Walking in the Father’s Heart - Pastor Johnny Hill

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey everybody welcome to the life church online listen it's going to be a great day in church we're so glad that you are with us we're gonna hang out here in our pre-service for just a few minutes before we jump into service all together but my name is caitlin and i'm jerica and like pastor caitlin said we're so excited that you decided to spend your sunday morning here with us 9 30 a.m we're actually gonna hang out here for a little bit longer you know we're gonna make some announcements tell you about some things that are happening in church life then afterwards of course our worship team is gonna lead us in some amazing worship this morning and then pastor johnny hill he's bringing the word for part two of our fatherhood series if you heard part one from pastor emmy last weekend trust me part two is just as good you're definitely still going to need your notebook you don't want to miss this amazing message and then pastor kale and i will be popping in and out a little bit throughout tonight throughout today's service so be sure that you stick around and you uh save to the entire service yeah don't don't miss anything okay eliminate the distraction stay throughout the entire service it's gonna be a great day in church like we just said and listen why don't you take a second and share this service why don't you let somebody know the church is happening right now we're always going to ask you to do this every weekend because it really is the most powerful way to invite somebody to church online with us right now what's the worst that they could do say no okay well what if they tune in with us though what if they actually join in and god encounters them and amazing things happen because you took a second and you shared this service if you're on facebook why don't you go ahead click the share button if you're on youtube you can take the link off of there and you can send it out to a friend in a via text or even an email whatever works best for you if you're in a group checks right now i would encourage you why don't you take the link drop it in the group text say hey join me for church this morning it's going to be an amazing service today yeah it is and you know we also want to hear from you we want to know where in the world are you watching from it's always cool to see where people are whether they're watching locally nationally or sometimes even internationally so we'd love to know go ahead comment in the chat let us know where you're watching from after you share today's service you know we like to think of our chat as like a virtual lobby it's just a way for us to connect with one another say hi to one another welcome in people who are watching for the very first time so we encourage you make sure that you're sticking in through the entire you know you're in that chat you're saying hello to people you're welcoming people throughout the entire service yes definitely listen if you're a part of our online campus but maybe you don't live near a physical location you're not able to come to one of our physical locations listen i've got something special i want to tell you about something really cool we're doing with our online campus called socials and really socials and is an opportunity for you to be able to connect in really all over the world okay we've got various uh communities of people that are gathering in person to actually join in together and listen i want to tell you about we've got one in nashville happening right now we got one happening in tipton county and listen if you live in those areas why don't you hop in and be a part of the socials that are taking place maybe you say well i don't live near those areas or i don't live near a physical location well look i want to tell you about this why don't you consider leading a social for your local community maybe there isn't a physical location around you but there's a group of people that would love to come together and be a part of the life church online and have a social each weekend for service why don't you do that why don't you click the link that's coming up in the chat you can learn all about socials if you'd like to join one or maybe you'd like to leave one you can learn all about how to do that right there in the chat yeah that's right something else that's happening tomorrow september 13th is happening tomorrow leadership foundation tomorrow you know so that means you need to sign up today sign up right now click the link that you see in the chat you might be wondering what is leadership foundations well you know maybe you've gone through discovery you've got water baptized you're plugged into the life group and you're wondering what what else can i do what is my next step well leadership foundations might just be for you it's an eight-week experience designed to just build your leadership skills help you you know learn more about leadership and you know gain some more leadership qualities you'll get a chance to hang out with our entire team on the online campus but you also hear some amazing teachings from some of our pastors here at the church each and every week and trust me it's just an amazing amazing opportunity for you to build your skills your leadership skills you can literally use them anywhere i you know when i went through it i used them here at church but i also used them at my workplace so it's just a great opportunity a great chance for you to get plugged in learn more about leadership um gain some more practical leadership skills yeah so make sure sign up because it starts tomorrow tomorrow yeah so you need to sign up today right now that's right do what jerica said click on the link listen don't wait invest in yourself okay i'm gonna tell you this right now it's so important to invest in yourself because it really does make a difference not only in church but it makes a difference in your work in your own personal life in your family there's so many practical tools i can't we can't emphasize it enough that man it is really going to make a difference in your life so jump into leadership foundations be a part of that listen it will be an amazing experience for you and it's all virtual it happens online right here you can't get better than that so be a part jerica did you know what's coming up besides leadership foundations yes i do it's zoe knight zoey knight hey zombie knight is coming up ladies listen up if you don't already know zoey night's happening on october 1st we are excited about it okay our team is gearing up getting ready to have an amazing night listen october 1st 7 p.m central standard time you need to make sure that you mark your calendars to be with us okay we've got pastor holly wagner he's she's going to be in the house with us listen she's going to bring an incredible word hurt and pastor philip wagner they're amazing pastors and really friends of ours of our church and so we're excited to have her with us that night but then also listen we've got an online experience that's going to be amazing if you can't join us in person at our houston levee location we would love to have you join us online for online experience our team has been working really hard at just making it a great fun night and so i would encourage you not only make sure that you're a part but invite some ladies maybe even consider hosting a zoe social you might be thinking what is that just invite some ladies over and say hey i'm going to sign up to host the zoe social it's really where you're tuning in online but you've got some people there with you in person and really we have zoe socials that happen all around the world and we say you got to do three things yep real fast you gotta number one invite some people that's kind of obvious you can't do it alone right you need to have yeah you gotta have people around you number two you gotta have food right this is important like super important listen ladies we all know we love food okay at least i love food i don't know about you i love food and then number three you gotta have fun and we're providing the fun for you okay so listen either way whether you're just going to come in person whether you're going to watch online or whether you're going to host a zoe social ladies make sure you're a part of zoe knight you don't want to miss out on the fun that it's going to be on october 1st it's going to be a great night yeah it is let's take a second let's do some shout outs hey all right i'm on