Father's Day! Pastor Tim Dunn "A Man Among You" (6-18-23)

Welcome to Life City. This podcast was created to celebrate what God is doing

and what protects us. Our vision is to reach the hungry, the hurting,

and the hopeless. God has given us our heading. Join us today

as we listen to the word and we pray that God speaks to you in

this message. And so Happy Father's Day to everyone. But what I have

today is not just for fathers. I have something for everyone. I feel

like the Lord's given me a word for everyone, whether no matter the makeup

of your family. Amen, title today is a man among you, a

man among you. There were times when I was growing up that I would

start feeling my oats. You know, I'd start feeling spunky, especially fifteen

sixteen seventeen. You think you're strong, you know, you think you got

it all figured out and you're a man because you got one little chest hair

that poked out, and so I'm a man now. I got a shave,

but I'm not going to because it won't go back for six months,

you know, that kind of thing. Um. But I remember as as

as a young man, uh, you know, there were times where I

would get as my dad would call it, I'd feeling froggy and you know,

when I was feeling froggy, my dad say, you're feeling froggy,

boy, jump, you know. And I knew that was an invitation to

get my tail whipped. Um, but I, you know, I couldn't

let him know that. And so, uh, there was there was.

There was a few moments where my dad would often say when I was feeling

these he kind of draw a line in the sand. It's say you a

man or a mouse? You know. It was always this, you know,

um, And most of the time, come to find out, I

was a mouse. Um, but my mouth was a man. I just

my mouth. See, this is the issue. When you're a teenager a

guy and you're feeling that vibrato, your mouth writes checks that your body can't

cash, and and that that's how you end up with black eyes and busted

noses and all of those things. Um. And I remember one time,

me and my brother we were being uh, and so we were kind of

we were gonna kind of team up on him, and he realized what was

happening, and so he stepped back and he looked at both of us and

he said, if there's a man among you, come on, And we

looked at each other like, Okay, now we're insulted. Now we can't

help. We've got to go after him. Um, and and and so

I just thinking about some of these things. Um, is there a man

among you? What does it mean to be a man of God? Have

you ever thought about it? What does it mean to be a man of

God? A woman of God? There's always been times when God would call

true leaders to step up, someone to take the lead for what he was

wanting to do. There's always been those moments. And God is always and

has always searched for an avenue. He's always wanted to operate through an avenue,

a willing avenue in a man or a woman to work through for his

purpose. That's that's his desire, That's what that's what he wants. Men,

God is searching for a man among you to whom he can use to

reach your family and beyond. That's what he's looking for. He's looking for

men. And I there's all kinds of statistics out there that the church as

we know it, the global church, is Some statistics show it as low

as sixty percent some seventy eight, seventy nine percent women make up the global

church. And you know, Obviously the rest of that is is men and

children. And so somewhere along the way, our society needs men of God

that are gonna step up and take a lead for their family. Man a

man, it's not just attentive to church. It's about being a man of

God in your home. It's about being a man of God in your marriage,

treating your wife like Christ loved the church. See at that point,

so I'll tell you about meet my preaching. At that point, all the

men should have went ay man, but you didn't. You failed miserably.

Okay, you didn't say nothing. We got a lot of work, Lord,

Yay, here we go. We got a fast learner right here on

the front row. Tommy, give him a prize. Anyways, God is

searching for men to lead their families. Why because God has always wanted an

avenue to perform his miracles. God has always wanted an avenue to work out

his promises and perform the things that only God can do. He can do

it without you, He just chooses not to. That ought to make us

feel really good about ourselves, not prideful, but really good about who God

thinks you are. That he can do it without you, but not to

and he chooses to use you to do what he can do without you a

man. That's how valuable value well you are to him. Amen, that's

what he wants you to understand. And this is what set Joshua apart.

Our story is going to be about Joshua today. So Joshua chapter three,

verse one says this, and Joshua rose early in the morning. There's something

about getting up early in the morning, not just for work, but for

time with the Lord. Joshua got up early in the morning, and they

removed from Schiem and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel,

and they lodged there before they passed over. Joshua had one concern.

One concern, he said, I've got to get the children of Israel in

the proper position for God to work. I've got to position the children of

Israel in a place where a miracle can happen. I've got to get him

in the right position where something supernatural can take place in their life, because

as long as we're camped out here and shite them, it's never gonna happen.

We've got to get in the right position for God to do a miracle

and as leaders of a home, whether it be a father, a husband,

or a wife or a mom, whatever, the construct of your home

is. The one thing that we must take responsibility for is getting our family

in the right position for God to perform a miracle in our family, getting

us in the right place for God to do something supernatural in us. Amen.

