Things My Father Taught Me

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers here today. I'm really glad that you're here.
I'm really glad. I think we have a really awesome message today.
So I'm really thankful that you're here. I'd like to welcome all of you.
I'd also like to welcome everyone here who's watching online.
I also want to especially welcome my dad who is watching online.
I miss you and hopefully I get to see you soon.
We don't have any announcements. Summer's pretty chill around here
because I know a lot of you are traveling, a lot of you are on vacation.
So I'm just going to go ahead and pray for the offering.
We don't pass a plate. We don't pass a bucket.
If you just go ahead, you can either give online to our sending church, Two Rivers,
or you can use the box in the back. Just make your checks out to Two Rivers Church.
And just a little note about giving. I want to say something about giving.
I've been giving since the day I was saved and when I was in college
and when Jesus really made sense.
And I never regretted it because that money may have left my hands,
but it has never left my life.
So dearly Father God, we just give our tithes and our offerings to you
in faith that we are sowing into the kingdom of God.
That that money is not going to go away, but it's going to multiply
in our finances, in our homes, in our relationships, Lord.
And we just trust you that when we give, we are sowing into the kingdom.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, so today is Father's Day, and I have been looking forward
to this message for some time.
I've been working on this message for some time.
And you're going to get a lot of Jesse history today.
And today's sermon is called, it's called Things My Father Taught Me.
And you can see a picture of my dad and I.
He had come out and visit with me.
This is probably about five years ago.
And I'm really close with my dad.
My dad is super cool.
Love my dad.
Always been a daddy's girl.
And my family, if you guys don't know, they live in northern Michigan.
And northern Michigan is a very magical place.
You know what I mean?
It's very, it's beautiful.
There's just water everywhere.
I was not very far from Lake Michigan, kind of right along the bays in Lake Michigan.
Where my family lived, there's a lot of lakes.
It's very lush.
It's very green.
Four seasons in the wintertime.
It's beautiful.
This winter wonderland.
Not so much in the spring when things are brown.
But, you know.
Now, I don't miss the snow.
But I like to have it for like an hour.
You know, it would be great.
Just an hour.
Yeah.
And some rain.
It rains.
The weather changes.
Like, you know, in the morning it could be 50 degrees.
By the afternoon it could be 80.
And that evening it could be back down to 20.
We don't know.
Just wait 20 minutes.
The weather changes.
It's Michigan for you.
But it's a really amazing place.
And it's an amazing place to grow up.
And really a cool place to be from.
So I am the oldest of three.
I have two younger brothers.
You can see some pictures of us there.
The one on the left, I think when I was in college.
I think I was 17 at the time.
And the second one is my brothers now as adults.
And you can see I got the short genes.
That does not force perspective.
I'm really that short.
So all my families are very, I have a very tall family.
Very, you know, and you can see that with my brothers.
Both of them are now grown, married, and have kids themselves.
Now out of the three of us, of course, I was the perfect one.
I never caused my parents trouble.
Especially my mom.
I never caused any trouble.
I was just so good.
Yeah, you guys aren't buying that.
But no, it was a great dynamic.
And I love my brothers.
They're really great men.
They really have great kids.
And it's just kind of fun to see my snot-nosed brothers now be dads, you know?
But I really love my brothers.
They're really great men.
They're really great husbands.
And they're really great fathers.
And it's fun to watch them grow up with their family.
And so today I'm going to talk about the lessons that my father taught us as kids.
And in Proverbs 4, it says,
Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction.
Pay attention and gain understanding.
I give you sound learning.
Do not forsake my teaching.
For I, too, was a son to my father, still tender and cherished by my mother.
Then he taught me, and he said to me,
Take hold of my words with all your heart.
Keep my commands, and you will live.
You know, as a child, I always took for granted all the things that my dad taught me.
You know, they tell you these lessons.
You get punished for things that you do.
And you don't really realize what that means, I think, really until you get older.
Especially when you actually have some real responsibilities, when you really have bills,
when you really have things to take care of.
And looking back over the years, I realized how much my father's wisdom really helped me greatly.
And it's really shaped the way of who I am.
And I have a lot of my dad in me.
I have a lot of my mom in me, too.
But I have a lot of my dad in me.
And so I'm really excited to really share this wisdom, the things that he taught me over the years.
And so, yes, we'll begin with some wonderful history of my childhood.
So my first lesson that I learned from my dad was do not worry.