facebook pastor caitlin's on youtube we have one of our social leaders sheila sheila she's watching from shout out to county uh we have kay watching from cordova tennessee uh we have kashandra she's watching from germantown and lee's watching for midtown memphis somebody watching from raleigh we have morgan watching from nesbit mississippi shout out to shout out to mississippi you got lots of people on over there i'm like man okay look here we go on youtube all my people on youtube right now if you haven't already comment in the chat let me know where you're watching from we got tamara on with us in collierville tennessee what's up what's up tam we got vernon watching from all of branch mississippi we got spencer watching i think he said he was on vacation right now in panama city beach florida wow shout out to spencer watching in florida right now we also have bridget watson from arkansas come on shout out to arkansas keep calm in the chat keep letting us know where you're watching from judy's watching from whitehaven today we got so many people comment and talk about zoe and i is amazing leadership foundations great next steps all the things keep commenting though and letting us know where you're watching from today and while you do that i want to tell you about something specific called life groups okay so many people don't realize that we have amazing life groups that you can be a part of right here within our online campus and listen here's the thing we have a phrase here that we say don't do life alone okay because we believe really life is not meant to do alone in fact i want to prove you this point why don't we go ahead and watch this short video check this out [Applause] i do it all the time yesterday i ran over a curb again [Music] over here over here hey guys what's up so good to see everybody what's been up [Music] come on ladies you're doing such a great job come on let's run our legs let's go to level five ready run your legs let's go yeah let's go some things in life we aren't meant to do alone so join a life group today come on if that wasn't obvious enough that life is boring if you do it alone and it's a little sad it's a little sad nobody wants to do life alone so don't do life alone you know one of our next steps here at the life church is uh building life-giving relationships and we believe that's so important and key to our life so i would encourage you if you're not a part of a life group go ahead click the link in the chat sign up to be a part of one maybe even consider leaving leading one if there's something that you're passionate about why don't you consider leading a life group they're so crucial and really just such a big part of our life building life-giving relationships within our life so join a life group today if you're not a part of one yeah and you know and if you're already leading a life group go ahead throw it in the chat whether you're watching on facebook or youtube let some people know invite somebody in your world we're going to take a second we're about to jump into worship in just a few seconds go ahead let's limit those distractions get your kids and kids life online and let's jump into worship together let's go [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] well good morning church are y'all excited to worship this morning come on put your hands together with me [Music] [Music] [Music] reaching beyond the [Music] me skies bringing me back [Music] his love is greater than all i know now your love is taking over me now this heart is as your love is taking over [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] your freedom is [Music] your love is taken over is is taking over [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] your love is never ending and it will never fail me are you thankful your love is changing everything [Music] your love is changing everyday [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] together arise my soul remember this he took my sin and now jesus here we go [Music] [Music] is lost [Music] [Music] now jesus lives in me foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] all of this for your glory come on it's all for his glory come on sing oh all of this for your glory all for your glory lord [Music] and pull your spirit down [Music] [Applause] [Music] see that we can hear the wind blowing blowing blowing [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] move upon we can hear the wind [Music] [Applause] your spirit [Music] singing [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is is oh [Music] and oh come on i'm so grateful for a god who sends a fresh wind of his love a fresh wind of his mercy a fresh wind of his grace day in and day out you know earlier this week that really that verse really reminds that lyric those songs really reminded me of a verse in joshua joshua 1 9 and it says have i not commanded you be strong and courageous do not be afraid do not be discouraged for the lord your god will be with you wherever you go and you know that really just served as a reminder to me that there is nothing too big for him and there is nothing that is too small for our god you know that verse it's uh it also said don't be afraid and don't be discouraged and i don't know what you're facing in your life right now but i just want to remind you that he's in it with you every single day the verse also encouraged us to be strong and that's have courage because god has the power to turn any and every situation around for his good and for his glory so whatever storm you're facing this week or you know or in your life right now i want you to remember that he is right there in it with you just like that first says that all you have to do is keep going you know maybe you're facing a health issue in your life or someone else around you is and he's in it with you keep going maybe you're facing a relational issue in your life or you know you're dealing with something else he's in it with you keep going maybe you're dealing with something else that might be difficult or you might think that it's unfair it's just extremely hard right now to go through he is in it with you keep going there's nothing too big for him there's nothing too small for him he's the same today and yesterday and he's right beside us holding our hand walking through us in these difficult seasons you know we call this portion of our service we call it our ministry time and really it's just a chance for us to respond to god today you know maybe you're at home and you would like to take communion i'd encourage you to go ahead get some bread crackers and juice so you can do that if you're a believer and maybe you need prayer our team would love to pray for you all you have to do is you can simply put your prayer request in the chat below if you're comfortable or you can simply click that link that you see in the chat our team we pray over those every single week and if you're not doing one of those things i would encourage you to lean into god in this next song you know take away those distractions make sure your kids are plugged in the kid's life and really just give god all you can give him your best worship in these next few moments as the team lead leads us but before they lead us i'm going to pray lord we thank you god we thank you that you continue to give us strength to give us courage that you knock out all fear because you're right there with us leaning in with us walking through life with us together lord we act that you would just continue to do that every single day of our lives that you would just continue to help us god to push us forward that whatever storm we do whatever storm that we might be facing lord that you would just continue to help us to weather that storm god so that you're holding our hand god you're not letting go you're allowing us to continue just to build our strength build our courage lord we love you god we thank you for all that you're doing in our live story we actually should just continue and we love you god in jesus name amen [Music] mountains are still being moved strongholds are still [Music] wonders are still what you do and bodies are still being raised and giants are still being slain and god we believe it yes we [Music] we are here for you come and do what you do set our hearts on you coming to what you do [Music] [Applause] we need we need we need [Music] is [Music] [Music] just for you [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] cause miracles happen when you move healing is coming in