the middle of it and we need some men to declare we don't need an undecided voter right now we need somebody who are voting for heaven every time yes we mess up we make mistakes we sin and God has given us an antidote for it called repentance where we turned the other way and turn back to God actually to do it but for all that we as men are facing today and his father's you better have God on your side and God doesn't want your just voting in private many people today many men today won a cafeteria God the kind of God where you pick and choose when you want him and when you don't want it that's not the kind of God he is and that's not the kind of men he's looking for as you've heard me say many times he's if you're 20 to 30 God is looking for a man so he doesn't have to curse the land but because he couldn't find one the land was cursed our culture could be cursed because the men are nowhere to be located so if your man not a male a man you can be a male and not a man because you haven't made the decision the declaration it's time to make your vote heard for heaven to overrule history it relates to history it operates in history but it's designed to overrule history when history is not on God's side now let's look a little closer at Joshua's declaration first of all it is a personal declaration he says as for me as for me this decision cannot be made by somebody else for you as a father as a man as a husband you've got to make the decision this is how I roll this is where I'm coming from I am first of all a Christian I am first of all a follower of Jesus Christ my first allegiance is to the God of the Bible his way his word his wisdom his will as for me now in a culture and chaos that can be a little tough decision because folks will want you to make their decision in order to be accepted in order to be popular too many men today I like jellyfish jellyfish can be a little they can be cute colorful but they have no substance no backbone they just go with the carrot they don't they don't take a stand and I don't mean being men I mean I don't mean being mean but I do mean being clear that I follow Jesus Christ everybody else is saying who they follow why should we be ambiguous as men about who we follow he says as for me then he broadens it and my house he takes responsibility for his family he doesn't ask for vote he doesn't ask do y'all agree with me no he makes a declaration why because in the Bible the father would be held responsible by God for the direction of his family I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the Bible says he doesn't ever say I am the god of Sarah Rebecca and Rachel not because women aren't critical and strategic they're absolutely necessary but the one who would be held accountable and responsible would be the man you remember God asked Adam Adam where are you Adam where you at yeah I know you your wife was involved with this but but I'm holding you responsible the Bible says in Adam all died not in Adam and Eve because God held the man responsible it's the essence of a kingdom and he accepts responsibility under God he's under Authority that's why he's in authority he's not this autonomous person out there floating and never-never-land as for me and miles the kids don't get to make the final decision when God has spoken your mate as much as you should love her does not get to make the final decision when God has spoken that God told Adam cuz you listen to your wife and you let her overrule me chaos is gonna come in your life in your home and in your world cuz I don't even want your wife to overrule me he says even he says even my household my family spoke for his whole house we need men who will leave their families men the Bible talks about the household of the man the household of David because he was held responsible doesn't mean it's your fault that mean you are the one to blame it you means you're responsible if it's broke you set in motion the systems to fix it to lead it out of brokenness you get the help you need if you are unable to do it yourself but have you made this declaration to your wife and children as for me because I'm gonna set the pace and I'ma set the example and my crib my house this is how we roll and we don't vote on this because this God's house it's the place where he rules it's for me and my house have you made that declaration not only in word but visibly they see that this is how you there's your wife have to wake you up to go to church I'm gonna tell Matt if you have to go to work I'm talking about because you want to sleep in and send them that means you aren't being responsible for the spiritual leadership does she always have to lead in prayer and lead in devotions that's because you haven't accepted the spiritual leadership you say but she knows more than me that's got nothing to do with leadership leadership has to do with the position you take and the posts you hold so that it is clear that I represent God for the covering of this house and please understand me this is a covering statement because unless a man lets God cover him he can't properly cover his loved ones he says as for me and my house my family no not not not not not the neighborhood that they don't control what happens in this house now your school chums they don't they don't control the kids who will often come home and say but my friend said hold it hold it if what your friends want and what your friends say and what your friends think disagree with God let me guide you in love and kindness not in vitriol but in clarity as for me and my house we don't go that way we don't do those things we don't use profanity in this house because this is God's house we don't allow that program programming in this house it's God's house we we represent God in this home why because we want to be covered by God in this family far too many men what God to cover their lives the family their career and their money when they fail to visibly represent him personally and in their homes but notice what else he says he says he doesn't know what the people are going to do if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord let me tell you what I'm gonna do so he's speaking to