It was do not worry.
And so this is, I was so excited that my mom found these photos.
This hammock meant a lot to me.
When I was in grade school or so, I remember having this teacher who was really mean.
Now, was she really mean?
Probably not.
But my, you know, third, fourth grade mind thought she was horrible.
And I just didn't want to go to school.
And I also had some friends, some girls that I was friends with who were also mean to me.
And I was kind of bullied a little bit as a kid.
Can you imagine?
Oh, yeah.
And she's like, no, of course you were bullied, you know.
Thank you, Lisa.
But I was so scared about going to school.
It just, it worried me to the point where I didn't want to go.
And so my dad had this hammock that he's laying in right now.
He was, he had it set up in the backyard.
And it was just big enough.
And it was just small enough at the time where both of us could be in that hammock at the same time.
And we were laying there one evening.
I still remember this night.
And I was telling my dad about what was going on at school and how I didn't want to go to school the next day.
And when we're sitting there, he says, look at those stars.
Look at how many stars there are.
Look at how they're in order.
And here you are worried about school when the whole universe is in order.
And that was the lesson that he taught me.
Is why do I have to worry?
Why do I have to freak out when the whole world is in order?
When there's safety and protection?
And so this is what our Heavenly Father teaches us in Philippians 4.
It says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
See, in every situation we've faced, we have a Heavenly Father that's going to be there with us, that we can give Him our worries, that we don't have to face these things alone.
We have a Heavenly Father that we can go to.
And He says, how to do that?
We do that with prayer.
We do that with prayer, whether it's out loud, whether it's in our minds, whether we write it.
That's what petition means.
To petition is to write down your requests.
How many of you journal?
And I've just started, I mean, I've been journaling a long time.
I like to say I'm not a journaler.
I told somebody, yeah, I don't journal, and then I realized I had three journals in my backpack.
I journal.
And sometimes they're complaining sessions.
Because it's like, God, look at my situation.
I'm just so distressed about my situation.
And He says, come to me with your worries.
Petition me with your requests.
And He says, do that with, what, thanksgiving.
Do that with thanksgiving.
And He wants you to give those things to Him.
Just like I gave my dad my worries when I was a child about school.
And so, what do we get in return?
What is God's promise in return?
When we give Him those requests, He says, I will give you peace.
I will give you peace.
He hears us.
And He knows what we need.
And even when our prayers aren't answered yet, or maybe not answered in the way we want them to be answered,
He still gives us peace about these situations.
And He guards our hearts and our minds.
He's protecting us.
He's protecting us from spiritual destruction.
He's protecting our minds from complete destruction.
He's going to keep us in perfect peace.
But we have to give those things to Him.
And if we hold on to that worry, it affects our body.
It affects our health.
It affects our relationships.
It affects our perspective.
And that's why God wants us to give it to Him.
That's the whole point.
We are not made to carry those worries.
And that's why I always felt comfortable around my dad.
He allowed me to give him my worries.
The next lesson was, you will not be abandoned.
Look at that 90s hair.
The mystery of my natural hair color is now solved.
That is some 90s hair right there.
So when I was in second grade, and I distinctly remember second grade,
I was still learning how to tie my shoes.
Now, at this point, most kids knew how to tie my shoes,
and I knew how to tie my shoes.
I just wasn't very fast at it.
You know, it just took me a little bit longer.
I don't know why, but it was.
And I remember distinctly that we had gym class a couple days a week.
And when he had gym class, he had to, you know,
take your gym shoes with you and put your gym shoes on
before you could go to gym class.
Well, that meant I had to tie my shoes and get myself to gym class.
But because I was slow,
the class would already be lined up and walking down the hall,
and I'm sitting here still struggling with my shoes,
and I'd be freaking out
because I thought I was going to be abandoned.
I was left behind in the classroom.
And to a second grader, that's a big deal.
You know, I was freaking out.
I didn't want to be abandoned.
I didn't want to be left behind.
It was a terrible experience.
And so here was the lesson.
I'll go to my dad.
I said, Dad, I can't put my shoes on.
I can't tie my shoes.
And he had me tie my shoes, and I could do it.
It just took a while.
But here's what he said is,
you'll never be left behind.
They'll wait for you.
And I was like, they will?
Well, it never occurred to me that they would wait for me.
And my dad said, well, have I ever left you behind?
And I was thinking, no, you've never left me behind.