this room miracles happen when you move heaven is coming come on want to declare their miracles [Music] is [Music] is no matter what it is [Music] [Music] coming [Music] what you do [Music] we [Music] and we need [Music] [Music] this is what you've been praying for yes god is answering your prayer right now [Music] welcome to the life church on behalf of our senior pastors john and leslie sibling we're so glad you're here with us today each weekend we have services at multiple locations around the mid-south new york santiago chile and online where you can be a part of worship hear an encouraging message and enter an environment that is welcoming and friendly we have fun and creative services specifically designed for kids on our kids life youtube channel kids ages five years through fifth grade can also participate in online small groups via zune every weekend these age-appropriate small groups help kids engage their faith while building life-giving relationships with other kids and leaders you can register your child for a small group online at thelifechurch.com we're all about helping people get connected and move forward in life and one of the best ways to get started is by taking your next step stay connected and build life-giving relationships by joining an online life group we have lots of different options to fit a variety of interesting schedules just visit thelifechurch.com life groups to find a group that's right for you if you would like to know more about the life church or get involved our discovery experience is the place for you through discovery you will hear from campus leaders learn how you can make a difference and get planted in church you can register for discovery at thelifechurch.com god has an incredible plan for your life and we love for you to be a part of all that's taking place here at the life church [Music] have you completed discovery and are actively serving on a team then leadership foundations may be your next step leadership foundations is for anyone who aspires to leadership at the life church or is simply looking to develop their leadership skills this leadership experience is designed for those who are looking to grow in their capacity to lead sharpen their people skills and cultivate a spirit of excellence classes are held on monday nights and include teaching and training from the life church leadership team to get more information and to sign up for this leadership experience check out thelifechurch.com [Music] people might look at you and see a mess but god does not god doesn't see you at the place you are now he sees you at the place he's destined you to be hey everyone welcome to the life church online we're so glad that you're with us maybe you just started tuning in over the past couple moments we're glad that you're here and with us for service today it's going to be a great day in church yeah it is we want to say a special shout out to all of you who are watching with us for the very first time on behalf of our senior pastors pastors john and leslie sibling we're so excited that you decided to spend your sunday morning here with us and we'd love to give you a free gift all you have to do is click that link that you see in our bio which is a way for us to connect with you a little bit more learn some more about you and then you in turn can learn more about us and who we are as a church right what we believe in some more awesome things so be sure you click that link because trust me we all love free gifts but the only way you can get it is if you click the link that's right yes well listen we would love to connect with you and celebrate you with being for being with us today like jeremy said it means a lot so go ahead let us know if you're new with us well we're going to take a moment to be generous we're going to receive our regular ties and offerings you can give very easily online at thelifechurch.com it's a safe and convenient way to give there or if you'd like to you can actually mail it in to the address that's coming up on the screen here in just a moment and in fact if you want to actually set up online giving we've got a short video to show you exactly how to do that so why don't we go ahead and check out this short video about online giving right now let's check this out online giving is easy safe and convenient to give online click the link you see in the chat or visit thelifechurch.com giving and select your region you'll have the option to give one time or set up recurring giving to fit your preferences you can also give by mail address to 650 houston hill road eads tennessee 38028 all donations are tax deductible we appreciate your generosity and thank you for investing in changed lives [Music] come on so you can see how easy it is right there to set up online giving and while we're in this moment of giving i just want to say thank you to all of you that are taking a step of faith in giving today in your ties and your offerings you know generosity is really one of the core values of who we are at the life church and i just want to encourage you around that thought you know maybe you haven't ever taken a step to really trust god with your finances well why don't you do that today why don't you take a step of faith and trust god with your finances you know there's actually a scripture that i was reading uh earlier this week in the bible and it actually just reminded me of how this applies to our life and even in just the the act of worship and giving and it's a story about a widow and her offering that she gave to the lord and it's out of a mark chapter 12 verse 41 through 44 and really what is happening is people are coming and they're giving their offering and the bible says that all of these people are coming and giving these large sums of money and this sweet little widow comes by and just gives two coins in the offering bucket and i love how the verse actually says jesus says to the people around him in that moment he says truly i say to you the poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing in the offering box for they have contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all she had to live on so i want to encourage you today i don't know what you've got i don't know what your financial situation looks like but can i encourage you to take a step of faith and trust god with your finances today i really believe it's going to make a difference in and through your life and god's going to honor your obedience to him i'm going to take a moment and pray over our offering today as we are giving lord i just thank you god for all of those that are putting their trust in you no matter if they've got large amounts or small amounts god they're giving it to you in honor and obedience to you so lord i pray that you would bless them god that you would bless our church lord uh these finances come in lord we're able to steward it well lord to just impact people's lives god that we're able to invest and change lives with all that you've given us we thank you for what you're doing in our life in jesus name amen and amen amen we're about to jump into the message in just a second like i said earlier this is an amazing amazing message so make sure you grab your notebooks grab your bibles make sure your kids are locked into kid's life we're going to jump into the message together let's jump in well hey good morning everybody come on welcome out to church big welcome to all of our locations that are joining us as well as those that are watching online come on we're gonna get into god's word this morning this week and we're concluding our two-part fatherhood series and our hope has really been to encourage you to challenge you and to really help all of us tap into the father's heart in fact if you didn't get a chance to hear pastor emmy's message last week and i want to encourage you to make sure you do yourself a favor and uh jump on youtube and check out pastor emmy's message come on what a strong message and really i just love that we're talking about this subject it's not a subject you hear about all the time but i believe that it's it's the right time to talk about fatherhood and to and to really help all of us grasp the heart of the father and really walk in the heart of the father in fact that's the title of my message this weekend walking in the father's heart walking in the father's heart and you know our hope is to not in any way to beat up on dads how many of y'all know our society does enough of that right in fact my one of my biggest pet