everybody he's not just talking to himself not just talking to his family he's talking to the whole nation so he not only makes a personal commitment he not only makes a family declaration he makes a culture wide declaration if it is disagreeable to y'all let me tell you what I'm gonna do what we need is some men with spiritual backbone who love themselves properly who love their families and who love the world in which they live but are inextricably clear y'all may not want to go where I'm going my race may not want to go where I'm going my class not want to go where I'm going my culture may not want to go where I'm going but let me tell you where I'm going whether or not you agree with me or not he says it may be disagreeable to you you may not be wanting to go where I'm going but let me be clear he says as for me and my house we will serve the Lord so he wasn't just giving a private word he was giving a public declaration we need men to go public for their Christian faith we've got some big issues before us don't we we've got all kind of pandemics we got a health pandemic a racial pandemic a police and community pandemic we've got clashes going everywhere well you know the best resolved of these pandemics is godly men taking their place and speaking about what God says about racial injustice what God says about order what God says about healing wounds what God says about how we relate to other people what God says about the role of government what God says about how institutions ought to operate because guess what God has something to say about all of it he's not left any issue that we're struggling with void of a world view and of a divine illumination but he says I'm gonna serve God even if it disagrees with all of y'all now you don't disagree to be disagreeable you don't disagree because you want to be different no he's talking about a God focus and not only in words he says to them it's who you serve he keeps using this word serve it's who you obey it's who you submit yourself to it is absolutely critical today that we have a generation of men who lovingly caringly and responsibly do what a good quarterback does you know quarterback is the lead guy he takes the ball from the center he's got to drop back in the pocket and either throw it or hand it off the defense has one goal to stop him to sack him before he can throw it off or hand it off to hit him so he'll think twice about the next play and one thing a quarterback has to be willing to do is take the hit because he's going to get hit because there's a side out there that doesn't want him to succeed there's a culture out there that doesn't want men of God to succeed there's a culture out there that doesn't buy a biblical frame of reference it doesn't buy God's point of view and a quarterback has to understand that while our goal is to move forward there will be resistance and that's why you need God on your side for yourself your family and if we're gonna make a difference for healing and unity and oneness and justice and righteousness in a broken world God is waiting on men he's waiting on men to take their stand for him and to do it on all three of those levels and to do it collectively he's calling folk to join him there was a little pygmy standing over a rhinoceros the rhinoceros was there dead huge beast of an animal he was standing over the rhinoceros and a man said when he saw him he said well who who killed that rhinoceros the pygmy said well well I did it's that way little guy you kill that big rhinoceros say yeah I took him down he said how did you do that the big one said I did it with my club wait a minute you killed this rhinoceros with your club since how big is your club he said I got a hundred other dudes in my club the God wants you to be part of a club a posse posse of godly men not perfect men but men are pursuing God and men who will hold tenaciously to his will and his word and his way that's why he says I'm going to serve Him I just go to church I'm going to serve Him he gets them to make a covenant covenant is a divinely created relational bond we told that the people made a covenant with God they came and they they collectively decided verse 25 so the people so Joshua made a covenant that day it's an agreement it's a decision following a declaration we need men of the kingdom who are also men of the covenant they are pursuing a growing intimate relationship with their King while simultaneously coming underneath the rulership of that King they're drawing closer to him personally while representing him publicly that's what we need today healers in the land and repairers of the breach a covenant and football everything is related to where the football is first down where you put the football outside where you are in relationship to the football out-of-bounds where you carried the football touchdown that the football across the plane of the goal field goal did the football go between the uprights in other words nothing matters except as it's related to the location and the handling of the football that's what the Covenant is God relates to us based on how we handle the relationship are we relating to him and are we ruling underneath him that's football and of course it comes in different situations in different ways through varying expressions but it ought to be clear it's the football it's the Covenant it's the agreement it's my declaration you have a choice I have a choice maybe you've made bad choices with regard to your own life and direction perhaps you are an abandoned abandoning father perhaps you've walked away from your role as a husband and a father and you failed well I've got a good news for you God gives cover mental renewal he provides men the opportunity to get back in alignment with him you go to God and you repent you say God I failed as a husband I failed as a father I failed as a man but today as for me and to whatever level I can give in my situation my house and I'll make sure that when I go public people know appropriately done that I am a follower of Jesus Christ now God will pay attention to that decision that choice and so the question is what do you choose what do I choose Elijah the Prophet