Of course, he always used to play pranks on my mom
where he'd park the car, and she'd go into the store,
and then he'd park in another spot.
That's my dad.
That is such my dad.
But he would never leave me.
He would never abandon me.
It looks like, Jay, you're another one that does it too.
Oh, I'm giving some dad some ideas here.
But he would never have left me behind.
He never, ever left me behind.
And you know what my dad did?
We went to the department store,
and if you're ever back from the Midwest, it was Meijer.
I always remember it was Meijer.
And we bought me some Velcro shoes.
I think the ones with the lights in it,
that was so hot back then.
Every kid had to have lights in their shoes.
He had Velcro on.
It's so easy to put my shoes on,
so I wouldn't be left behind.
That's how much my dad cared about me,
to make sure I didn't feel abandoned,
and I didn't feel left behind.
And so what does our Heavenly Father teach us?
See, our Heavenly Father says,
if you love me, keep my commands,
and I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another advocate
to help you and be with you forever.
The Spirit of Truth.
The world cannot accept him
because it neither sees him nor knows him,
but you know him, for he lives with you
and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
You see, Jesus was on this earth
to help bridge that gap between us
and our Heavenly Father.
See, up until then, the Jews, Israelites,
they couldn't have a direct relationship
with the Father.
They had to have these sacrifices
throughout the year
so they could cleanse themselves
and so they could go
to be in the presence of their Father.
But Jesus was the new covenant.
Jesus was the fulfillment of the covenant
so that we could have
a personal relationship with our Father.
So we didn't feel abandoned,
we didn't feel alone,
that we have a God who is with us.
And what's amazing is he brought a promise,
and we talked about this a few weeks ago,
and it started in Genesis 12 and in Genesis 15,
that the promise was the Holy Spirit.
Because when you become a Christian,
when you accept Christ into your life,
that Holy Spirit lives in you.
It will never leave you.
It will always guide you.
It will not abandon you.
Even if you feel alone,
even if you feel like there is nothing there for you,
he has never abandoned you.
And that is the gift from our Heavenly Father.
And how beautiful,
how beautiful it is
that we have such a personal relationship
with our Heavenly Father because of Christ.
And that relationship will never leave us stranded,
just like my dad never left me stranded.
And I know it seems so little for me,
my dad, to buy those shoes.
And I can imagine,
my parents were probably tight on money at the time.
I don't remember.
I was a child.
But it was a sacrifice to them
to do that,
just so I didn't feel alone.
And it is nothing for your Heavenly Father
to sacrifice his son for you.
The next lesson was,
I will protect you.
And this is a,
back when,
this is actually in my parents' yard.
We actually had a pretty good-sized yard.
And I remember my dad had bought us a go-kart.
We loved that go-kart.
We drove that go-kart.
I think my dad is on the right-hand side
driving the go-kart.
And, you know,
I always thought it was funny.
We had the protection bars,
and we always had to wear a helmet wore on there.
And we just,
we just love,
we just wore this go-kart out.
And my dad was always protective.
When I was in college,
I was living in Grand Rapids.
And if you don't know where Grand Rapids is,
it's probably where your Bible was made.
Zondervan is there.
Baker is there.
Erdman's is there.
It's,
well,
it's right about here,
if you don't know where Grand Rapids is.
And I was going to college there.
And at the time,
I was driving this old jalopy
Chevy S10 Blazer,
and it was just really
just not in good,
good mechanical condition.
And I was having a lot of problems
with it running.
And it was wintertime.
And winters in Michigan,
as you can imagine,
can be kind of brutal.
And so,
I called my dad up,
said,
hey,
my dad,
my car's not working good,
and I need your help.
My dad's like,
okay,
well,
I can fix it.
I just need you to get it back home.
That's a three-hour trip.
Okay,
that's a serious trip.
And you're going up this highway
in some remote places,
and thankfully,
we had cell phones back then.
I feel old,
but maybe I'm not that old.
I had the little Nokia brick phone
with the Nextel,
you know,
walkie-talkie thing
that was in that era.
But I was still nervous
about driving up there.
And so,
here's what my dad did.
He says,
I'm going to protect you.
He drove down three hours
to Grand Rapids
to come get me,
and then I was in my car,
and he was in his truck,
and we went back up
to Michigan together.
It was a six-hour round,
that was a six-hour trip for him
in one day.
He protected me.
And what do you know it?