peeves is that so often you watch tv shows and the dad is is portrayed as a buffoon or an idiot and in the name of comedy and i think we've got to understand that there's really a magnitude when it comes to the role that fathers play in our families the role that fathers play in our neighborhoods the role that fathers play in our society as a whole and we understand that as believers we understand the magnitude of this that god has put in place and and our hope is to elevate to challenge to love and to honor fathers and come alongside them as they try to become the types of fathers that god has called them to be but here's what i understand that we can't change the past because if i pull the room all of us have different experiences all of us have a story in fact the experiences would be so varying that it would be too many too many to count whether it when it comes to maybe your experience with your father or your experience as a father and maybe there's some hurt maybe there's some pain maybe for you you can say man i was blessed to have a great dad i was blessed to have a great dad who really set me up in life well but you can look around and you can see that that's not been most people's stories and and we we can't change the past but we can't stay here church we can't stay here because our heavenly father he's got much better for us and but it starts with all of us getting the father's heart and especially calling men to rise up and to make the decision to walk in the father's heart and to take their rightful place as fathers in the church in our community and in society as a whole in every single season of their lives and and i know that when you talk about fathers it's a very difficult subject to talk about i know it can be difficult at times you know for many of us maybe your story and your experience with your father was that he was an absent father and that that he abandoned you or or maybe you never knew who he was or maybe for you your father was physically present but he was disconnected emotionally and and spiritually or maybe maybe for you your father was indifferent or too busy or unreasonable or maybe there's some abuse or some trauma or maybe you're a father and you're disconnected from your kids due to circumstances that maybe don't have a lot to do with you and there's so many of us that are walking through many different things and my hope this weekend is not to diminish anything that you've walked through but my prayer is that you can find or maybe that you have found the healing that you need that only comes from our heavenly father but also that you can live your life without holding on to any bitterness or any resentment because that only becomes a prison for you but y'all we're in a critical place and i believe in the book of malachi the prophet malachi right here at the end of the the old testament he paints this picture of this picture so well for us in malachi chapter 4 he's speaking for the lord when he says behold i will send you elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the lord comes and he shall turn and reconcile the hearts of the estranged fathers to the ungodly children in the hearts of the rebellious children to the piety of their fathers a reconciliation produced by repentance come on everybody say repentance by repentance of the ungodly lest i come and smite the lamb with a curse and a ban of utter destruction here's what malachi says that there has to be this turning of the father's hearts back to their children but also this turning of the children's hearts back to their fathers but it starts with repentance because really repentance means that i'm turning away from my sin and i'm turning to god my heavenly father so that's the first turning that the lord wants to happen he needs our hearts to turn back to his heart and then he can bring about reconciliation when it comes to one another come on aren't you thankful for a god that's a god of reconciliation he's a god of restoration and but it would seem that as we walk around all around us we see the devastation or that curse that's attached to fatherlessness in fact president obama said in his father's day speech in 2008 he said of all the rocks upon which we build our lives we are reminded today that family is the most important and we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation they are teachers and coaches they are mentors and role models they are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it but if we are honest with ourselves we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing missing from too many lives and too many homes they have abandoned their responsibilities acting like boys instead of men and the foundation of our families are weaker because of it you and i know how true this is in the african-american community we know he highlights this community but it's much bigger than that he said this he said we know that more than half of all black children living a single parent household a number that has doubled since we were children we know that the statistics we know the statistics that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison they are more likely to have behavioral problems or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves and the foundations of our community are weaker because of it y'all we got a problem in fact today in the united states one in three children live in a home without a father 90 percent of runaway children have an absent father 71 percent of high school dropouts are fatherless men who grow up with absent fathers are more likely to become absent fathers themselves ladies who grew up with absent fathers are more likely to parent children with absent fathers how about this one even right in the very beginning of life infant mortality for babies with absent fathers is four times more likely in the first 28 days of life do you see the magnitude of what we're walking through the list goes on and on we can all look around and we see all the problems but my hope this weekend is to help us to see that there is hope come on there is hope in our heavenly father there is hope and he's got a solution he's got an answer galatians chapter 4 verse 4 says but when the right time came everybody say the right time come on our god is a god of the right time it says god sent his son born of a woman subject to the law god sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own children are you glad about that today and because we are his children god has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts prompting us to call out abba father that closeness that intimate relationship now you are no longer a slave but god's own child we used to sing a song growing up if anybody asks you who i am tell them i'm a child of god and since you are his child god has made you his heir come on i am god's child i am a son of god i may grow up without a dad but i never have to be fatherless because of god my heavenly father because the reality is y'all in a perfect world the family unit would always be intact but we don't live in a perfect world we live in a broken and a fallen world that's been corrupted by sin and all the things that we see are really the results of sin we don't live in this perfect world and that's why we need men especially to walk in the father's heart you see because it's not just about somebody being your biological child but it's about making a decision that you're going to walk in the heart of the father because god our heavenly father he is the very essence of what it means to be a father and i know this is real not because somebody told me not because i heard it one day i know it's real because it's my story you see a couple of weeks ago august 27th we would have we would have celebrated my dad's 65th birthday but when i was four years old my dad was struck by a car and after being in a coma for 10 days my mom had to make the very difficult decision to let him go and i remember how hard it was for her at times because she was left with her four children without her husband and their father all of us were between the ages of two and eight and she had a very difficult season that she had to walk through ahead i remember the times when we struggled i remember the times when we had to go out not go without not just financially not just not not just when it came to me came to means physical means but also emotionally mentally there was always this this little gap that seemed to be present in our lives this void that that where