Amen. Because I can't be camped over here and waiting for God to

do something here. Amen. We've got to be in the right position.

And that's why prayer in the home matters. Amen. Prayer in the home

matters. Why what does it do? It gets you in the right position

on a daily basis for God to work a miracle in your life. It's

not just about once a month prayer meetings at Life City. It's not just

about on Sunday mornings or on small groups. It's about every day getting my

family in the right position to receive something from God. That's what leaders do.

That's what somebody with the eyes to eternity. We can't just have eyes

for the next five years. Anybody's job. Ever asked you, where do

you see yourself in the next five years? Yeah, you know, you

keep asking me questions. Not here, No, don't say that in your

interview, you won't get the job. I can guarantee it. But Joshua,

he got up early in the morning and he removed and went and we've

got to get ourself in the right position. My question is this, When

was the last time you got your family men, husbands, fathers. When

was the last time you got your family into the proper position for God to

perform a miracle in your family? Or are you so busy with life that

it becomes secondary and true relationship with God has left to only your attendance on

Sundays and church events. Amen. This isn't this isn't a weekend thing.

This is a daily thing. Amen. Amen. Because this is the deal.

All of the pressure of your salvation does not lie on this pulpit.

It lies in you. You work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Amen. My duty is to come and preach the word. That's that's

my duty. What he gives me, I have to preach it. What

you do with it is up to you. If you take it out there,

throw it on the ground and leave it, that's up to you.

Amen. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it

drink. It's gotta be thirsty. Amen. And if there's not a hunger

and a thirst for the things of God, then you're gonna leave not just

you, but your family starving to death spiritually and thirsty spiritually. Amen.

And and and when you have kids in the home, and kids grow up

in a hungry and thirsty environment, guess what they're gonna do. They're gonna

find something to fulfill them. They're gonna find something to fill the void.

I pray that it's God, but so many times it's not. Amen.

And they continue to live a life of wanting, searching, seeking something that

brings fulfillment. And the only thing that can do that is God. Amen.

Amen. And so there's a divine movement of heaven for you and your

family. You have to believe that. How many believe that that there is

a divine movement of heaven for you and your family? Amen? Take you

being willing to position your family firmly at the foot of the cross, or

in this case, at the edge of the river. And this is where

we find the children of Israel. Joshua chapter three, verse seven and says,

and the Lord said, unto Joshua, this day will I bring to

magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that,

as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. This is

the thing about being an avenue, men, fathers, husbands. When you

determine to be an avenue for God, when you position yourself in the flow

of His power and his presence, guess what God's gonna do. He's gonna

lift you up in the eyes of your family and all those that matter.

I mean, that's what he does, That's who he is, that's how

he works. Amen. And so God resp bonds to Joshua by setting him

apart in the eyes of the entire nation. If you'll get your family in

the right position, God will honor you in the eyes of everyone around you.

You won't have to promote yourself. God will do the promoting for you.

You won't have to walk around proclaiming things. God will do that for

you. It'll happen by witness of what Because this is the deal. And

I don't have this verse, and I may butcher it. But what's done

in secret will be rewarded openly. That's scripture. Amen. Your personal relate

will bear fruit, even the lack thereof see, that's how it works.

We're like, wooo, yes, you see. This is the deal.

This is how it works. Your fruit is going to be known, either

the goodness of it or the sourness of it. It's gonna be known.

Amen, what's going on internally will begin to show at some point in your

life. Amen. So you choose what you're gonna show. You choose what

kind of fruit am I gonna bear? Okay? And so all right.

So God responds to this, and then going on in verse eight, and

thou shalt command the priest that bear the ark of the Covenant, saying,

when you are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall

stand still in Jordan. He says, I want you to come right up

to the edge of the water. I want you to stand there, and

I want you to wait. I want you to come. I want you

to position yourself, get yourself in the right place, because I'm about to

work through you. And this is this is what I want to tell every

single one of you that are here today. If you will get yourself with

no matter who you are, no matter your role in a family, if

you will get yourself in the right position because our world say, there's a

lot of things happening very quickly. Amen. Are the pace of life has

has just stamped the gas pedal. Okay, and we're flying through. It's

already the middle of June. Okay, and so um, everything is hyper

speed now. Amen. So if if our society is operating that way,

man, I believe, and I've seen it in the Word of God backs

it up. There is an outpouring of His presence and his power that amen.

And it's coming faster. There is an enlightenment, there is an there

was an opening of eyes that are coming, and it's coming quicker and quicker

and quicker. Why because there is going to be this moment where He draws

all men unto himself. Amen. And so we as the church have to

have our eyes open, and we have to be standing in the right position

in our relationship with Him so that He can use us to do things that

we can't do ourselves. Amen. I believe there are I believe miracles still

happen. Anybody believe that. Amen. I believe prayer still works. Anybody,

Amen. And so when we get ourselves in the right place, you

position your family, you position yourself in the right in the right place,

the right location. Amen, and you open your heart and you allow him,

You allow yourself to be an avenue for what God wants to do.