My car didn't act up once.
Of course,
I could have drove home by myself.
I could have made it.
But my dad didn't care.
He was more interested
in protecting me
than he was
me trying to make it by myself.
And he didn't care
that inconvenienced him at all.
We went up there together.
And so,
here's what my Heavenly Father
teaches us.
He says in Philippians,
And my God will meet
all your needs
according to the riches
of his glory
in Christ Jesus.
You see,
God is going to meet
all of us
in our needs.
Whether it's,
I'm having car issues
and I need to get home,
or I need a job,
or I need more business,
or my health is a wreck
and I need help with healing,
or maybe my heart's broken.
He knows your needs.
He already knows your needs.
And nothing that you have
is going to be
an inconvenience for him.
He will make that trip.
He will make that extra mile.
He will send
whoever he needs to send
to make sure
your needs are met.
Now,
that may not mean
you get a new iPhone
or a new Tesla,
or in my case,
a new truck,
but he knows
what you need
and he already has
a plan for those needs.
Physical,
spiritual,
emotional.
He has you.
And he won't abandon you.
And he loves you.
And he will meet it
in a perfect time.
And it's according
to whose riches?
And to Christ's riches.
And can you imagine
that his own son,
that he gave everything
to his own son,
the riches are great
to his own son?
And if those riches
to Christ
are available to us,
imagine what is available
to us
if we just receive.
I mean,
how many of us
don't even receive
the riches
that are available?
We forget
that those riches
are for you too.
That you don't
have to sit
and wonder
and wait
that God already
provided it for you
and provided that way
for you.
The next lesson
was be a hard worker.
And here we are,
like I said,
there's a lot of lakes
and I was always
the first captain.
My dad captained the ship
and I was his first mate
and my job
was to make sure
that the boat,
help him get it off
the boat trailer
into the launch
and then rope it up
and I don't remember
all the terms for it.
It's been a little while
since it's been on a boat
and then he would captain it
and I would always
help him with the boat.
That was kind of
my job growing up
and I remember spending
many, many summers
and weekends
on the boat
and it was such
an amazing time.
And that was the time
when we played
but in the summertime
it was also a time
where my dad
worked very, very hard.
He was a building contractor,
he still is today
and he builds houses,
he does renovations
and he's been doing that
for most of his life.
And construction
is very, very hard work.
It's not,
it's very manual labor.
Not only is the labor hard
but there's a lot
of coordination.
He's coordinating
subcontractors,
he's trying to coordinate
materials,
trying to make sure
things are on site.
Oh, there's a problem,
he has to fix that problem.
Those problems
are his problem
even if somebody else
makes that mistake.
And not every season
was always profitable.
He'd make most of his income
in the summer
when the weather was good
and in the winter times
he often plowed.
And I remember
he would get up
early in the morning,
three, four o'clock
in the morning
and go plow driveways.
I remember multiple times
riding with him
as he plowed driveways.
And so my dad
had to plan out
these different seasons.
He knew he couldn't
just spend everything
in the summer
because he knew
winter was coming.
He had to plan.
There was a season
of hard work
but then there was
a season of storing.
And so that's the lesson
is hard work
is important.
We weren't made
to sit and be idle.
And you know
he was always
self-motivated.
He didn't have anybody
telling him what to do.
He didn't have a boss.
He was the boss.
And he was the one
that managed others.
And when there was work
he worked
but he didn't spend
every dime.
He was responsible.
He was prepared.
And so here's what
my heavenly father
teaches me.
In Proverbs 6
it says
go to the ant
you sluggard
consider its ways
and be wise.
It has no commander
no overseer
or ruler
yet it stores
its provisions
in summer
and gathers
its food
at harvest.
I can just imagine
Solomon
as he's writing
this proverb
that he's on
kind of on his hands
and he's looking down
at these ants
and watching them work
and observing them
and seeing how
they operate.
See the ants
they don't have
somebody telling
what to do.
They know that
in the summer
it is time for work
and in the winter
it is time to reap
there is time
to use up
their harvest.
And God
gives us that ability
to self-govern.
He gives that ability
to self-govern.
We don't need
somebody to manage
our time for us.
We have that ability
to do it.
And even if we do
have a boss
we still have
a framework
that we need
to be able
to manage ourselves.
We need to be able
to lead ourselves.
Timing is everything.
There are seasons
of hard work.