he was missing in our lives but you know what i what else i remember i also remember all along the way that there were godly men that decided to walk in the father's heart and i remember how they poured into me i remember how they poured into my sisters they poured into my brother i remember how they came alongside our family and how all along the way i experienced the heart of the father through men that made a decision that they were going to walk in the father's heart and i saw the difference that was made in my life when these men they looked at our family and they said we're going to make sure that they don't go without we're going to make sure that we come alongside now was our experience perfect not at all but i'm standing here today not just because of what my mom did i think i'm thankful for who she was and what she did but it was because of men that made a decision to walk in the heart of the father and my hope this weekend is to awaken the something on the inside of some men this weekend that would look around in our community and they would say i'm going to walk in the father's heart but y'all it's not just for the men it's for all of us we got to make that decision to walk in the father's heart there's somebody counting on you because they're going to experience the father's heart through your life and i believe that if we're going to walk in the father's heart there's some characteristics that we have to carry there's some characteristics that will show that we're walking in the father's heart and in the spirit of my good brother our new york lead pastor wayne francis we're going to do some alliteration this morning so they all start with the letter p come on somebody so the first one is positivity everybody say positivity this speaks to the fatherly blessing biblically the blessing of the father was extremely important and it still is extremely important today in fact the blessing of the father was so powerful that jacob who became israel he was willing to to deceive his dad to make sure he got the best blessing that he could get and we saw that that blessing not only impacted his life but it impacted the nation that was on the inside of him there's so much power in the fatherly blessing and we've got to make sure that the blessing of the father or the speaking well that positive that's positive speech is still present in our world today because here's the thing godly fathers can be a positive voice in a negative world you see i believe that in the same way that by the blessing of the upright a city is exalted it's by the blessing of fathers children are exalted one of my favorite memories one of my earliest memories i had to be about four years old and i remember i would always ask my dad to touch the ceiling because i thought it was the most amazing thing in the world that he could touch the ceiling and i understand this better because now i have a five-year-old and a three-year-old and they just think i'm amazing they think i can do anything i don't care what you think about me my children think i'm awesome but my favorite part was when my dad would pick me up and he would let me touch the ceiling and y'all that's exactly what we do with our words we help to lift our children up and we help them to reach places they can never reach on their own come on fathers have to be that positive voice we've got to speak that blessing come on there's enough enough negativity in the world already and it's modeled by our heavenly father when jesus after he came out of the jordan when he was baptized with by john the baptist the bible says that the holy spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove in matthew 3 verse 17 it says in a voice from heaven said this is my son whom i love with him i am well pleased maybe you're a dad and you say i don't even know what to say to my children how can i speak positive words i don't even know where to start well hey me and pastor travis moody were talking about this just a couple of weeks ago if you don't know what to say just mimic our heavenly father just say hey you are mine i love you and i am well pleased you are mine i love you and i am well pleased i'm not waiting for you to make all the decisions that i want you to make i'm not waiting for you to get everything together i'm not waiting for you to take the course that i want you to take but i'm going to tell you you are mine you have that sense of identity in me i love you i'm well pleased with you come on if you're a dad and you're in a situation with your children and maybe it's not in the place that you want it to be i want to tell you there's still hope there's still hope but i would say take a small step and i would say don't feel the pressure to try to fix everything with one conversation you know unfortunately so often what can happen instead of being a positive voice fathers can be a voice that's provoking for their children in fact the bible warns against this in ephesians chapter 6 verse 4 he says fathers do not irritate and provoke your children to anger do not exasperate them to resentment but rear them tenderly i love the amplified everybody say tenderly tenderly not angrily tenderly in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the lord we read our children tenderly i think sometimes dads can feel this pressure to show that i'm the man and to show that i'm in charge of my house and sometimes that can it can be expressed in anger toward our children but one of the best gifts that we can give our kids is self-control when i'm able to control the rage that's on the inside of me and i'm able to tenderly leave my children and tenderly bring them into the things of god how do i know when my heart is filled with the heart of god when i walk in the way that he does with mercy and compassion look at psalm 145 verse 8 it says the lord is merciful come on that means he's full of mercy and compassionate he's slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love man that's what i want my kids to be able to say about me man my dad he was merciful he was compassionate he was slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love what if that was your reputation what if people looked at you and said man he's merciful he's compelled what if they said she is filled with unfailing love come on we want to be that voice of positivity how about this next one how about this next one protection everybody say protection if somebody broke in my house they would find out real quick who the protector of my house was y'all know what i'm talking about click click i heard a comedian i think it was cedric the entertainer said man some people hope and some people wish some people like man i hope nobody breaking our house some of y'all like me i wish somebody would try to break in my house some of y'all waiting for that day you waiting i hope that day never comes but you waiting for that day you ready but look what jesus said in matthew chapter 12 he said or again how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man then he can plunder his house do y'all see that picture it's like you tie up the strong man yo this is exactly what the enemy wants to do this is exactly what he's been doing to fathers this is what he's been doing to men the reason a lot of our communities are in the state that they're in is because the strong men are tied up they're tied up with their own issues they're tied up with their own own addictions they're tied up with their own problems and that's exactly what the enemy wants to do he wants to keep you tied up wants to keep you tied up with your career and tied up with busyness and tied up with selfishness and so tied up that he can plunder your house but you've got to make a decision that you're going to rise up and be the protector that you're going to protect your families protect your sons protect your daughters protect your values that you're not just going to sit back but that you're willing to get in the fight and see to be a good protector you got to make sure you arm yourself i think some of us when it comes to our families we're willing to fight physically but come on you got to arm yourself with the word of god you've got to arm yourself with prayer you've got to make sure that you're armed with the right things because most of the battles that you will fight for your family are not in the world that you can see it's in the unseen most of the battles we fight are not in this world we don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places and the only