Keep Walking The Line

One more time, give the Lord praise in his house.

Amen. Let these young people know how much you

appreciate their service in the house of the

Lord this morning. Hallelujah. God is so good.

Amen. Amen. You can be seated for just a few

moments. We need to honor. Our fathers today

who are no longer with us, our deceased fathers,

we need to revere them as well today. Amen. I

hope and pray if your father is still living,

where at all possible, and if you can, wish him

happy Father's Day. There wouldn't be no better

day than to... relationship than on this day

if there is a breach there. Amen. And you work

through the rest of it. Sometimes you have to

work through some things, right? I'll be talking

to mine later on today. So thankful for our Heavenly

Father who knows us and loves us. Amen. So if

you're here today and your father is no longer

living, would you just stand today so we can

honor you with a moment of silence? And then

I'm going to pray over you. Let's bow our heads

for just a moment. Heavenly Father, I come before

you now and before this host. These who are standing

in your presence today, I ask, God, that you

comfort them with peace that passes all understanding.

And I pray, Father, in those just few brief moments

of silence that you reminded them of something

good. Of a joyful memory. A happy thought. For

some it is fresh and new. This absence. And I

pray for their comfort. Peace in their heart.

Resolve today almighty God. May this day be a

day. Possibly filled with warm tears. But I pray

God. That you are able. And I know you are able.

To restore joy in their heart and in their spirit.

It is the oil of joy. For a spirit of heaviness.

Lord, I'll praise you for touching your children.

Amen and amen. Amen. Thank you. The rest, if

you would, stand with us. with your Bibles, and

let's turn to Psalm 37 for just a minute. Psalm

37. The Lord's good, isn't he? Give him one more

praise while everybody's turning there. Amen.

Psalm 37, looking at verse 23. When I read this,

you're going to remember it. It's very familiar.

The steps of a good man. are ordered by the Lord,

and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall,

he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord

upholdeth him with his hand. I've been young

and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous

forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever

merciful and lendeth. And his seed is blessed.

Depart from evil and do good and dwell forevermore.

Simple thought this morning. Just for a little

while. What time is it? I'll try to. Okay, we

got time. Simple thought today. Simple. Keep

walking the line. Just keep walking the line.

Or my southern vernacular, just keep walking

the line. We'll drop the G and just leave the

N. Walking. Walking the line. I'll pray for you

if you pray for me. You say, we've prayed awful

lot. We've not prayed near enough. So let's pray

one more time. Father, I love you. On this Father's

Day, earthly, we glorify you who are in heaven.

Our heavenly Father, we praise you today. Honor

you this day. And I... Trust, Lord, you have

been blessed with the worship of your people.

For we magnify you. Now help me, Lord, be expedient.

And we that have ears to hear, may we hear and

allow the Spirit to speak into our life today.

In Jesus' lovely name. The church said amen and

amen. You can be seated. I may have reminded

you of some things in the past for Father's Day,

but I think it bears some repetition. to deal

with men, certain men, not all men, but some

men, it actually requires a thesaurus to do that,

to understand. Men, we scratch our heads when

we think about trying to understand women and

understand our wives. We do, we scratch our heads,

but can you imagine what they think about some

of the ideas you and I have? And sometimes we

don't always say what we mean, you know. And

for a quick run through a little bit of the source,

if you're hearing some of these statements, then

there's something else behind it. When a man

says, it would take me too long to explain, that

means he has no idea what he's doing. and he's

got the washer torn and strung out all over the

laundry room, and he's just hoping he can figure

out how to put it back together. I just don't

have time to explain. That means he's scratching

his head trying to find all the parts and get

this thing back together. When a man says, take

a break, honey, and you're working too hard,

what he actually means is, I can't hear the TV

over at Stupid Vacuum Cleaner. Would you turn

that thing off? That's what he means. That's

exactly what I mean. Cut that thing off. I'm

going to throw the breaker. When a man says,

that's interesting, babe, what it means is, are

you still talking? Would you hush just for a

minute? Remember. Women are required 25 ,000

words a day just to cope. Proven fact. Men only

require about 10 ,000. And by the time he gets

home from work, he's done. And you only got half

your day in. That's pretty good. When a man says

it's just a guy thing, it's a man thing. Now,

here's a good one. That means there's no rational

thought. pattern connected with what he's doing

and you have no chance at all making it logical.