There are seasons
that you have
to put all your
effort in
and there are seasons
where it is time
to reap the effort
that you had.
And God calls us
to be prepared
because winter
is coming.
Now not here
in Arizona so much
we love winter
we want winter
to come
but in Michigan
winter was serious.
Have you ever heard
of lake effect snow?
That's when water
comes up over the lake
and just dumps snow.
I mean we would get
feet of snow
at a time.
You had to be prepared.
You had to have
gas in your car.
You had to have
extra food.
You had to know
and be prepared
for the weather
because it could
change very quickly.
There was a preparedness.
But there's also
a spiritual winter
where sometimes
things are hard.
Where things
aren't lined up.
When jobs
aren't working out well.
When things
seem scarce.
We need to be prepared.
We need to have fuel
in our spiritual tank
because the winter season
is going to come.
And if we slack off
in the summertime
and slack off
in the time of work
when those hard seasons
come it becomes
much more difficult
to survive.
And that's why
preparedness
is so important.
And that's something
that I learned
from my Heavenly Father.
The next lesson is
make good choices.
This is actually
one of my wedding photos.
I think I made
a pretty good choice.
I think Tim's alright.
And this is my dad
walking down the aisle.
I think it was
Mount 21 in this photo.
My dad told me
when I was growing up
that he was not
always going to be there
to tell me what to do.
And let me tell you
something.
When I was in college
there was a lot
of opportunities
to get into trouble.
Okay.
Let me give you
an example.
I was 17
when I started college
so I was quite young.
And I was not even
living on campus.
I lived off campus
because at the time
my college didn't
have enough housing.
So because of that
I somehow
ended up off campus
in an apartment.
You can already see
this could be trouble.
Now I was in music school
and being in music school
meant I had to be
in marching band.
Wasn't excited about it.
Played tuba
in marching band
believe it or not.
And our football team
actually made it
to the finals
and we had to travel
from Michigan
to Alabama.
Alabama.
Well after the game
there was this massive
party with questionable
things happening
at this party.
And me being 17,
18 years old
I really, really
wanted to fit in.
Really bad.
I didn't want to
be that prude
sitting in a hotel
by themselves
because I didn't
want to participate.
Well I went to the party
saw these things
that were happening
and I thought
about what my dad said.
He said,
remember,
I will not always
be there.
Make a good choice.
And so you know
what I ended up doing?
I quietly dismissed myself
and didn't participate.
Because at that time
I had a music career going.
I was playing
saxophone professionally.
I was in college.
I was doing quite well.
I was playing
in the brass section
at church.
I was engaged.
I was dating Tim
at that time
and I did not want
to ruin
what I had going on
because one mistake,
one mistake
could have ended it.
And so
here's what my heavenly
father taught me.
In Proverbs 29
it says,
evil doers
are snared
by their own sin
but the righteous
shout for joy
and are glad.
See,
the things that we do
whether they're good
or bad
they are going to
continue to follow us.
Things that we do
if we sow into the kingdom
if we sow into others
we sow into relationships
those things grow.
This is why
I don't like karma.
Karma's a one-to-one
relationship.
You get one
you get one.
Well reaping and harvest
that's what God really says.
You sow something
and you reap a harvest.
It's a one-to-many relationship.
This is why karma
doesn't work.
This is why karma
is actually incorrect.
And if you sow good seeds
you are going to reap
a good harvest
but if you reap
bad seeds
you will reap
a bad harvest.
Now
we do have a father.
We do have Jesus
who is the redeemer
who is going to
redeem us from our sins
who is going to
redeem us from the things
that we have done
but that doesn't always mean
that we get out
of the consequences.
As someone who is in prison
who became a believer
after they became in prison
they still have to
serve out their sentence.
Or someone who has
had a past
who is dealing
with past injuries
because they decided
it was a good idea
to jump off a bridge
when they were a teenager
now they're paralyzed.
God's a healer
God's a redeemer
but there's still
consequences to our actions
and we need to be aware
of that.
And God doesn't always
take away those consequences.
He may use that
to help others
he's going to use it
for good
but those consequences
are still there.
Now
the good news is
is regardless
of our past sins
we are redeemed
and we are made clean
in his image.
Amen?
And that's why Jesus
and that's why our father
is so amazing.
We have such a good father.
That we have a father
who cares.
The next lesson is
is be a good steward.
This is
I was probably
three or four
in this picture
and that was one of my
very very favorite
stuffed animals.
