Pastor Sherry’s message for June 18, 2023

Scriptures: Gem 18:1-15; Ps 116:1-2, 12-19; Ro 5:1-8; Matt 9:35-38, 10:1-8

Happy Father’s Day to our fathers present here and to those who have gone on, we hope, to glory. Remember Paul Harvey? He wrote the following about fathers:

“A father is a creature that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. A father growls when he feels good and laughs when scared half to death.

“A father never feels worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He’s never quite the hero his daughter thinks; never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him—sometimes. So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.

“A father gets very angry when the school grades aren’t as good as he thinks they should be. So he scolds his son—though he knows it’s the teacher’s fault. A father gives his daughter away to another man who is not nearly good enough—so that he can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody’s. A father makes bets with insurance companies about who will live the longest. One day, he loses—and the bet is paid off to those he leaves behind. “ (Paul Harvey, quoted by Chuck Swindoll in The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word Publishing, 1998, p.204.)

It’s a touching tribute, isn’t it? I hope that is what your father was/is like. If not, we can all look to our Father God, to understand what a good father—what a really good, good Father is like! Our Scripture passages today make that point clearly.

A. Let’s begin with what Paul tells us in Romans 5:1-8. Paul is instructing us in the great progression of the generous gifts and blessings we obtain—like the one baptized as well as those we receive into our church fellowship today–when we believe in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ:

First, we are reconciled to God through Jesus. This is a huge blessing! Paul teaches, in Romans 1, that we pull ourselves away from God by our sinful behaviors (carnal nature), our rebellious and idolatrous thinking, and by allowing our feelings to dictate our behaviors and our beliefs. Feelings provide us with important data, but we do not want them to direct or compel our behaviors. We live now in an American culture where many people appear to believe it is okay to be driven by their feelings. This kind of behavior is out of control and leads to harm and to chaos. So, often because we do not sense God’s presence, we assume it’s hard to have a relationship with Him! This is just not true! Our Lord is only a prayer away! And He desires a deep connection with each one of us—which Jesus has made possible through His death on the Cross for our behalf.

A second concern, however, is what happens to us as we are drawing closer to God, and engaging in Kingdom work (spreading the gospel, sharing our testimonies regarding our own faith journeys). We encounter trouble! You see Satan leaves us alone if we are not pursuing God or are neutral about the Lord. But when we draw near to God, the evil one comes after us, “tooth and nail,’ trying to turn us against Him. The world and our flesh, inspired by the devil, try to discourage us. These forces work hard to pull us away from Jesus.

If we can hold on to our faith—in the face of trouble—we will emerge victorious. We will have become one who perseveres; one who learns patience; one who develops grit or persistence. This ability to persevere strengthens our character. We become more resilient. Psychology calls resilience the bounce-back factor. Resilient folks recover more quickly from the slings and arrows the enemy throws at us than do people who are not. Resilient people learn that even if we don’t feel God’s presence, we can trust He is with us in our suffering. All of this—suffering, perseverance, and a resilient character–helps us to have hope. We worship the God of all hope. And because our God keeps His promises, this hope does not ultimately disappoint us.

Finally, in verse 8, Paul pens this famous line But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We love and serve a God who has pursued us for relationship, even when we didn’t deserve His attention. This is the height of romance, isn’t it? John Eldredge, a contemporary Christian author, wrote a book called, The Sacred Romance, in 1997. His premise was that we each want to feel so cherished by another that that person would court us/pursue us, and want to live out their life with us. He contends and I agree that our God has done just that. The woman we baptize this morning has said “yes” to God. Each of us who has been baptized has said “yes” to God. Praise God and Halleluiah!

B. We see the miraculous hand of God in today’s story of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18:1-15). Abraham is now 99 years old, and Sarah, 89. They are way past child bearing possibilities! But two angels and the pre-incarnate Jesus visit them to say “the Child of Promise,” Isaac, will finally appear within the year. Sarah laughs at the idea of conception at their ages. (I think I would cry! Of course, they were wealthy and had a lot of servants, so she would have had sufficient help, bless her!) But they are both told (v.14) Is anything too hard for the Lord? It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is, “of course not!” We love and serve an all-powerful God of miracles.

C. Our Psalm (116:1-2, 12-19) reminds us that we appreciate and thank God because He hears and responds to us when we are in distress or trouble. He is our Rescuer, our Redeemer.

D. And our Gospel (Matthew 9:35-38, 10:1-8) demonstrates how He trusts us and empowers us to do Kingdom ministry. He sends out 12 ordinary men and tasks them with preaching the Gospel; warning folks that the Kingdom of God is near [that’s Jesus; Jesus is coming to visit them soon]; healing the sick; casting out demons; and even raising the dead. YIKES! How extraordinary! And He has empowered His followers today do the same.

Chris Tomlin wrote a sang a contemporary worship song called, “He’s a good, good Father.” We do worship a good, good Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. What wonderful blessings we enjoy when we ally or bind ourselves to Jesus Christ:

(1) We experience peace with God and the peace that passes all understanding.

(2) We experience being deeply loved.

(3) We come to enjoy hope, despite our earthly circumstances.

(4) Our characters are developed and strengthened.

(5) We trust that our Redeemer hears and responds to us.

(6) We realize He trusts us enough to give us Kingdom building work to do.

(7) And we align ourselves with the God who works unheard of miracles for those He loves.

Thank you, Lord, for the good fathers you have given us and for modeling what it is to be a good, good father. Amen!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams