Pastor Tony Ashmore teaches on "The Father's Arms" in this Sunday morning celebration.The Father's Arms
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, June 17, 2012
www.mylifegatechurch.com
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Study now: Download the Sermon Notes (requires Adobe Reader)
Sermon Notes:
1 Corinthians 4:15 “For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.”
Big Idea: There are lots of ‘teachers’ who want to tell us what to think, but we need ‘fathers’ who teach us how to think. “…became your father when I preached the Good News…” Fathers are for you, they want your best.
Galatians 3:28 “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This isn’t just a ‘man’ thing—this is for anyone who is a Kingdom person: mom, dad, married, single, boss, employee, son, daughter, friend, etc.
Great Fathers:
1. Are sure of whom they are reflecting:
Genesis 5:3 “When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him—in his very image. He named his son Seth.” Do the ‘images’ we create reflect Him?
Do I re-present Him well or is there a distortion? The way we relate to God is often defined or affected by how He was represented to us by authority figures.
(Exodus 20:4 “…you shall not make for yourself any image or likeness…”)
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion…”
Express His personality, Exhibit His Power, Extend His Kingdom
2. Reflect Accurately:
Revelation 1:5 (NKJV) “Jesus has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (A King and a Priest: A Leader and a Connector, A Strong Place and an Intimate Place)
Lyrics from “My Father’s Arms”:
• A place I want to go: Am I that place? The same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) The same when the news is good or bad. The same when I am coming with something that will make you proud or something that will be disappointing.
• Amazing comfort and rest: wisdom, encouragement, protection, provision
• A smile is never rare: Consistent, joy-filled demeanor. What will those you are leading remember? Example: Jeff and fielding ground balls. Psalm 2:1-4 “Why are the nations so angry?
Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one….But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.”
• Love is as free as the air: no strings attached, no manipulation or games, unconditional love, unmerited favor
• Lack for nothing when I can see the love in your eyes and know that its all for me: undivided attention, no competition for the place that is supposed to be mine. (Example: my dad and off-days and vacations—he knew his work schedule was taking away valuable time so he made sure the leisure time was memorable)
• I fear nothing at all when I’m safe in the arms of my father: boundaries, protection, strength
• When I fall (fail), I take comfort in knowing you are there: Are mercy and grace defining my response to failure? Am I the place they want to run to when they fail, or the one they want it hidden from?
So What:
What if I have blown it thus far?
Examples of the ‘failed fathers’ who are Bible heroes:
Abraham: his mishandling of God’s promise has resulted in the whole Middle East crisis.
Isaac: tolerated deceitfulness and manipulation resulting in a war between his 2 sons’ descendants
Jacob: showed show much favoritism that his other kids tried to kill Joseph, which would have resulted in the total destruction of the Jewish people and mass starvation throughout the world.
They really blew it in some areas, and yet God was there, not only to help them repair the damage, but to take them to a higher place. They are the fathers of our faith. Men who did some things right and a lot of stuff wrong, but they never failed to lean on God, good or bad.
1. Recognize the relationships that have resulted in an inaccurate reflection and take responsibility: Apologize, forgive, release, set boundaries, maybe even disconnect from some. Repent for where we have missed it in our ‘reflections’
2. Set a new goal (no matter how well we have reflected, we can go higher)
3. Take your relationship with the one you are reflecting to an HNL (whole ‘nuther level) 1 John 2:12-14 (JBP) “…I write to you who are now fathers, because you have known him who has always existed…to you fathers because of your experience of the one who has always existed…”
No comments:
Post a Comment