I took care of
my stuffed animals.
I was very serious
about my stuffed animals
when I was a child.
I had a whole collection
of them.
I loved them.
I took care of them.
I brushed them.
I did whatever
whatever a little girl
would do
to take care
of their stuffed animals.
And growing up
I saw my dad
do something similar.
He always maintained
his homes.
He always maintained
his cars.
He never let things go
if you know what I mean.
He took care of stuff.
I mean I remember
being out in the garage
with him
and he's working
on his cars
and helping
always helping him
with projects
around the house.
And I remember
in the winter
the driveway
was always plowed
and he and my mom
in the summer
and still to this day
their yard is beautiful
with flowers
and plants
and then we had
this massive willow tree.
This thing probably
is 60 plus feet tall.
The thing is huge.
They trim it.
They maintain it.
The yard is beautiful.
The house is very beautiful.
You wouldn't even know
it's a house
from the 70s.
My dad takes
very good care of it.
You know they put
an addition on the house.
They have a big living room.
It's a very livable space.
And I rarely saw
things break
because in neglect
my dad took care of things.
And this is the lesson
I learned
is be a good steward
because everything
that you have
is for you
to take care of
so you can bless
others with it.
See my parents
always had their house open.
People always were
over hanging out.
That was one thing
I loved about Michigan
is you don't hear
we call each other
before we go out
to see other people's houses.
There if you see
a car in the driveway
then you stop in
and say hi
and then the next thing
another car shows up
and you have a bunch
of guys standing
out in the garage
drinking beverages
of some sort.
Coke.
Yes.
And there's fellowship.
And then they would
my dad would always
have music playing
and they would have
my mom would always
keep food in the fridge
in the freezer
so when people showed up
they were ready.
They were very hospitable
but because they took
care of their houses
they had a place
to do it.
My dad always had
his cars working
so he could always
help people.
All his equipment worked.
And it was a very safe place.
It was a very safe place
for kids to play
and it was just a very
wonderful environment
to be in.
So here's what my
Heavenly Father taught me.
He says
and 1 Peter says
each of you
should use
whatever gift
you have received
to serve others
as faithful stewards
of God.
God's grace
in various forms.
and that's what it is.
God gives us things
to serve others.
That's the whole purpose
of us being stewards.
Nothing that we have
we own.
It is to serve others.
Even this iPad
is here to serve others.
All the things
that we have
is for service
to others.
And if we don't
take care of these things
how are we going
to be good stewards?
How are we going
to bless other people?
And so
my question is
are you
taking care of
the things
that you've been entrusted?
Are you using
these things
to help others
or are you just hoarding?
Because sometimes
when we get
too many things
it becomes very difficult
to manage
the stuff we have.
Less is more.
And that's something
that I really had
to realize
when I sold my business
I had a 5,000
square foot warehouse
I all of a sudden
had to fit into
my house
and I had to figure out
okay what am I
going to do
with this stuff
and a lot of it
I had to let go
because I couldn't
be a good steward of it.
See God wants us
to use our things
to take care of others.
And then my last lesson
my dad taught me
is to be curious
and to solve problems.
You see my dad
is a very curious guy.
He's very very smart.
He's very philosophical.
Really he is.
He likes to like
look at different situations
and kind of like
look at it
from different angles
and try to figure things out.
That's something
that I love about him.
He likes to think 360.
And so from a very early age
I learned that from him.
I remember he gave me
a VCR,
an old VCR.
He said take it apart.
And I did.
And that's what really
sparked my interest
in electronics.
I remember helping him
work on cars
and guess what
I do that today.
You know I have
a bit of a knowledge
about how to work
on cars.
And so the lesson here
was my dad taught me
how to think through
problems and not give up.
You know how do I
overcome that obstacle?
You know give an example.
I just went on a vacation
a couple weeks ago
and my fuel pump
went out in my car.
What do you do?
I had to come up
with a solution.
And it was so fun
to call my dad
and say hey
I had this problem.
I had this fuel pump
go bad.
This is how I solved it.
And he's just like yes.
You did a great job.
And I love sharing
those things with my dad.
And he loves sharing
problems that he has
with me and how he solved it.
And when I'm stuck
I know he's there
to help me.
I know he's there
to help me figure things out
and come up with
different ideas.
And so here's what
my heavenly father
teaches me.
It is the glory of God
to conceal a matter.