has asked the question how long will you hope between two opinions second Kings 18:21 it once know how long you gonna go back and forth on this how long you go you're gonna ride the seesaw God one day everybody else the next day or even my own private opinion he says how long you gonna keep going back and forth up and down in and out I want you to I want you to just Claire today whom you're gonna serve that's the kind of men God is looking for the kind of fathers he's looking for now you have a choice I have a choice I can choose God or choose myself I can choose God or choose the wrong direction of my family I can choose God or choose the wrong direction of my culture do you have a choice and God will give you the freedom to make that choice you remember Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade it's one of my favorites of the Indiana Jones movies and he's looking for the Holy Grail his father has been wounded and his father is dying but if he can get to the Holy Grail dip it in water and pour it on his father's wound his father will be healed here's a son trying to save his father to get to the Holy Grail he's got to make a lot of decisions he's got a he's got to get the name of God right he's got a he's got a bow to his knee he's got to take a step of faith yeah he's got he's got some challenges to get the Holy Grail the question is is he man enough to take up the challenge is he man enough to take the risk is he man enough to take the hit he's got a he's got a choice to make he makes some interim choices that gets him into a into an enclave where there's this this guard of all of these Grails these cups and they're everywhere he's got a he's got to choose but which one is the Holy Grail which one has divine substance tied to it which one will get heaven to change earth so his father can live because he's got a plethora of options but which one does this man choose he looks around he looks around he's confused because all of them sound right look right seem right but then all of a sudden he notices something there was a one wooden one one wooden one in the midst of all the glittery ones the golden ones the silver ones the brass ones as this wood one and he remembers Jesus was a carpenter he dealt with wood so he goes over and he picks up the wooden one but there's another man in there who picks up one of the shiny ones one of the this looks like it'll work one he goes first and dips it into the water and drinks it and in a matter of minutes he disintegrates the wooden one wasn't impressive it wasn't something that you would be all excited about but he knew it was the one that Jesus would authorize that God would validate he dips it he drinks the water from it and he sees that he remains whole he rushes it back to his father pours it on his wound and his father is healed and comes back to health as you get to make your choice today there are a lot of pretty options out there and they're good rings they seem right sound right look right feel right but the question is isn't the choice Jesus would authorize because it's not the choice that Jesus will authorize all you go see is more disintegration more failure more frustration more emptiness ah but if we could get some men even if you're the son who needs to help your father out that's okay to like indeed they had to do is father dr. Jones and you get the Jesus Grail right even though it's not as fancy and it's not something everybody else would choose it's the one that will work and you see when you leave when your life and your world is falling apart you want something that's working you don't just need something that's pretty that won't work and so I'm calling on all men to make a declaration to decide which way you're gonna go from this point forward because God's gonna ask you about your choice when you stand before him he's gonna want to know why didn't you choose me why did you choose everything else but me then you'll have to give an answer at the judgment seat of Christ if you're a Christian if we can get enough men get enough club to go public with Jesus for justice and righteousness for equity and holiness then we could begin to see what God will do when he intervenes into the pandemics that are unraveling us as a society because they can't get enough men to step forward in closing there were two young men one day who were always wanted to trick their professor the professor was really smart he always had an answer for every question so these two young men said look let's let's see if we can stump our professor let's catch a bird a tiny bird and put it in our hand and then ask the professor is the bird dead or alive if the professor says the bird is dead we'll open up by hand and it'll fly away you be wrong if the professor says the bird is alive we'll squeeze it and crush it in our hand and show him a dead bird so there's no way he can win we can get it he thinks he's mr. know-it-all we can get it let's get him they found a little tiny bird and brought it to the professor and said professor we want to challenge you is this bird dead or alive the professor looked and studied the fist for a moment and then he looked at the two young men and said they they said to them gentlemen you asked me the question is the bird dead or alive the answer is in your hand you've got a culture that wants to trick you and trip you up but the answer is in your choice do you choose to follow him or not not asking you do you choose to be religious I might ask you do you choose to go to church I'm not even asking you do you choose to pray and read your Bible I'm asking you do you choose to follow him it includes those things but it includes a relationship submitting to rule if that's your choice then we ought to know about it your family ought to know about it your friends ought to know about it the culture ought to know about it and when God sees it you'll see God act through it to make a difference in your life and in our world

Channel: Tony Evans

Views: 65,621

Rating: 4.8769565 out of 5

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Id: zLiQRZK8fMA

Length: 37min 16sec (2236 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 21 2020