way to take on spiritual wickedness is through spiritual means and we've got to rise up and say i declare i will be a spiritual protector in my house come on you got to come through me son but i think a part of protection it expands beyond our house really a part of protection is saying that i'm going to come to the aid of those that are helpless those that don't have anybody to fight for them i remember one time i was on a flight coming from l.a and i think we were going to dallas first and then back to memphis and this was years ago i was still a single man didn't have any kids and i'm on this flight and this baby started crying and it was one of those cries like it was like loud i think the captain might have heard the cry up in the you know it's like it was so loud and so you know i did what any good christian would do i put my headphones in and turn my music up as loud as i could get it and i remember the lord told me he's like he dropped this in my heart aren't you glad i don't do that to you this was years ago man that stuck with me you see the lord doesn't close his ears to our cry and he's called us to be the same that we don't hear the cry of the helpless and we shut our ears in fact proverbs 21 13 says if a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor he too will cry out and not be answered y'all we've got a responsibility and now i have compassion in my heart i think about my own children now when i hear a child crying on the plane i feel a little different about the child i feel a little different about those parents why because i've got more of the father's heart i'm walking in the father's heart come on how do you know when i how do i know when i have the father's heart when i cannot ignore the cries that i hear in the world the cries of the poor the desperate the lonely those battling addiction how about this third one provision everybody say provision provision the bible says in proverbs 13 verse 22 it says a good man leaves an inheritance this is the amplified again an inheritance of moral stability and goodness to his children's children come on your grandchildren gonna be blessed by your life and the look at this the flip the opposite and the wealth of the center finds its way eventually into the hands of the righteous for whom it was laid up i love that the amplified kind of shows us that this inheritance is not just a natural inheritance but there's also this inheritance of moral stability and goodness so there's a spiritual have inheritance so godly fathers leave not only a natural inheritance to their children but they also leave an inheritance spiritually and see we have to understand that the father's heart the heart of the father looks far into the future with our children in mind with the next generation in mind and we say how can i set them up to build on their own how can i set them up to leave my house amen somebody and build and thrive on their own but also how can i set them up to keep building spiritually i love the story about david with his son solomon david at the end of his life he had it in his heart that he was going to build a temple he was going to build the house of the lord and so he started to make preparations but i i love what happened in this story because we see how he set his son up to build something that he couldn't build in fact first chronicles 22 says my son this is david speaking he said i wanted to build a temple to honor the name of the lord my god david told him but the lord said to me you have killed many men in in the battles you have fought and since you have shed so much blood in my sight you will not be the one to build a temple to honor my name but you will have a son who will be a man of peace one of the things we have to understand there's a principle at work here whatever god builds he builds in peace but he says i will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands his name will be solomon and i will give him peace and quiet i will give peace and quiet to israel during his reign he is the one who will build a temple to honor my name look at what god said he says he will be my son and i will be his father come on the heavenly father right there showing he's mine he's my son i'm going to be his father david even after you're gone he's going to have a father he's going to be my son he says and i will secure the throne of his kingdom over israel forever that was a prophecy about jesus that's another message now my son may the lord be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the temple of the lord your god and may the lord give you wisdom and understanding that you may obey the law of the lord your god as you rule over israel for you will be successful come on he's he's speaking to his son son you're going to be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the lord gave to israel through moses then he tells a son be strong and courageous do not be afraid or lose heart why because i have worked hard to provide materials for building the temple of the lord that's the heart of the father that says i'm gonna work hard so that you can build something that i will never see i'm willing to put in the work right now so that the next generation can stand on my shoulders and build something that i wasn't able to build david had his own issues that he had to walk through in life but he said i'm not going to allow my issues to hold my son back but i'm going to do everything i can to give him a head start i'm gonna do everything i can to make sure that he can move on and he can keep building and he can keep going i'm gonna make provision right now that's the harder provision the heart of the father it's a selfless heart that says i'm willing to sacrifice and make provisions so that my children can build something that i will never see i believe that the greatest works of my life will be done after i'm gone because of the deposit made in people all along the way but see this requires us to give them a provision of wisdom a provision of guidance a provision of stability a provision of leadership a provision of discipline a provision of emotional emotional support and and wise counsel come on it's not just money but it's our presence provision come on everybody say provision how about this fourth one passion come on can you tell i'm passionate about this passion passion i like to say it like this godly fathers are passionate not passive godly fathers are passionate not passive they set the tone with passion because the reality is while everybody else is busy looking for somebody to blame godly fathers are busy taking responsibility because they're passionate and their passion is what drives them for i have to ask the question will you take responsibility will you take the responsibility of the father will you take that responsibility you see passive men are always looking to pass the buck passive people are always looking to pass the buck they're always looking for for it to be somebody else well you know our city needs to do something and the mayor needs to do something and and you know like the schools schools need to do something and maybe they need to do something but when you're passionate you say what can i do what difference can i make what responsibility can i take can i go after and say you know what that's that's my responsibility i love what joshua says he gives us this picture in joshua 24 verse 15 he says but if you refuse to serve the lord then choose today whom you will serve that's a whole nother message right there i could preach that choose today who you will serve would you prefer the gods of your ancestors the gods your ancestors serve beyond the euphrates or will it be the gods of the amorites in whose land you now live in but as for me and my family we will serve the lord another virgin says as for me and my house or my household what was joshua saying he was showing that it was bigger than just his immediate family joshua said as for me and everybody that i've decided to take responsibility for we will serve the lord and that's the kind of attitude that we have to have as passionate fathers when we say as for me and everybody i have responsibility for i've decided to take responsibility for i'm gonna do everything that i can do to make sure that they serve the lord to make sure that they don't go out like everybody else i'm going to do everything in my ability to make sure that they serve the lord i love that our church is taking on some of the biggest issues that we face in our community and that we're