It's just a man thing. You're laughing because

half of this is true. When a man says can I help

you with supper? What he's actually saying is

why is it not on the table yet? What's the hold

up? Where's it at? When a man says, sure, baby,

yes, darling, he means absolutely nothing. It's

a conditioned response. Don't read anything into

that. If your man's in the shop working on a

project you've asked him to do and he comes up

with a towel wrapped around his finger and it's

dripping blood and he says, ah, it's just a scratch,

what he's saying is call the ambulance or get

me to the emergency room. Right after you go

back to the table saw and pick up the end of

my finger. Ah, it's just a scratch. He had a

finger laying on it. Yeah, that's the way we

do. When a man says, I can't find it, what it

means is he actually didn't open up his eyes

and he didn't follow your instructions or where

you told him it was laying to start with. And

what he means is, why didn't you bring it to

me when I asked where it was at? That's what

we mean. Learn to function in the vocabulary.

Oh, here's a good one. When a man says, I heard

you, that means nothing. He says, I don't have

the foggiest idea of what you just said, and

I'm going to fake it until I make it, or you

tell me again. Because we are not going to admit

that we didn't hear what you said. Oh, I'm going

to preach. I'm just lightening you up before

we get there. When you're at the store trying

on clothes and you come out and say, how's this

looking? He says, that's great. That's terrific.

What he's saying is do not try on another one.

Get one of the four and let's go. Or at least

that's what I'm saying when I go. After four,

that's enough. We ain't buying but one anyway.

When a man says, I'm not lost, I know exactly

where I am. You're liable to never be seen alive

again. Funny fact, true fact, over the years

as we would travel to larger cities, I don't

do well in large cities. That's probably pretty

obvious, especially driving, I don't do well.

And believe it or not, men, I would surrender

the wheel to Sister Kathy. at General Assemblies

in the larger cities. She had a built -in GPS.

Don't ask me how. It boggles my mind to this

day. I could go in doing the registration, get

ready to do business meeting. If we decided to

go anywhere that evening to try to eat, she already

had it pegged out. There wasn't no hunting, no

GPS, no Siri on the phone. We showed up. She

could get you anywhere at any time. And I don't

care to admit that. Because I don't want to drive

in the city anyway. Keep walking the line. Oftentimes

with these Father's Day messages, just like from

time to time for Mother's Day, we can lean a

little bit too harshly. We can get too heavy

with what we're going to preach and what we're

going to bring out. sometimes we see it as moments

to correct everything in life. And that's not

necessarily, as I've grown older, exactly what

today's about. Today is about reminding men of

God that we have to continue to walk the line.

Today is a reminder for all of us. That we all

must continue to walk the line, the line that

is laid before us. And that line being the steps

of a good man, a good woman, a good person, a

child of God. Our steps are laid, they are established

before us and they are established by the Lord.

You can go back to Psalm 1 and begin to read

how the line is looked. Blessed is the man who

walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, sits

in the seat of the scorner, or stands in the

way of the sinner, right? There's a line. There's

a progress. There's a pathway for you and I to

walk out. And it behooves us to stay on the line,

to stay within the boundaries. And for us to

be men of God, we must keep... Walking the line.

Those steps, they're ordered. They're ordered

by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though

he fall. Listen, isn't this powerful? Though

he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for

the Lord upholds him with his hand. Oh, look,

men, sometimes we can get the wrong impression

about that we are to be perfect in life, and

that ought to be in the thesaurus as well, because

your wife will tell you, no, honey, you're not

perfect. Amen. We have built -in humblers if

you are married. We are humbled by those who

are the closest to us because we too become one.