There is no telling what can happen. Okay, So I'm gonna show you

this all right. James five sixteen says this, confess your faults one to

another, turn to one. Now I'm just playing every mind to the plan.

It's like, oh, it's about to get really quiet in here.

Sorry. What I said about you confess your faults one to another and another.

That always that always perplexed me. Like, if you just confess your

faults I may not want to pray for you at that moment. Depends on

what you just said. No, confess your faults one to another, pray

one for another that you may be healed. Then this part is what I

want to focus on. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails

much. The issue is that our society's mentality has creeped into the Church and

we want results without effort. We want results without effort. We want God

to do it for us instead of through us. Amen. And that's not

how it's ever worked. Amen. Ever since Adam and Eve were created to

work through humanity. Amen. And so I've watched men, I've talked with

men, and they want the effectual part of that verse, but they want

it without the fervency. And that's not how it works in the Kingdom of

God. Amen. They want their kids to live for God, and they

want their wives to live a life of peace and true joy with all this

fulfillment. But a failure, a failure to pursue the presence and the power

of God with fervency, removes the avenue for which God chooses to operate.

Amen. And it's a crying shame that so many women have to lead spiritually

in the home. That is not how God ordained it of God's creation.

Amen. And I don't I may ruffle feathers with everything that's going on in

our world today and who's who and who's whatnot and all their whatnots, but

there is something that is still the creative order of God. Amen. And

I don't care what you say. Nothing changes the creative order of God set

forth in this book that we live by. Amen. And it may hurt

feelings, but their issue is not with me. It's with God. Sin

is still sin, God is still God. Right is still right, and

he's still faithful, and he's still good, and he's still just, and

he's still gracious, and he's still merciful. But he will not turn his

eye on sin a man. And it's a shame. It's a shame that

so many women have to lead their homes and their families spiritually. Amen.

We need a revival of godly men stepping up to the plate. Amen.

There's men that will be a provider, and that's great. There's men that

will be a protector, and that's great. That's your duty, that's you're

jobbing. If you're doing that, you're doing a great job. But then

they're there, and then see, that's all temporary. What about eternity?

What about your family's eternity? What about your wife's eternity? Amen? Well,

she's responsible for sell. Well, I could turn to a few pages

in this book that beg the differ. Amen, you as the man,

as the father, as the husband. Are they're covering all? Right?

I know I'm stepping on toes and it's supposed to be this happy Father's Day

message and I'm stepping on to you. See, this is the deal.

This is the deal. Guy's men, fathers, husbands, God. Just

because you don't let God move through you doesn't mean God still won't move.

He'll still move, it'll just be around you instead of through you. Amen.

And see this is how it works. See you see says Christ is

the head of the church. And then men, we're supposed to love our

wives as Christ love the church and gave himself for it, gave himself for

it. You're supposed to give yourself for your spouse. Amen. Amen.

She's not somebody that just gets a paycheck from you. Amen. She gets

you Amen. Amen. And that means you're covering of prayer. And your

relationship with Christ will be the ebb and flow of your relationship ship with her.

Amen. And so whenever there's a breakdown in your relationship with her,

the first place you need to check is not her, it's your relationship with

Christ. Amen. That's the flow and the order of how the relational part

of this thing works. Okay. And so you create discovering, you create

discovering over your home. Amen. And so this is what happens. Okay.

So that's the order. But when the man, if he ever chooses

to step outside of that direct order of God, God's still gonna flow even

if he has to flow directly into the mom, into the into the wife.

However, whatever it is he's gonna he's still gonna flow, he's still

gonna work. His creative order hasn't changed. You've just stepped out from under

its direct flow. And so now you become vulnerable to everything under the sun.

Amen. You become vulnerable to all the lust of the flesh, the

lust of the eyes, and the pride of life to be activated in your

life. And let me tell you this sin will always take you further than

you ever thought you would go. Amen. Amen, And I want to

say this. I want to say I commend you ladies that come without your

man. Amen, when your man is too tired or he's got a cough

and uh and he um, you know, and and and you show up

on your own. I want to commend you right now. Thank you for

doing that. All the men are gonna be mad at me after today.