To search out a matter
is the glory of kings.
As the heavens are high
and the earth is deep
so are the hearts
of kings are unsearchable.
See God conceals
things for us
to search out.
He wants us
to look for things.
He wants us to
discover things
in the world.
Have you ever looked
through a telescope
and you discover
something in space
you've never seen before?
That is for you
to discover.
God wants you
to see these things.
And that's
that is so beautiful.
Discovery
and curiosity
is so beautiful.
And maybe that's why
I like to unturn
every stone.
I'm so curious.
There's things
I want to learn.
I still haven't learned
how to weld yet.
That is on my bucket list.
I've got to learn
how to weld.
I've got to know.
I'm not interested
in being a jeweler though.
That can be on the table.
But I've got to learn
how to weld.
But the point is
I'm so curious
because I'm so amazed
at God's glory
and the things
that he's created
for us to discover.
And so as I look back
at all these lessons
that my dad taught me
I realized
he wasn't just
teaching me how to live.
he was teaching me
what my heavenly father
was like.
You know he told me
not to worry.
He said that he would
protect me.
And these are all
qualities
my heavenly father
taught me.
and so
these are just glimpses
of who our heavenly father is.
And so
to every father
in this room right now
your kids may not
remember every word
you say
but you are showing them
glimpses
of the heavenly father
in you.
You are showing them
something.
They'll remember
when you're dependable.
They'll remember
when you're present.
They're going to remember
when you love them.
And they will remember
when you pointed them
to Jesus.
And so
I have another photo here.
My dad
is now
he's now a grandpa.
And so
here he is
with my nieces
and nephews.
So that's little Lucy.
And you guys
a lot of you
have been praying
for Lucy.
Her mom
my sister-in-law
had got leukemia
while she was pregnant.
And little Lucy
is doing great.
So far
so good
no issues.
And she's growing.
She's in the 50th percentile
which in our family
is little.
Usually we're
99 plus.
In the middle one
that's little Lydia
and that's her big sister.
I guess she's a lot like me.
I guess she causes trouble
and makes messes.
So they call her
little Jesse.
And then
we have Landon
over there
and he looks exactly
like my brother
little Jamie
and he's just
a great kid
very much like
my brother Jamie.
And my dad
is just loving life
right now.
That's his reward
for surviving me.
And so
now he gets
to pass on
that follow the wisdom
to the next generation.
And so
I'm going to talk
to you men in this room
whether you have kids
or not
it doesn't matter.
You represent
Christ in your homes.
You are examples
to your wives.
You are examples
to your co-workers.
You are examples
to your children.
You are examples
to the people
in this church.
And I know
that can kind of
feel like a heavy
burden on you men
but guess what?
You have a Heavenly Father
who is beside you.
Who is walking
through the tough
times with you.
And when you
fall short
your Heavenly Father
is with you.
And he's going
to walk with you.
And he loves you.
Because no father
is perfect.
My dad was amazing
but he was not
a perfect dad.
And when my dad
fell short
the Heavenly Father
stepped in
and took care of me.
And each one
of you men
that are in here
represents something
very important
to this church.
Whether you have
kids or not.
Because we need men
and us women
are here to support you
and get behind you.
And that is
how a church body
works.
So don't give up.
Don't keep
following Jesus.
Keep loving
your family
and keep serving
your family
faithfully.
Because God
is going to create
you as the man
he created you to be.
He already has
that in you.
And you can relax.
You can relax
men because
God is already
walking with you
even in your
shortcomings.
Now to those
here that are
carrying father wounds
I know
some of your
experiences are going
to be very different
than mine.
That maybe
you didn't have
a father
or your father
was harsh
or non-existent
and it was tough.
He may have
abandoned you.
He may have
failed you.
He may have
hurt you.
And I know
that Father's Day
can be very
difficult
because it brings
back some of
these memories
and kind of
reminds you
what should have
been.
But I want to
let you know
something and I
want you guys
to hear this.
That even if
your earthly father
would fail you
your heavenly father
has not failed you.
And your heavenly
father stepped in
when your father
couldn't.
And he already
knew from the day
you were born
that you had a
purpose and that
he was going to
be your father.
He was going to
be your father.
So when you
were alone
he was there.
When you cried
he was there.
When you
whispered a prayer
he was there.
And every wound
you still carry
to this day
he's healing it
in this moment.
And one day
he's going to
make things right.