Amen. And we are directed to continue to walk

the line. And to be a man of God, a father, if

you will, prerequisites to being a good father,

you first must be a good man, functioning as

a man, taking responsibility as a man, thinking

like a man, acting like a man, behaving, working,

and all the prerequisites of being a good father

fall in line with staying on the course and staying

within the boundaries and to keep and to continue

to walk in the established way that the Lord

has given to us all. Amen. You'll not be a good

father until you are a good man. It has been

said before. Girls, ladies, if you want to see

what kind of boy that you're dating, go home

for supper and watch and see how he treats his

mother. If he acts like a heathen to his mama,

get up. Dismiss yourself, excuse yourself, call

home and let them come pick you up and take you

home. That is not where you want to be. Today

in our society and culture, fatherhood is often

diminished. In so many different ways, I begin

to think about growing up and watching some of

those My Three Sons. I know that's way over some

of you's head, and watching some of those different

programs, and now you get Al Bundy. You know,

stuff like that. what fatherhood has become.

The role is being diminished, but I think there's

still a role for the man of God to be father,

husband, amen, and a good son within his home.

And we thank God today that our nation is trying

to make another turn back toward. I'm not going

to go through all the statistics and give you

those things. You just look up the condition

of fatherhood in America. It is improving somewhat

over the last few decades. a good thing. And

I thank God that in this house today, we have

some men who are endeavoring to keep walking

the line. We have men's men. Amen? We have men

that our young boys and our young men who are

growing up can look at and want to emulate their

life after. Right in this very room. You need

a godly role model to see and worship? Right

here's a good place to find you one. Amen? You

can find men of all trade, all craft, all character

in this who are keeping their feet on the line

and walking out the established pathway that

God has given for them to walk. And we get our

first example from God himself, God as our father.

Look what the psalmist said in 68 and 5. A father

of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God.

Aren't you glad that God is our example and we

have a heavenly father? I am so glad that he

decided to reveal himself to all of humanity

through the role and the figure and the character

of a heavenly father. Amen. And we have all kind

of instructions on how he reveals that character

to us in Psalm 103, 13. As a father hath compassion

on his children, so the Lord hath compassion

on those who fear him. Isaiah 63. You, O Lord,

are our Father. Our Redeemer from everlasting

is your name. My, my, my. We have that wonder,

that character that we are to look toward in

our life. In Matthew 7, 9 through 11, Jesus said

this. Which of you, if his son asks for bread,

will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish,

will give him a snake? If you then, though you

are evil, know how to give good gifts to your

children, will your Father in heaven give good

gifts to those who ask him. I don't know about

you, but I'm glad my Abba Father who is in heaven

understands the needs that I have, amen, and

he supplies every need that is concerning me.

I am so grateful that the heavenly Father looks

down from a throne, but he looks down with eyes

filled with compassion toward his children. Oh,

don't get me wrong. He is not a God to just let

you get by with everything. For whom the father

loveth that son that he loveth, he chasteneth.

What does chasteneth mean? It means he punishes,

he corrects, he brings into alignment. He not

only gives me what I need, but sometimes he gives

me what I don't want. Amen. I don't know of a

child that relishes and thrills and has overjoyed

in the fact of correction. Why? Because it's

human nature. We think we know it all already.

We think we've got it all going our way and we

don't need it. But when correction comes our

way, That is one of the most loving things you

as a father can do. Don't let your cheering be

heathens. Come on, somebody. We are to correct

them. We look on them with compassion and we

line them up. Amen. That's the way the father

does you and I. And I am so grateful that our

heavenly father looks down with eyes of compassion

toward us. And those eyes of compassion are love.

And they bring provision when we need it. They

bring protection when they need it. And they

also, those loving eyes. bring about correction

when it is required. Why? Because he loves us.

And I am so thankful that he loves me. Amen.