trying to do everything we can to not allow to allow fewer and fewer people to become statistics in fact i want to tell you about two initiatives real quick one is happening right now and and the other one starts in january this first one is called read to lead and it's at our austin peay dream center and it's a premier after school program that comes alongside children in the north memphis area where we provide academic support homework health enrichment classes bible study and leadership training and there's some fun and field trips and some activities for the whole family to be involved and here's what i'm i'm doing this weekend i want to call all our men that if you're available to take a step and be involved i love that our ladies are involved i don't diminish that at all but there's something about the presence of a godly man but we've got to take that step in fact you can start by volunteering between one and four days a week one to four days a week so maybe for you that's one day a week maybe monday through thursday there's a day in there where you're off from work or maybe you get off early and there's a slot from 3 30 to 6 30. three hours once a week to make a difference in the life of a child and that's read to lead and you can sign up at memphisdreamcenter.com another initiative that we're starting in january is called foster care prevention it's called foster care prevention and it's going to happen it's going to be based out of our highland dream center and really the goal is to provide resources for underserved families so that children can stay in the home come on we want to help eliminate the need for foster care by strengthening families and what we'll be doing is mentoring parents and and helping them to get up to the the requirements that they need in order to keep their children so we'll need supplies but we're also going to need people people that can come alongside these families we're going to need men to come alongside some of these fathers to help them to do what they need to do in order to keep their children and that's going to happen in january but maybe you want to get some info about it you want to be in the loop you can email info at memphisdreamcenter.com come on man we were designed to be god's weapon of mass destruction on the kingdom of darkness and so it requires us to take our place it requires us to take a step that not we're not just going to sit back and be passive but we're going step up and make a difference we're gonna step up and make a difference you see indifference and apathy are some dangerous mindsets to have and we've got to decide that we're not going to be a pushover we're not going to be passing when it comes to the kingdom of god but we're going to have passion but then there's this last thought when it comes to purpose it comes to purpose hold on one second i need to switch my mic real quick but when it comes to walking in the father's heart a part of walking in the father's heart is understanding that the lord gives us our children or he brings children into our lives not for our purpose but for his purpose and i think somebody that modeled this better than anybody else is a father that doesn't get talked about a lot and it's joseph the earthly father of jesus could you imagine having that assignment god's like yeah i need you to be somebody that like who my son notice he didn't pick me and he didn't pick you either so that tells us something about joseph so you have this man joseph who's engaged to mary and he finds out that she's pregnant and she tells him oh it's okay though because the baby is for the holy spirit i'm sure joseph was like i don't know if it was the holy spirit but you might have been in some spirits if you know but joseph was a good man and he said you know what mary i'm not gonna put your business in the streets i'm not gonna take you on maury povich or jerry springer but here's what i'm gonna do we're gonna handle this quietly and we're going to both go our separate ways and act like nothing ever happened what the bible says in matthew chapter 1 it says but after he had considered this an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream and said joseph son of david he was a descendant of king david just like jesus was called son of david do not be afraid to take mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the holy spirit she will give birth to a son and you look at this the lord told him you're going to name him you are to give him the name jesus because he will save his people from their sins verse 24 when joseph woke up come on that's what we're hoping to do to awaken the heart of the father on the inside of us this weekend he did what the angel of the lord had commanded him come on when joseph woke up and understood purpose he did what the lord said to do and took mary home as as his wife i think this verse is key but he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name jesus he named him according to his purpose but he didn't even consummate the marriage that showed you he had self-control but also that joseph didn't in any way want to get credit for what god had done because he understood that the purpose that jesus carried was bigger than him the purpose that jesus walked in was bigger than his life and he was willing to fully embrace jesus as his son but also to keep in mind that he's not mine my responsibility is to give him back to the lord and release him back into god's purpose come on fathers we've got to have that kind of heart that says i'm going to release them back into god's purpose it's not my will but your will be done joseph fully embraced him not for his purpose but for god's purpose you don't really hear about joseph anymore until jesus is called the son of the carpenter that lets me know that joseph did his job and embraced jesus as his son [Music] but he released him for god's for god's purpose but come on if we're going to walk in the heart of the father we've got to walk in positivity we've got to walk in protection and provision passion but we've also got to understand god's purpose come on do you receive that message this weekend come on let's thank god for his word i want to take a moment and do this let's all bow our heads and close our eyes and i want to take a moment to talk to you about where you are spiritually god our father he wants to have a relationship with you he wants you to receive that spirit of his son so that you can be connected to him as your heavenly father that's why jesus came he came to earth to restore humanity to our rightful place as the sons and daughters of god and the only way for us to have access to the father is by having faith in the son we have faith in the son and when we have faith in the son we take on the identity as sons and daughters of god just like jesus the bible calls jesus the firstborn from the dead what does that mean jesus rose from the grave and that same power that rose jesus from death right it raises us from spiritual death you see because jesus came to earth he was tempted just like we're tempted but he never sinned he never gave into that temptation in fact that's what allowed him to be that perfect sacrifice to die in our place he willingly went to the cross he willingly shed his blood so that we could have forgiveness but on the third day he rose again with all power all authority the power to say heal deliver to set free and that power is available for you and me [Music] but it requires us to do what the bible says to confess with our mouth that jesus is lord we make a statement we declare that he is now the lord not only of the world but the lord of my life we believe in our hearts that god raised him from the dead we believe that that same power that raised jesus from the dead can raise us to new life in him then we will be saved we'll be rescued rescued from the penalty of sin which is death and eternal separation in hell from god our father but rescued now to have a relationship with god our father that for you my friend can start right in this moment rescued from living outside of god's purpose and his plan but now we can walk with him so maybe you're here and you were saying you know what that's what i need maybe it's your first time hearing anything like this but there's a stirring in your heart that's jesus he says if today you hear my voice do not harden your hearts so we're going to pray a prayer in just a moment to give you the chance to do just that to confess with your mouth as maybe you're believing in your