It says in
Revelation 21
it says
and a loud
I heard a loud
voice from the
throne saying
behold the
dwelling place
of God
is with man
that is with
you.
He will dwell
with them
and they will
be his people
and God
himself will
be with them
as their God.
He will wipe
away every tear
from their eyes
and death
shall be no more.
Neither shall
there be mourning
nor crying
nor pain
anymore
for the former
things have
passed away.
Yeah
that's right.
Because there's
a coming day
when all of us
will be healed.
Every wound
everything will
be healed.
Everything is
going to be
restored
and we are
going to dwell
with our
heavenly father
forever.
Every day.
And so whether
your earthly father
was wonderful
or absent
or somewhere
in between
it doesn't matter
because we
celebrate a God
that never changes.
He is the same
today, yesterday
and forever.
We have a
father who loves
us who sent
his son Jesus
Christ to be
with us who
gave us the
Holy Spirit to
give us that
insight.
We have a
father who
never leaves.
We have a
father who
never abandons.
We have a
father who
always provides.
We have a
father that
always loves.
See you are
a son.
You are a
daughter.
And you are
loved by your
heavenly father.
And men I
look at you
and you guys
represent Christ.
Every single
one of you.
Matthew I
know that
things have
been tough
for you but
you are a
great father
to that
little boy
right now.
And I
don't want
you to
ever doubt
who you
are as a
father.
Because you
have your
heavenly father
inside of you
guiding you and
you are showing
Jesus to that
little boy.
And you are
doing a great
job.
You hear me?
You are doing
an amazing job.
And Ben I
know you have
been through a
lot but your
God has never
left you.
And in those
times you felt
distant he
was there
beside you.
And he
loved you and
he helped you
raise your
family.
And he's
looking at
you and
he's very
proud of
you.
Isaac, your
heavenly father
has given you
a new identity.
He's calling
you the
steward.
You're the
one that takes
care of
things.
You're the
one that takes
care of your
family.
That is your
new identity.
Because he
loves you and
he cares for
you.
And you have a
very important
responsibility to
show your
kids, especially
little Micah, who
Jesus is.
that is your
job and he is
going to be there
to guide you in
every step.
And he's giving
you that identity
now.
Jay, you have
something very
special in your
heart.
You've been doing
such an amazing
job with the
situation that was
put in front of
you.
But God gave you a
very specific
vision and he's
going to make that
vision come to
pass because he
knows your heart
and he knows your
love for him.
And he knows that
you want to share
that love with other
people.
So don't ever give
up hope because
there's something
amazing that's
going to come
out in that
ministry, that
vision that he's
given you.
Dave, you've been
a protector of not
just your family but
of many people as a
police officer and
you're still, even
in retirement, you
are still protecting
others.
And that protection
is something that
people love about
you, that we feel
safe about you, that
you make us feel
safe.
And Dave, don't
ever forsake the
things that God has
given you and those
talents that God has
given you because you
are someone who is
safe to be around, that
we feel comfortable
around you.
And that's a gift because
not everybody has that.
And Dave, don't ever
forget that God is with
you to guide you and
keep you safe even as
you are even just, we
are at the college
campus.
I know it's not the
same as being a police
officer in downtown
Phoenix but it's still
just as important because
we need to feel safe
because college is a
very important time for
those kids and you're
representing Jesus to
them.
And Mark, you've been a
father to this church.
You have really set what
this church is about and
you've been a real
spiritual leader here and
God's going to continue
to increase that.
You are an amazing
husband and you are very
ambitious and God has
given you so many things
that just are always
springing up in you.
Don't ever squash that.
And just keep pursuing
him because he knows
what's in your heart and
he will always protect
you and guide you even
in the difficult
situations you've been
facing the last year.
It will end and he is
with you.
So dear Heavenly Father
God, we just want to
thank you for being our
Heavenly Father.
We want to thank you for
who you are.
We want to thank you for
just being that perfect
anchor that you are in
our lives.
And God, if there are
wounds today that need
to be healed, Lord, we
just ask that you just
pour your Holy Spirit
down on all of us.
If those wounds are
healed with your
anointing oil, that you
have a plan and you
have a purpose for us
and that we can rest in
you, that you will not
abandon us, you will
not leave us, and that
you will protect us.
And God, just bless
everyone in this room.
May they represent who
you are in Christ as we
go about our week.
And all God's people
said, Amen.