Aren't you glad that the Lord loves you? Our

heavenly father enables us to continue walking

the line that he's laid in John 20 and 17. After

he rose from the dead, Jesus would tell Mary

to go to his disciples and tell them that he

was a living and that he was well and that he

was going to meet them. He says, I am returning

to my father. your Father, to my God, and to

your God. And I want you to tell them I will

meet them in town a little later on today. I'm

so glad that the Father has mentioned over and

over and over and over and over and over and

over and how that his love is extended earthward

to those who call upon him and those who are

his. Amen. I have been grafted in. I've been

adopted in whereby I do. cry and I use that term

Abba. Daddy I love you. When I'm sitting here

this morning in this sanctuary thinking about

if the highest place that I reach is at his feet

I'm thinking my Lord there is no higher place

because his feet are above any and everything

in existence. His feet is above it all and if

I could just get there then I've acquired it

all. He is my heavenly father. I know this morning

that there may be some under the sound of my

voice that have not had a very pleasant earthly

experience with an earthly father. But I'm here

to tell you today, your heavenly father can touch

your heart. Amen. The heavenly father can relieve

you of that stress and that pain and that hurt.

And somehow, oh, don't ask me how. I can't explain

how. But somehow in the depths of all of that

hurt and all of that pain, the grace of his compassion,

his love will flood in. And it won't seem to

matter so much anymore because you know that

your heavenly father has never failed you. He's

never forsaken you. He's never hurt you, abused

you. He's never left you alone, but he's always

been there for you. Amen. God is our Father.

So if God is our Father, then what is man? Psalm

8 and 4 ask the same question. What is man that

thou art mindful of him and the son of man that

thou visitest him? Again, in 34 and 6, the psalmist

says, this poor man, we see all manner of conditions

of man. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard

him, and he saved him out of all of his trouble.

Speaking of man, Job would put this condition

upon man in 14 and 1. Man that is born of woman

is of a few days and full of trouble. What is

man? Man is formed from the dust of the earth.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and

the earth, and he created man. He formed him

in his likeness, in his image, and he breathed

life into him, and he became a living soul. Not

just a living body. Not just a living tabernacle.

He became a living soul. A man created in the

likeness of him. A man, body, soul, mind. Here

we are, Father, Spirit, Son. We are made in that

triune image of God. We're made in his likeness.

And thank God, after the fall, he sent his son.

so that we could be transformed into his image.

Hallelujah. Amen. What is man that thou art mindful

of him? Well, man sometimes is too big for his

own britches. See, if you go back and think about

that thesaurus just a little bit, has nothing

to do with the definition, has all to do with

the inadequacy. It's in my mind trying to get

it out of my mouth. The shortcomings of the man.

He has to fake it to make it because he wasn't

listening to start with. Follow me? The reason

he's off in a ditch and nobody knows where he's

at and there's no cell service is because he

was lost and didn't know the road turned where

it turned because he was too prideful to stop

and ask somebody. Are you following me? What

is man? Man's a fallen creature. Dominated by

the effects of sin. But yet being wooed by the

effects of a heavenly father to deliver him from

his own condition. That's what man is. Again,

37, 23, our text this morning. The steps of a...

Good men are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth

in his way. 84 and 12, the psalmist says, O Lord

of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in thee.

You go back to the first few verses of Psalm

37, and it's powerful. Because there's trust

mentioned. There's committing mentioned. And

there's rest mentioned. And committing our way

to the Lord. All these things are mentioned.

It's part of the pathway. It's keeping on the

line. It's staying within the parameters and

the boundaries that God has laid up for us. All

of 37 is simply about when King David had now

gotten older, it's just a psalm of wisdom. When

he looks back and he has a reflective moment

over how good God has been to him. Now he was

young, now he's old. And all of that span of

time and all of his life, maybe nearing 70 years

old, the king has finally understood that if

I commit my way, if I trust the Lord, amen, if

I have fear or revere and reverence for the Lord,

amen, then the Lord's going to be on my side.

