Fathers Day: Pastor John K Jenkins

good morning can I see who the fathers are can the father stand real quick I want to say Happy Father's Day to the fathers hope you get something other than the title day all right is that past the battle with a white shirt on and a jacket oh my gosh can we pray father thank you so much for the privilege of being here I pray now for this moment and pray that you would anoint us for these few moments to be your mouthpiece that you would prepare hearts to be receptive and that your name would get the glory in the honor I thank you for what you've already done and what you shall continue to do in Jesus name Amen how many know you'll have a tremendous pastor I think the world of your pastor and his wife amen we celebrate first lady Vicki my bride of 32 years as in the camp miss Trina stand up baby I want y'all to see my wife my bride delighted see pastor Jeff up in the camp me and I love you buddy glad to see you man I want to talk to you this morning for the next hour and a half from Luke chapter 15 pastor told me to take my time he didn't know who it is saying I want to talk first of all I'm honored to be in relationship with your past I'm honored for this moment again I just think the world of the Zion Church I'm proud of the work that you all are doing and God's hand is on this ministry I mean when you think about the fact that people are giving y'all houses that's amazing some of y'all can't celebrate with that because you wish they were giving you a house but I think it's incredible that they're on that God's hand is on this ministry and I'm very proud and very honored that our church can give support to you on any way that we can Luke chapter 15 is what I want to talk about let me just give you some background about this text Luke 15 is where Jesus gives three parables he gives three parables that conveys and speaks to his love for his children and it is a message about the parables about our about something that was lost that gets recovered so the first parable and the first few verses of chapter 15 talks about a shepherd who has not has a hundred sheep he loses one and he leaves the 99 to go and find the one that's incredible that here's a shepherd that would leave the ninety-nine sheep and go after the one that's the first prayer but second parable talks about a coin that is lost in a house and a woman searches diligently through her house as a matter of fact she sweeps through the house until she finds it and when she finds that she's celebrating the third parable is the parable of what's called the story about the prodigal son and I want to walk through this passage with you all and then i'ma bust you upside the head and leave you alone I want to read I mean from the New King James translation from verse 11 a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falls to me so he divided to them his livelihood let me stop right there here's the deal this man has two sons the younger son goes to dad and says give me my inheritance now you're not like this generation they want the inheritance before their fathers dead I ain't doing that I'm just saying so this father verse 12 divided to them his livelihood the son the young son asked for it and the father divides to them to both sons his livelihood not many days after the younger son gathered all together journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living ridiculous loose living this guy takes his his inheritance and spins it and waste it on living a loose life now I know nobody in here knows anything about loose living but it's living a life where there's no regard for the future you live loosely do what you want to do spend it however you want to spend it he lived wildly but verse 14 says but when he had spent all how many all of you keep spending it you don't have no job you go run out he ran out of money when he has spent all there arose a severe famine that land and he began to be in one so here he did he has spent all of his money he has wasted it he has lived his life he has bought all the booths paid for all the women bought all the clothes what all he has done all that he knows to do he has invested in nothing and now he's run out of everything y'all the tow crowd the priests - right here he has taken nothing here's how you tell the difference between a mature person and an immature person an immature person just spins and spins and spins with no regard for the fact that one day something's going to run out and immature person thinks about nothing about saving and putting aside retirement rainy day there's nothing about that they're just spending everything that they consume and this guy spent everything he had or nothing and he gets to a place where he's run out of money and now a famine strikes in the land and verse 14 says when he had spent all that that he had they arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want if you keep spending money you're going to come to a place of want and that's where he is he is out there in a far country away from home no cousin's baby am can't help him he is out there and he has no one to turn to in verse 15 it says then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine he found him a job and his job was feeding the pigs now I know if y'all know y'all know from the country my parents from the country my parents had pigs yeah we had hogs y'all don't know y'all don't known about raising hogs I know some of y'all like eating hogs but you don't know nothing about raising hogs they're dirty they're sloppy the in the mud they are dead enough so his job was to go and feed the Hogs and verse 16 says I'm gonna be done in just a few minutes I'm gonna hit you BAM upside the head I'm cutting out here go back to my church name hit you real quick verse 16 says and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything he came to a place when nobody would help him and even what the pigs ate started to look good here's what happens in life if you keep on living a raggedy life you'll end up where stuff that you would never consider doing what all of a sudden look attractive that's a bad place to be that when you were once in your right minds certain things you would never consider doing but now your life is so jacked up you solo you so messed up you so distraught you're so unhappy you so dis jacked up that stuff you would once never even consider doing you are now entertaining and that's what he's doing he's entertaining I wonder how many of you have sometimes thought about doing stuff that you once never would start looking at people that you would nothing once never hang out with never take a call from never be their friend all of a sudden now they look attractive yeah they all scream y'all