CMLC 2024-06-16 Sermon

God, as we celebrate those who have led us, who have guided us, who have given us structure,

direction, or God, we ask that you would continue to point us to who you are, because you are

our True Father, the one who continues to shine in the darkness, even at the times when

we struggle. We thank you that your love never fails. In Jesus Christ, amen.

Howdy. Well, now, at least the phone ringer was in the right key with the band, okay?

So at least that part is great. Happy Father's Day, everybody. How are you all today?

Yeah, I know. Now, let me check, though. All right. Are you all going to lunch afterwards?

You're going to take your father and all the children are paying with their own money,

right? Yeah, yeah. Let's check and see how many ties and how many wallets will be given

out over the next week. It should be good. But today, what a day to be able to celebrate

fathers. And I want to make sure that I also remember that in celebrating Father's Day,

we know that there are a lot of people who also serve in that capacity, those who are

uncles, brothers, grandparents, those who are mentors and teachers, and even at times

whenever single parents need to serve in both roles in a family, is that there is this parent

that ends up providing so much of what guides us and lead us in our future. See, the thing

is, is that fathers in so many ways are the ones who plant the seeds of what we end up

prioritizing in our lives, the ones who help us to find structure for who we are, and the

ones who help us in becoming who we're meant to be, or sometimes show us the people that

we're trying not to be. I promised myself as a child that my jokes would be much better

than my father's someday, and I have proven myself wrong. They are terrible. They are

terrible. My father's legacy lives on and always will. But the thing with this is that

when we discover how influential fathers really are in our lives, we also realize what a responsibility

that truly is. You see, it turns out that if you were to actually look at children and

identify whether they will or will not, stay in their faith or be worshiping in church regularly,

the biggest indicator is their fathers. Two thirds to three fourths of children, whether

they do or do not, stay in their faith and continue in worship, is based directly on

their fathers and what they do. This is not just something to feel as a weight, but rather

is a hope and a joy, because so much can be transformed by the love of fathers for their

children. Now, I have to say, though, is that oftentimes when we see what fathers are teaching

us, it can sometimes be a little bit tricky in what they do, because fathers, they're

trying to figure it out just like everybody else. For example, when it's time for fathers

to teach their children how to ride a bicycle. Now, my father taught me how to ride a bike

just like others may have. Now, you may have in your mind that scene in any movie where

the father is holding the back of the seat, right, and you're running along and you're

running along and the child's pedaling and then the father lets go. And then after a

little bit, the child realizes, I'm riding my bike, I'm riding my bike, and the dad says,

you're doing great, you're doing great, and the kid is so overjoyed. That is a huge lie.

Absolutely not. Because as soon as I realized what was going on, and I fell right over it,

I'm like, dad, you betrayed me. And I ran in. I did not touch that bike for like at least

a year. I'm like, no, my dad betrayed me. I cannot trust him. Absolutely not. Absolutely

not. Oh, man, what's up with fathers? But what ends up happening? My dad gets me back

out there, and I'm like, dad, are you going to let go of that seat again? He's like, when

you're ready? Yes, I will. And I've been riding my bike ever since. The thing is, though,

I'd say that I had kind of ridden my bike a little ways, and I fell over. Even though

I'd been pedaling on my own. But at that moment, I was like, oh no, my father's not there.

Would I technically be able to say that I knew how to ride my bike? Just from that one

moment, never getting back on it again. That question is something that was on my mind

in looking at Mark chapter four. You see, we're talking a little bit about the parable

of the seeds. But you see earlier in there, there's a context. Jesus had been talking

about the parable of the sower. And one of the things that's interesting about this is

that looking at this parable, it can genuinely cause us to have concern about faith. You

see, in it, there are these seeds that are being sown. And some of the seeds, depending

on where they go, may or may not do well. You see, some of the seeds, they're being

sown and they're eaten. And it turns out that for some, the Word of God is proclaimed

and nothing comes of it. Or for others, it says that the seed produces joy. And yet,

those very people will fall away, the ones that are withered as they grow up. And then

there are others that are choked because of the thorns and they don't end up bearing

any fruit. But this passage ends up asking a very difficult question. Does this mean

that a person can hear the Word and come to faith, but then lose their faith? And subsequently

lose salvation? Now, when I say this, I know that many of you who are here, you've already

got different thoughts in your head, different ideas, different views of this. Because the

church for centuries has debated this question in a lot of ways. And what's difficult is

that Scripture actually does have examples that may prove one way or the other. There

are some passages that say, like in John 10, 28, 29, no one can snatch us out of Christ's

hand. Or Romans 11, 29, that talks about God's gifts and his calling are irrevocable. You

can't lose them. Or John 6, 39, I shall lose none of those whom God has given me. But then

there are other passages, like Hebrews 6, those who are enlightened and having the Holy