And then we get further on in here and he says,

blessed is that man, amen. Let that man for his

steps are ordered. David looks back and he sees

the plan of God for his very life. him by a bear,

when he led him by a lion. Come on, somebody.

He led him all the way to the valley of Elah,

where there he met the giant Goliath. His steps

were ordered. It was all a preparatory path for

his. Stop looking at your trouble. Stop looking

at your rejection as something to take you down,

but start looking at how God can raise you up

and how the Lord of heaven is preparing you for

the pathway. It's not all hardship, ache, and

woe. There's some things and valuable lessons

learned in the process. of walking through. It

would only be after he took the lion. When Goliath

is out there in the valley, Saul is trying to

put armor on him that he cannot wear, that he

had not proven. He's trying to send him out in

a way that he's not been prepped and his steps

had not been ordered. And he said, look here,

when the lion come after my father's sheep, I

delivered the lamb from the lion and would have

been well enough to leave him alive. But he roared

up, he reared. and he come at me and I took him

by the beard and I slew him. My God in heaven.

If he can take the lion, he realizes that God

who had ordered his step was able to empower

him, enable him, that he take the sling of his

preparation and take the giant out of his life.

What is the sling of your preparation? Hallelujah.

Steps are ordered. Young men, start looking at

what God is doing and speaking and leading into

your life. Start looking and being aware. Well,

I'm just a kid. So was David when he was anointed.

Hey, you don't have to wait until you're 30 to

get anointed. You can be anointed and then walk

through the preparation in that anointing. And

time will set you in your place. But we want

it all. What is man? Thou art mindful of him.

Blessed is the man that trusts in thee. That's

Psalm 91. Prayer by the man of God. Lord, thou

hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

It's in that secret place of the Most High where

we must learn to abide. It's in that secret hiding

place within God Himself that you'll see your

pathway laid out before you and you walk if you

keep on the line. If we keep walking the line,

God is your Heavenly Father. He knows where you

are at all times. What are you? We are made in

the likeness and image of God, but fallen because

of sin. Now our need for him is greater than

it has ever been. Because you think you know

what's best for you. Huh. Look where that gets

us sometimes. Look where that leaves us surrendering

sometimes. So you've got God as your father.

Just a small description of what man is. So if

God's a father, then what kind of man is God

looking for? I think he's looking for a few of

those good men. For the steps of a good man.

I think he's looking for a few good men. Right?

Don't you? Men who have learned to lean on God.

Look. Young men. You need to hear you, Pastor.

I want you to listen good today. Learn at an

early age to lean on and trust the Lord. Learn

early. Good men take their families to church.

In our culture today, there's so much trying

to divide and take away. My mind just simply

goes back just from the past. A few weekends

running around with the grandsons, the ball field

after ball field after ball field. Back in the

day, there was no such thing as a practice of

any kind on a Wednesday evening. None. Practice.

Let alone anything else. That just didn't happen.

And Sunday was absolute taboo. No. Get the holy

water, find something. You're doing what on Sunday?

But all of the compromise of the age is crept

in and the church no longer sees this as priority.

You must be careful. Your seven and eight year

old at this moment is not preparing for the FIFA

World Cup. That's pretty good right there. God

is looking for some good men who demonstrate

the priority and who will put their trust in

him. Proverbs 3 and 5, trust in the Lord with

all thine heart and lean not to your own understanding.

That's where we start getting in trouble. In

all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct

your paths. Okay, let me just back up. Fathers,

I know I hit us hard with soccer and baseball,

but mamas. These little dance things that you're

taking your youngins to. Cheer camps and yada,

yada, yada all weekend. Careful. Well, we can

do a devotion. You can, but do you? We can do

a lot of things, but will we? Well, no, you overslept

30 minutes in the hotel. It wasn't your bed,

and you finally got to sleep. They don't want

to get out of the bed. You've got to get them

ready. You've got to get all this stuff on. And

you're fussing and fighting and screaming and

hollering, and there is no devotion. Amen, pastor.