can't handle the truth I thought I was I thought I was back at first baptist he considered eating the food that the pigs ate but an interesting thing happens while he was out there with no food no place to go and nobody to help him look at verse 17 but when he came to himself that's what I'm that's what we pray we pray that people would come to themselves here's the deal we got folk and they look good they look straight but they're out there loose living jacked up way out there doing what they shouldn't be doing hanging out with people they shouldn't be hanging out with they're livin loose lives but he came to himself that's what I pray about every day that God would help people come to themselves help wake them up to recognize what that God did not create you to live your life the way you are living your life you weren't raised to live a jacked up life you weren't raised to be strung out on drugs you were not raised to be drinking like that you weren't raised to be sleeping with everything with two legs you weren't raised to be like that gold it freaks out to ticket let's encourage myself you weren't raised like that he came to himself he got the recognition that he was living me needs himself he came to himself and look at what he said he said how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough to spare and I'm perishing with hunger he said my father got people working for him and they doing better than me verse 18 he says I want to rise and go to my father and will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son make me like one of your hired hands I got a I got a applaud this guy because at least he's coming back with the right attitude now now what I wanted to talk about I think he got a tightness message did I honey get your note I'm good I didn't give it to you I want to talk about the power of a Father's love this guy loves this his voice now he loved him so much he Badou he did some stuff I would never do like like for him to divide his livelihood up to his kids let me tell you something right now I am NOT giving my livelihood to my kids I love him but they gonna had to get their own stuff why he was yet alive he took his livelihood dispersed them the younger boy took it and wasted and spit it out and now the now the boys coming back but I applaud him because he'd come back with the right attitude he's not coming back with the attitude that he's old anything he got a culture people who think that people owe them stuff he said on my father doesn't owe me anything he recognized his father already given him some stuff but he says I I just want a job this give me a job make me his one of your heart hands he was smart enough he came to himself and he recognized that my father got people working who doing better than me she says I'm going to go back and see if I just get a job so he comes back he says I'm no longer worthy to be your son make me like one of your hired hands verse 20 here's what I want to zoom in on and he arose and came to his father listen to this but when he was still a great way off his father saw him now that that's powerful to me for several points first of all the son was a great way off a far away from where his father was several things about that catches my eye the first thing that kept is my eye is that his father saw him while he was still way out there y'all mr. great spot to say man here's what our Heavenly Father does even when you are out there and I and I I know y'all don't want to own up to it but I'm feeling something from that section of the room right over there while they are out there while he was out there and guess what why are you out there doing whatever it is that you don't want your daddy to know your heavenly Father sees exactly what you're doing why are you out there drinking smoking lying sexing drugging what else y'all be doing huh stealing come on I got a witness I got somebody to help me what else you'll be doing whoremongering fornicating line acting crazy thank you young man who is that young man out there he's out there why you are out there the father sees you he loves you so much that I don't care how dark the room is I don't care what plane you get on and how far you try to try to travel I don't get what bus you get on how far you drive I don't care how dark the room is our Father still sees you I want you to remember that when you're out there doing something you ain't got no business doing when you're asteroids is out there doing something you ain't got no business doing I'm sorry I thought I was their first baptist church in Linhart he sees you his father saw him how God sees you you can't escape it you weren't raised to live the way you're living you weren't called to do what you're doing there's a much higher level of life that God has for you than what you're living and he sees you this is what I love about God He loves us so much that no matter how far we fall he still has his eyes on us you know what else blesses me about this story is that that father the natural father in the text here saw his son while he was still a great way away from home he saw him every day I believe he must have got up and said my jacked up wayward son maybe he might come home today in that great love that I believe every day he woke up with the hope and aspirations that maybe maybe he'll come home today now i'ma tell y'all I got six kids I'm trying to raise them so they won't come back home no I cuz when they come back they come back with u-haul trucks and stuff and kids I'm trying to raise my kids so when they leave they go and come on and talk to you they gone I don't want them coming back I love you come visit have dinner go on back to your house this father knew that his son left in the wrong way some of you walked away from God somebody Church made you angry something life happened it made you bitter and you're approaching God from a distance it's tragic and is sad but my assignment is to tell you that even though you're a great way off he's still looking for you to come back home the Bible says while he was still a great way off I love this his father saw him he saw it can I can I throw this in for free I won't charge you extra father's your children need to see you they need to know that their father saw them do what it is they do in other words when I was growing up I had always hoped because I don't have any memories of my father coming to my football games my basketball games my Boy Scouts are Cub Scout activities I have no memory of my father ever attending any of my childhood events not one father's your children need to know that you are in the stands I got six kids and I try to go to all of these many of the activities as I can they play basketball football I'm in there cheering them on my daughter plays soccer and my older daughter played basketball my two boys played football whatever they doing my younger child's playing basketball and whatever they're doing I'm trying to be out there in the stands put my son in the game put my father in the girl hey man I want them to know that their daddy's in the is in the house cheering the moon though my father my natural father never saw me as a child that I recall I can give God praise that God has reconciled me with my father and I listen hold up all your spray crap every Sunday my father sits on the front row seeing my seeing his son do his thing it gives me great joy to come here and see my spiritual son doing this take the time to see your child his father saw him and then it says not only did he see him but it says in verse number 21 20 and he had compassion on him and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him now I have to tell you all this is the model for me as an example for me because in my child taking my goods my inheritance and wasted it now he coming back home hears me don't be coming back up me don't be coming back up and yet after you know wasted all my money and all my own oh but this Father's love is so incredible that for a jacked-up messed up child his heart is wide open to say come on back home I'll take you back that is incredible look and I'm here to tell somebody who's still afar off from God that the love that God has for you is so incredible that his arms are stretched out wide he'll say he'll take you back finally he not only saw him he not only had compassion but the father said to his servants in verse 22 bring out the best robe put it on him and put a ring on his hand sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it I call that he dressed him he dressed this his son he he start off by putting a robe on him in a robe a robe covers that's what it does it covers it hides inadequacies if you were to come to my house and meet we ours in the morning to ring my doorbell I don't go to bed with a suit on so I I wouldn't be properly dressed so I have to put a robe on to cover my inadequacies so I'd grabbed that robe to cover up my six-pack you understand to cover me over and that's what a father does he covers the inadequacies and the failures and the disappointments and the wrongs of a child doesn't broadcast it to the world he doesn't he doesn't hold it against him he covers it this father covered his son he covered his son but he also not only put a robe on him he put a ring on his finger now I got a ring on my finger y'all see that ring I have a ring and that ring means identification it identifies me it tells the world that I am taken it says to all the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies it tells all the single ladies that I am taking you know you won't me but your cane hand me your turn hand me I am taking by one Trina Ernestine Jenkins it identifies me has been connected with somebody and this father was willing to take his ring and the Signet the sign with his name on it and identified that this is still my child y'all need to know that I don't care how far you fall from God he is still willing to put his ring on your finger he's real he's still willing to say yes that's my son yeah you lied yes you've been in jail yes you got babies out of wedlock yes you committed adultery yes you gotta straighten things but he said I'm still willing to say that that is my child finally I'm preaching better than they say Amen it's okay though he put some sandals on his feet put some shoes that's those represent guidance and direction for life he says I'm gonna put some shoes on I'm gonna give you some direction I'm gonna give you some guidance the greatest thing that a father can give to their child is guidance the King's hearts in the hands of the Lord God controls the heart of the person who's in a position of leadership parents number one responsibility is give guidance to your children they may not listen to it but give them guidance don't tell them to do what they want to do tell them what you think they ought to do that's the responsibility for parents to tell their child here's what my heart thinks you ought to do with your life I tell my kids all the time I'm giving you guidance of what I think you should do not because I'm trying to spoil your life not because I'm an old fogy not because I'm trying to hurt you but I'm trying to keep you from making the mistakes that I have made in life this father said I'm gonna give him some shoes he didn't listen before but maybe he'll listen now God is a God who gives you another chance you may have messed up before you may not have listened before but he's a God of another chance finally he kills the fatted calves the fatted calf the calf that has been been fed extra for the day of party and celebration well the calf that has been invested in for the day of the party he's taken the most expensive calf that he has and killing he's investing in his son a Father's love is so magnanimous said I'm making the words as I go along in the best word his love is so powerful that he not only does all of these things God is the God who not only sees you why you are still afar off not only has a compassion he dresses you and he invests in you He pours into your life God is investing in us God God loves you so much that he invested in creating a Zion Church that you would have a place that related to you with where your spiritual needs are and raised up a pastor like Keith battle to be able to communicate to help change and I'm very proud of me and I'm proud of you and my assignment here is to come here today hard and scream at you like I've been doing and tell you that the love that our Father has for you is more than you can imagine I don't care how deeply you have fallen into sin I don't care how far away you are you might still be a great way off he sees you and he loves you he has a purpose and a destiny for you all you need to do is come home and let him dress you up Heavenly Father I am so grateful for this church and thankful for my son my spiritual son his wife this ministry and the impact they're making on the lives of broken people around this region I pray that the points we've made today would resonate in the lives of your people and you would accomplish what you want for your glory and honor in Jesus name I pray amen

Channel: Zion Church

Views: 42,278

Rating: 4.6266665 out of 5

Keywords: John, Jenkins, zion, church, bible, christian, Keith, Battle, zionchurchlive, First, Baptist, Church, of, Glenarden, zionchurchonline, FBCG, Pastor, Gospel, Father's Day (Holiday)

Id: 8wRlo375FXw

Length: 28min 37sec (1717 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 19 2012