Spirit can fall away. Hebrews 10, if we keep on sinning after learning the truth, then

there is judgment. Galatians 5, people falling from grace because they believe in a different

gospel. Or 1 Corinthians 9, Hebrews 12, James 1, 12, needing to persevere in the faith in

order to have the crown of life. It becomes this difficult question that leads people

to ask, once saved, always saved? See, that statement, once saved, always saved, it actually

did not originate here. You see, in reality, that idea that if you got saved at some point

in your life, but then later stopped believing that, well, if this is real, then therefore

everything else doesn't matter. It actually originated way, way back. You see, there was

this view that God only chose some people to be saved. And other people, God created

in order to be damned. And I say that because I'm hoping that we have taught you enough

by now to know that that is not what we teach here. But you see, teachers like Augustine

and then later John Calvin, they were spending all this time trying to figure out, is it

you? Are you saved? Are you one of the elect? Are you not? And in so doing, it was this idea

that if you could at least hear them say it one time that they believed in Jesus that now,

oh, you've just proven that you're one of them. But in order to go that route, we would

have to believe that God's love, the love of a father, did not really want to save all

of us. Could you imagine what it is to believe that the father would not love all of his

children? With that, though, is that that makes me wonder sometimes about how much we are

just desperate to hope that God still loves us even at the times when we feel far away.

See, there was some years back, you know, long, long, long time ago when I was a young

buck in my mid-thirties, not the old fart that you see in front of you today. Hey, I'm

shaving this beard. There's way too much white in it. I'm just, I don't know where that came

from. But with it, though, is I was getting ready to go to China. And I was talking to

my parents on the phone, and I called my dad, and I was letting him know that I was going

to China. And he was very concerned for good reason. But as I talked with him about what

the plans were and how things would work out while I'm there, but also how it was going

to be a part of my career and moving forward, and I felt like this is a chance to be able

to move forward as a person as well. And he heard it, and he said, you know, I understand,

son. You know, I'll be praying for you, and I hope that all goes well. Let me know how

I can help. I did not realize at that moment how much I needed my dad's approval. I was

in my thirties, and I was still looking to my dad because the weight lifted. See, that's

the thing about this debate and this question is that while we may question about, can we

abandon God? Well, we can abandon God. But God will never abandon us. See, that's the

thing about this is that God is not forcing us to be in his kingdom. God wants us in his

kingdom and has made the way. But he's not willing to force that on anyone. And because

of his word, he gives us the freedom to follow him. See, that's the thing about this is that

we made debate this idea that if someone, maybe somebody said that they believed in Jesus,

but they didn't really believe in him enough, or after all, and then later on they're just

expressing that they don't believe because they never did. But then there are others

who might say, well, but maybe they really did believe, but they allowed everything else

to distract and to pull them away. And the answer is, I have no idea. Because I am not

God and I can't look in anyone's heart. Neither can you. But in reality is that it doesn't

as much matter what we look to in the past as much as today is the question to you today.

Do you believe in Jesus as your savior? Do you want to follow him? Because with all of

these different debates is that the struggle that we want to look at and take seriously

is how so many times when we lose sight of the father, we don't spend the time hearing

his word and listening to his spirit. Because that's the thing about our life of faith is

that that seed is meant to be grown and nourished and fed. We are meant to stay in God's word

to continue to grow in that and that as God's spirit is speaking to us, is that we are listening

and saying, yes, God, I know that I need to hear you. Because maybe there is something

that we continue to struggle with. Some sin, some failure, something that it is that we

keep trying to justify in our minds, but God is saying, no, I need you to let that go because

that keeps pulling you away from me. And that's a piece about what we see about the love of

the father. Because fathers, your legacy matters. You see, oftentimes what we'll end up doing

is kind of deciding, okay, I have to get this thing done. And then after that, everything's

okay. As long as I can get up to this point, and then everything's okay. I got my child

baptized. Okay, great, awesome. Good luck. Hope everything goes well. Good job. Or, oh,

my child got confirmed. They said that they believe in Jesus. Okay, great, awesome. Okay,

now go get a job and go figure out life. Okay, I don't care if you're 14. Come on, come on.

The world's expensive. I need you to get out there. Let's go. There is no cutoff point

where the father no longer matters to the child. And that's a responsibility that we

need to hear. But it's also a joy that we get to hear. Because fathers, that seed that

is sprouting, is still growing and looking to you for where to go. As much as our society

may oftentimes dismiss and downplay the importance of fathers where we have images and ideas

of the bumbling dad who doesn't get stuff right, your words, your lives, your actions

matter. And not just whether or not you've brought this child to know who Jesus is, but

are they now going to do the same with their children as well? Because that's what we end

up seeing here in this question is not do we worry about once saved, always saved, but

rather right here right now. What is the faith that you see? And what is the word that is

strengthening you today? And that is my challenge to you. But at the end of the day, you know

as well as I do that you're going to stumble. You know as well as I'm due that you're going

to have the times when you're like, well, I raised my voice a little bit too much today.

For man, I really did exactly what I told my kids not to do. Or oh boy, I really wish

nobody had seen that. But here's the thing about faith. Like a mustard seed. That peace,

that faith that God has planted in you is what grows. We don't know how. We don't have all

the answers. We don't get it all the time. But God is still working in you. The frail,

flawed, imperfect, sometimes small person that you may feel like you are. But the people

around you need you. And so for you, my words are that God's salvation is still yours. And

that God's spirit is still speaking to you and has plans for you. So wherever you may

find yourself today, I hope that you find yourself in God's word and that his spirit

is speaking to you. May you live it out so that others can see the Father's love through

yours. Happy Father's Day and thank you for all that you do. Thanks be to God.