Preach to us. Help us walk the line. I think

I will today. See, I wanted to go all morning

and not have to meddle, but I just couldn't have

it. You know why? Because I want your little

children to understand what the priorities are.

And the priority is God, family, and then everything

else. Everything else follows God. Something

we must remind ourselves. Lean not to your own

understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct your paths. Understand something

today. The Lord doesn't need a man. The Lord

doesn't need man. He sought man. We don't complete

God. God completes us. You've seen those people

that think they're God's gift, right? Those are

the people I'd like to buy for what they're worth

and sell them for what they think they were.

Make a little on the side. Yeah. At a funeral

last week, and one of the songs in the funeral

was, he came looking for me. He came looking

for me. When I saw no way out, he came looking

for me. He seeks you and I out. He sought us

out. How do you know? Genesis 3, 9. And the Lord

God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where

art thou? He sought him out. Is it just me or

just... Did it just seem like we took two breaths

and 30 minutes had passed? Or is it seeming like

an eternity where you're at? I've been trying

to condition myself to shorten, but it ain't

working. Luke 19 and 10, for the Son of Man has

come to seek and to save that which was lost.

He'd come looking for you. He's looking for someone

who will stand in a gap. Ezekiel 22 and 30, the

Lord says through the prophet, I sought for a

man among them. Talking about his nation, Israel,

his chosen. I sought for a man among them. That

should make up the hedge and stand in the gap

before me that I should not destroy it. Some

of the saddest words recorded in scripture. But

I found none. Isn't that sad? The Lord says,

I really don't want to destroy it. I do not want

to release my wrath upon you. And I looked. For

someone to make up the hedge. You've seen hedgerows

that's got gaps in them. He's looking for somebody

to plug the gap. To raise up a standard. To fill

it in. To seek me that I might not destroy it.

But I couldn't find anybody. Scripture says when

the Lord returns shall he find faith. Upon the

earth, God is seeking for some good men with

characteristics that follow shape. The characteristics

of a Noah who by faith saved his family. Of a

resolve of a Joshua. No matter what everyone

else does, as for me and my house, we're going

to serve the Lord. That has the compassion and

the love of a prodigal father. When I see them

returning from afar, I run to meet. Characteristics.

Characteristics. We're in a culture. Understand,

Uncle Sam wants you. Let me see them. The few,

the proud, the Marines. Semper Fi. Hoorah! God's

not looking just mainly for a sharp -dressed

man. He's had a flashback of years ago. That's

not necessarily what God's looking for. Unless

he has on the right clothing. If he's clothed

with the armor that he has provided, that's the

man he's looking for. Sharply dressed in fine,

polished armor. With a shield of faith radiating,

ready to quench the fiery darts of the enemy.

And a polished sword, not a rusty. but a polished,

not a tarnished, but a polished, sharpened sword

in his hand. Matthew 6, 25, Therefore I say unto

you, take no thought for your life, what you

shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for

your body what you shall put on it. It's not

life more than meat and the body than raiment.

Try your best not to be overwhelmed and caught

up with the things of this world. God's not looking

necessarily for an old spice man either coming

in from the sea. But he's looking for some men

who seek him out and are anointed by his spirit.

That's who he's looking for. That's who he desires.

1 Samuel 16, 13, Samuel took the horn of oil

and anointed him in the midst of his brethren.

And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from

that day forward. So Samuel rose and went to

Ramah. And that anointing that comes, according

to the 133 and 2 Psalms, it says, it is like

the precious ointment upon the head. It ran down

upon the beard, even Aaron's beard. It went down

to the skirts of his garment and would puddle

upon the ground. We must keep walking the line.

To be men of faith. To be men of power. To be

men of God. How does that work for everyone else?

That we be people of faith. That we be people

of God. Who walk in the power of God. It applies

to us all. But today I just kindly single us

out, men, that we be those in whom God is looking

for. That we are dressed. That we are prepared.