All right, let's get back to Joshua. Everybody likes that. Yeah,

I wore my boots today just for this purpose. And good good for stumping

on things kind of like your toes. But all right, God could have

divided, So listen to this God could have divided the water without the priest

Amen, but they could not have done it without him. So God chose

to operate through the men who were willing to bear Check this out. God

chose to operate because he told Joshua, he says, command the priests that

bear the ark of the Covenant, that is the representation of His presence,

to go to the edge the brink of the water of Jordan and stand there.

And so what God's doing. God chooses to operate through the men who

were willing to bear the weight of His presence upon their shoulders, the ones

who were willing to carry His presence with them, the ones who were willing

to go through life with the presence of God being at the very center of

their life. God has always been willing to operate through those who will carry

his presence with them. Joshua was their ordained leader that day, But earlier

in his life he refused to leave the tent where God was, God and

Moses and Joshua were there. God was talking to Moses and God were talking.

Moses leaves the tent. Joshua stays put. Why because he fell in

love with presence of Jehovah. Amen and we as men, we have to

fall in love with the presence of Jehovah. And so they stand at the

edge, the edge of the river Jordan. And so there's this principle.

And Doug, if he was in here, he would he understands this because

of an engineering degree or engineering experience. So this is the deal. Water

takes the path of least resistance. That's the nature of gonna flow where it's

easiest to flow. Okay, so we understand that water takes the path of

least resistance. Revelations twenty two. Verse one says, and he showed me

a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of

the throne of God and of the Lamb verse two, in the midst of

the street of it. And on either side of the river was there the

tree of life, which bear twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every

month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Go back to verse one. He showed me a pure river of water

of life. The Holy Ghost is that river that flows from the throne of

God. Amen, and it will flow through the path of least resistance.

Amen. Meaning the Holy Ghost will always flow and operate in and through the

avenue that is most available, that is you and I. If you open

yourself up to be receptive and be an avenue of the Holy Ghost, that

river that flows from the will flow through you and into your family. Amen.

Amen. And then going back to Joshua Joshua chapter three, verse twelve.

Now, therefore, take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel,

out of every tribe a man, so there were some men among them,

verse thirteen. And it shall come to pass as soon as the souls of

the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord

of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the

waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above,

and they shall stand upon a heap. The avenue to your promise,

the avenue to the promised land, was through those who carried the presence of

the Lord with them a man. That's how it works. Whether you're a

father, a husband, a wife, a mother, a child, man,

or a woman, the promise that God has for you is always going

to be accessed through the power of His presence and your willingness to carry his

presence with you. That's how you get to your promise. It's through his

presence. I want my wife to come. Second. Peter Chapter one,

Verse three says, according as his divine power has given us, given unto

us all things. Everyone saying, all things. His divine power has given

unto us, all things that pertain unto life. Want you think about that

for a moment. I want you to think about the things that pertain to

your life. What really matters, what's really important? He says, his

divine power has given unto you all things that pertain unto life. You know

that power? What that power is? Bring that verse back up, Just

just hang out right there on that verse. You know what that power is.

It's the power of his spirit that desires to flow, that river of

life, that desires to flow and become a well that's springing up into eternal

life. I mean, that's what that is, He says, all things

that pertain unto life and godliness. You want to be like Christ. It

takes the power of his spirit moving through you. And then he goes on

through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue. Verse

four, whereby are given unto us, exceeding great and precious promises. That

sounds good, a man, I'll take one of those great and precious promises.

I'll take one of those promises that by these you might be partakers of

the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

So, father, husband, in order for your family to bear to

be partakers of those exceeding great and precious promises, you must become an avenue.

That daughter, you have to become an avenue that God can operate through.

If you're not amen, he'll still operate, you just won't be partakers

of it. They're still promises, the Word says, his promises are yea

and amen. Okay, they're still promises. There's still promised land, there's

still victories, They're still there's still all of these blessings. But until you

become an avenue that He can work through, he'll work around once you stand

with me. So this morning I'm calling on every man, husband and father

this morning that would be willing to stand at the brink of the river for

your family. Stand there at the brink of the river at the foot of

the cross this morning, and let the power of the Holy ghost begin to

move through you be an avenue by which God wants to impact your family,

far above being a protector and a provider and all of the earthly things that

will fade away and dissolve. What about eternity? What about your family's eternity?

Where do you stand as an avenue for their eternity? If you're willing,

God will perform miracles through you, not in spite of you. Amen.

So I wonder just where you stand this morning, if you're sitting with

your family. I wonder if you just reach over and grab the hand of

family member, your your spouse, your kids, whatever the case is.

Amen. As she begins to sing, I wonder if you would just live

one. Thank you so much for being with us today. We hope you

were blessed in some way by the message. To learn more about us,

check out www dot my Life City Church dot org, or you can contact

us at info at my Life City Church dot org. Thank you once again

for joining us, and we hope you have a great week.