heart for the very first time or maybe for you you need to pray this prayer as an act of renewing your commitment to god once and for all you were walking with the lord but you turned away a long time ago well you're not here by accident today today is the day that you can get things right once and for all so if you would say pastor johnny include me in that prayer i just want you to do one thing with some boldness i'm not going to embarrass you in any way but i want you to boldly lift a hand lift your hand and say i need to be included in that prayer come on that's your way of showing me and showing god come on lift it up high don't be afraid don't be ashamed come on there are people praying for you they've been praying for you all this week lift them up and keep them up if you say i need to be included in this prayer i see so many hands going up here at houston levine i know there's hands at our other locations and even if you're online you can lift your hand with us as well awesome well come on church why don't we do this let's pray this prayer out loud in support of those that are praying it for the very first time or is an act of renewal say say this with me father god thank you for sending jesus to down the cross for me and to rise again so i could have a new life i ask you to forgive me of all my sins cleanse me make me brand new fill me with your holy spirit and help me to live for you for the rest of my life in jesus mighty name amen amen come on church come on let's really celebrate all those who prayed that prayer today what a powerful message from pastor johnny for part two of our fatherhood series and hey congratulations if you just prayed that prayer to make a fresh start best decision you could ever make yeah it is and you know our senior pastor pastor john sibling wrote a book with you in mind to help you with this decision that you've made it's called fresh start with god you can click the link that you see in the chat it'll give you access to that book it's just seven chapters super easy maybe you want to take the next couple of uh the next couple of days the next week or so to read through each chapter of that book and you can just learn more about the decision that you've made to move forward with christ like i said all you have to do is click that link or you can scan the qr code that was just on the screen that's right hey and before we go we want to just give a shout out to anybody that might be new with us maybe it is your very first time watching yes shout out to you we're so glad that you're here we hope that you felt welcome as you are part of our online family today and really hope we hope that you felt like part of the family that's what we are one big family all around the world and on behalf of our senior pastors pastor john and leslie sibling and really our entire team we hope that you felt right at home and we would love to connect with you there's a link that's coming up there's even a qr code that you can scan if you are new with us what that does is it enables us to really connect with you and learn how we can serve you and your family a little bit better and really just celebrate you not only that but we want to get you a free gift for being with us today really just to say thank you for being with us that we love you so go ahead click on that link or scan the qr code let us know if you're new with us today so we can celebrate you and get you that free gift yeah that's right and if you're not new you're wondering you need some next steps wondering what is that your next move well we have a few things to tell you about but first up is discovery online discovery is online it's available anytime you want to go through that discovery experience it's really just a way for you to learn more about who we are as a church our vision our values but it's also a way for you to learn more about yourself you can discover your purpose you can also get plugged into some teams here you'll you'll hear from some of our team members some of our online campus team and it's really just a great way for you to get plugged into our church learn more about us and you also get to meet some people you'll get to build a little bit of community as well so make sure you click that link that you see in the chat if you think discovery is your next step that's right yes so first step getting plugged in is discovery maybe you say i've already gone through discovery i'm a part well hey i want to tell you about something that's actually starting tomorrow and that is the leadership foundation september 13th it is starting which again is tomorrow shout out to leadership foundations getting planted in god's house and really growing in your leadership leadership skills is really what it's all about and i just want to encourage you maybe you haven't taken a step to really learn and grow and invest in yourself well this is an opportunity to do just that it's an eight-week class where you can really um it's really self-paced and really what you're going to do is you're going to learn about how god has gifted you and how you can grow your skills not only in your church life but also in your world and in your in your workplace within your family we have so many people that go through leadership foundations and they come out of it and they're like man god has really done something big in my life i really feel like this these eight courses have really made a tangible difference in my life personally so i would encourage you if you haven't gone through leadership foundations click on the link that's coming up in the chat learn about it and take this step don't wait don't wait till tomorrow don't say oh i'll think about it no no take the step invest in yourself today and i promise you will not regret it leadership foundations happening tomorrow yeah it is all right maybe you said i've already gone through discovery i'm already i'm in a life group already i've already gone through foundation that's right well if you're a lady you can you can help us with that with zoe knight right all right you could lead a social for zoey night zombie night is coming up october 1st holly wagner will be here with us we're talking about togetherness friendship and unity but like i said we'd love if if you would host a zoe social all the socialism just a gathering of people here you know at your house or maybe somewhere else so you can watch the zoe experience together pastor caitlin and i we're going to let you know a little secret we'll be here we'll be hanging out with you yeah we'll be hanging out with you we have some fun things happening but we love it if you would lead a social or you can actually come in person if you're here in the memphis area it'll be happening at our houston levee location october 1st 7 00 p.m like i said it's gonna be a great night some fun some games plus holly wagoner's preaching there's going to be amazing worship as always this is gonna be a great night for the girls so make sure you get plugged in learn more at the link in the chat yes you don't want to miss out on zoe knight don't be that lady that doesn't tune in and you miss out on it because it's such a fun night so make sure if you're a lady that you're a part of our church maybe you're not even a part of our church be there okay listen it's a great opportunity to invite people so make sure to invite your friends invite your family to be with you for zoe night well what a great day in church it has been listen we're going to have an amazing service at 11 15. so if you know somebody that needs to be in church why don't you send them a message letting them know that we've got one more service today that we would love for them to be a part of and before we go today i just want to pray a prayer of blessing over all of you that are tuning in lord i just thank you god for every person that's watching right now in this moment lord we just pray that you will bless them that you would keep them that your face would shine upon them god that you would give them peace as they go throughout this week let your favor be with them as they go throughout this week lord i pray that the words that you have spoken through pastor johnny god would just be planted in our hearts we love you and thank you for what you're doing in and through our lives in jesus name we pray amen well we love you guys and we will see you again soon bye guys you

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Length: 89min 41sec (5381 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021