That we put on the garments of the new man, Colossians

3 and 10. Put on the new man which is renewed

in knowledge after the image of him that created

him. And that we take on this newness of life.

And we keep walking the line. We continue to

live out our faith daily. Stand with me. I'd

like for every man or young man in the room to

just come and stand in this altar. Grab them

little ones, whether they'll stand still or not,

it don't matter. Let them squirm, but get them

down here. You need to practice bringing them,

Dad. Put a hand on the shoulder. Teach them how

to react and respond. Teach them how to be in

the altar of the Lord. Teach them about God's

presence. Amen? Teach them. Instruct them. Because

our Father... Who created us. Men. Adam tried

to lay the blame off on Eve in the garden. I

read to you there in 3 and 9 where God comes

in the cool of the day and he says, Adam, where

are you? And from behind the bushes. Over here,

Lord. We're naked. Who told you? You were naked.

Isn't it amazing what sin does and how it affects

the reality of humanity? The innocence. How sin

corrupts it. And then Adam chimes in like he's

going to get out of responsibility. Well, that

woman you gave me. Men, that won't fly. You the

man. Now I'm just going to single us out. Young

men, hear Pastor Good. You're going to grow up

to be the man. If you marry and you have a wife,

she becomes your responsibility. You're not hers.

You won't be able to stand in front of God one

day and say, well, she knows a little bit more

about this than I do. The moment you come into

the light, the responsibility shifts from her

to you. Right then, you become the priest of

your home. It's hardcore, I know. Buck stops

with you. When these young 'uns, they carrying

on raising the dickens. You can't just scratch

your head. You go get them and scratch their

rear end. Get hooked up. I'm not telling you

to abuse your tail. I'm not telling you abuse

them. I think it's abuse if you don't correct

them. You can try taking the game, boy. You can

try doing all that stuff, but sometimes that

just don't get it. What are you saying? Go to

the source of the situation. You can't look.

When you stand before God, men, one day when

we stand before a holy God, We're going to stand

there and we're going to give an account. And

you can't look over and say, well, hurt, no,

no, no, no, no. When I saved you, you come into

the light. Well, she knows more about the Bible

than I do. Then get in it and read it and take

over Bible study. It's on you. It's not her now.

It's on you. It's the divine order established

by God himself. It's on us. Now, when these fellas

get to the age of some of these around here,

when they start turning into these boys over

here, what you've instructed them, instilled

in them, they become responsible for themselves.

They're going to stand before God for themselves.

Come here, Brendan. Come here, Lauren. See, for

a while, this big old boy right here, big old

boy, a little taller than his daddy, but I think

his daddy still got him. I know he thinks he

can take him, and he can in a few years, but

probably not right now. But see, he's no longer

his responsibility. He's done his job. He's surrendered

his life to the Lord. He's a grown man now, so

he's giving account for Brendan. And then Brendan,

somehow, it had to be God. If you don't believe

in a miracle work of God, look at this young

lady standing beside that. He's a good God. So

now, right here becomes his responsibility. He's

got a home. I've been in his home. Anointed the

doorposts and lentils in every room. Asked God

to be God over his house. That's a good start,

isn't it? So now he's responsible. He cannot

stand before God one day and say, well, that

petite little woman you gave me, me at 225 and

probably, what are you pressing, three? Yeah,

315 pounds he's pressing. You actually think

God's going to take that? Her, she did what to

you? She forced you to do what? Man? You follow

me? Thank you. Just an illustration that we understand

the importance of our role. Some of you standing

here are stepfathers. You've stepped into a role

that you've never stepped into before. It's one

thing to step into that role. When there's diapers

involved. Because you can step in there and begin

part of the formation. But when you step in there

this age, that's a little different story. Requires

more patience and grace from the Lord, doesn't

it? Doesn't it? Takes more patience and instruction.

So if you're... setting them down and you're

trying to instruct with it. Well, let's see what

the Lord says about our family right here. The

steps of a good man. Keep walking the line. Look,

guys, it's us. It's me and you right here. Y

'all know how I am. It's just us today. We got

to keep on the line. You can't let the frustrations

and the aggravations of griping and fussing and

and aggravating and all that stuff get you off

the line? We've got to keep on the line. Somehow

we've got to find the compassion of the Heavenly

Father that has compassion on us and pass it

on. Well, you just don't know. No, I don't, but

He does. God, your Heavenly Father, knows it.

Oh, exactly where you are. And if, let's just

take this scenario. If your steps are ordered,

are you not standing where he'd already printed

out your path? Then why are you griping about

it? We can't gripe. If we are where we are, our

steps are established by the Lord. So, the best

thing we can do is be the best man we can be

while we're on the line. And trust me, that ain't

always easy. And you can't pass the buck. It's

like being senior pastor of a church. Everything

that happens below lands right here. Doesn't

matter what it is. Doesn't matter who does it.

It always runs to here and has to be dealt with.

That's the way it is in your home. You're dad.

You're the priest of your home. Stand firm. You

get in the Word the best you can. Well, I don't

understand it all. Well, that makes all of us.

I don't understand it all either. Don't you think

there's some of this stuff I read and scratch

my head? That's why they call it study. You've

got to study through it. You've got to study

into it. And then when those who are under your

protection want to get outside the boundaries

and get offline, you say, no, that ain't what

we're going to do. Why? Because that ain't what

the book says. Now, I know we are the world's

worst about reading instructions, but this is

the book you can't afford not to read. I'm like

you. Swing sets, give me the picture on the box

and a bag of screws, and they'll be swinging

by dark. It may not be correct, but they'll be

swinging, and it'll be safe enough. But I can't

do that with this, right? I do have an image

to look at. That's Christ himself. But I don't

have the parts to do that. Woo! You know that,

what's that say? Some assembly required. Batteries

not included. That's the way some of that is.

It's just not included. Father, I love you today.

I could go on. I feel so driven in my heart today,

Lord. Oh, for those who are standing in this

altar for men of God. Their families are here

with them. My Lord, those behind this crowd,

would you stretch your hands this way and let's

pray. Heavenly Father, I know that we're living

in a day when the role of man, just being men,

is under attack, let alone being fathers and

husbands and being men of God, men of faith,

being able and willing to stand and talk about

you out loud to anybody. I know it's all under

attack today, but Lord, man, what an altar full

of men today. This is beautiful. What an altar

full of men today. For youngest to the eldest

in this room, Lord, help us keep on the line.

May we instruct those who are beneath us and

growing. May they see as an example how we stay

on the line. They come into this church, they'll

see big men, muscle men. They'll see little men,

skinny men, fat men, tall men, short men. They'll

see all kind of men, men with hair on top, men

with no hair on top of their head. But they'll

see them with extended hands and extended hearts,

hopefully see warm tears flowing down their cheek

as they worship you, Heavenly Father, that they

know it's okay to do that. It's okay to do that.

It's okay to worship. It's okay to be a Christian.

It's okay to be a child of God. No matter what

culture demands, no matter what culture says,

it's pleasing to you. Lord, I pray over every

young ear in this house, every young man, every

boy, every teenager. I ask God that their ears

be open and their eyes be longing to you. May

it be said after I'm dead and buried and gone,

if you've not come after them, may they remember

this morning when they heard Pastor Waters get

up and preach, keep on the line. Keep walking

the line when their lives get hard, when their

lives get difficult. May they hear the echo of

my voice. I lift it loudly, Lord. Keep walking

the line. Seek God as he seeks after you. Long

to be in his heart, beyond his hands. Know God.

Know him. Have relationship with him. Lead your

families. Love your wives. Love your children.

Honor them with correction and discipline. Honor

them. Teach them in the way. Help us, Lord, to

be men of God, men of faith, men of power. My

Lord, I feel this today. Hallelujah. Give the

Lord good praise in his house, would you? Amen.

You can be seated real quick. Pastor Brian's

going to come and draw.