Iron Men, Too!

Iron Men, Too (Father’s Day 2010)

13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 15 Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. ^[a^] So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself ^[b^] with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. (Mal 2:13-16)

5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." (Mal 4:5-6)

Insights: Relationships would be the cornerstone of the new Kingdom initiative.

• Malachi speaks of at least 4 failures (All of which disrespect Father God)
• failure of the impatient people to bring good gifts to God (Mal 1:6-14)
• failure of the priests to exercise & excellence in offering these lazy, maimed gifts to God. (Mal 2:1-9
• failure of home covenants (Mal 2:10-14) (Divorce & remarriage to foreigners/God wants Godly children)
• failure of tithes & supporting God’s spirtual and national work (Mal 3)
• God would restore all of this by restoring relationships (Mal 4)
• Relationships with each other would be reflect our relationship with God.
• God’s wants kid who’ll change the world and kids who are wounded because the father’s won’t get it together.
• God means that thing!
• Men play a key role in God’s new Kingdom order

Challenge: We’re called to save society. We reverse what Onan did & father children who aren’t our own.

• Men need a challenge. Father’s are men.
• Church needs to be a place were men/father’s are equipped to serve
• Society will change when men are secure. The Church should specialize in pointing men to God for security
• Relax: Secure men do not abuse power nor do they hold it over the heads of strong women!
• We must restore God’s dignity in the Church and in society!!

Hearing Hard Lessons

Positioning Ourselves Appropriately: (Set-Up of Sermon)

Are you in the right place, waiting for the blessing of the Lord?

Location is everything in cases where Jesus has arranged it....

• he told the disciples to meet him in jerusalem after his death
• God told Abraham to leave his father’s country (Gen 12.1)
• 1 Kings 17
• Kerith Ravine (A place where I have commanded a Raven to feed you)
• Zarephath (A place where I have commanded a widow to serve you)

2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." 1 Kings 17

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 1 Kings 17

4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. (Acts 1.4)

• Sometimes the location sometimes positions you to be a blessing to someone else. Blessings are not just for us. They are not meant to be a dead end!

As believers, we want to position ourselves for the blessing of being deputized (duly authorized and being blessed & anointed to be sent for and by Jesus).

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Hard Lessons from Jesus: John 6 (Learning Hard Lessons)

• The crowds followed because they wanted to see more miracles (entertainment) in Galilee.

• This was passover season & Jesus did a miracle with the bread
• bread had true significance (so did manna)

• They wanted to make Jesus a king because of his provision (This is that prophet)
• He went up into the mountain again

• Jesus walked on the water toward Capernaum

• People sailed to where Jesus did the bread miracle and didn’t find him there. They then sailed further to find him. (v. 23-25)

• Jesus isn’t impressed when they find him (v. 26...ya’ll didn’t come for a true miracle...you came for bread).

[We do all this searching for Jesus...but it isn't earnest. We seek a Jesus we can manipulate and not a Jesus who will mold and reshape us]

“what is the sign that you will give us?” Manna?

What will you do in order to earn our praise and allegiance?

1. 38 “ I didn’t come from Heaven to do what I want. I came to do what the Father wants”

• God’s will & work= believe on Jesus. (This is your job description)

* People are used to free entertainment without committing to anything!

So...Jesus started messing with their heroes...and their theology

• My Father gave you better bread than Moses

• I am the Bread of Life. No hunger and no thirst.

• You’ve seen me...but you have not believed ( although they’ve traveled far to see miracles).

This is the will of the one who sent me: Belief in ME & that I would give eternal life

Jews were mad ‘cause he spoke of coming down from heaven

• I am the bread of life (2x) & I am the living bread that came down form heaven.

If the people are already upset...why would Jesus keep on talking?

55For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Many disciples murmured. This is too hard to understand (v. 60)

You can’t come to me unless the Father draws you (v. 66). The people got angrier!

No man can come to Jesus unless his father draws them.

• Many disciples left and walked with Jesus no more
• what do you turn to when you turn from Jesus?

The people didn’t like Jesus assertions about Himself because his assertions clashed with their own view...and need for Jesus.

Not ALL the disciples left...just some.

Scripture is full of hard saying that people had to understand and obey....

• Sell what you have
• Sacrifice your son
• Rise, slay and eat
• Seek the Shalom of your city
• Preach to the Gentile
• Take this cup and drink it (to Jesus in Gethsemane)

*The point is not WHY this is a hard saying... it WAS hard and many left Jesus because of it.

• they didn’t crucify him....they just stopped walking with him
• they didn’t betray him...they just stopped walking with him

Sitting At Jesus' Feet (I did't get to preach this message due to the move of the Spirit, but here are my notes)

Sitting at Jesus’ Feet

Sitting

• The posture of submission
• it may initially look like one is waiting to serve, however
• It really is the posture of one waiting to be served by the Lord.

• Sitting is a passive posture <> crouching, stooping, standing, leaning, etc.

• Feet symbolize authority:
• Deut 2.5; 11.24; Josh 1.3; Ps 122.2

To fall at someone’s feet means reverence: 1Sam 25.24; 2 Sam 22.39; Esther 8.3; Acts 10:25

Rev19:10; Acts 22.8 Angel refuses to let John fall at his feet because he was not worthy of worship

Demonic man was found sitting at Jesus’ feet

There’s a place in God’s heart for those who look as tho’ they want a blessing:

• Jacob was really a swindler..but he got the blessing of Isaac.
• Gen 27 & Heb 11.20

Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob ^[a^] ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?" Gen 27.36

Romans 9:12-14 (New International Version)

12not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."^[a^] 13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."^[b^]

• The Shrewd manager was scandalous, but the Lord commended him.

• Elisha (2 Kings 2):

Verse 3

Mary therefore took a pound of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

Pure nard ...

Spikenard was a perfume highly prized by the ancients, and was produced from Nardostachys jatamansi, a small plant (which is) a native of the Himalaya Mountains. F4 The high cost derived partly from the transportation of it thousands of miles from India to Jerusalem. There were "cut" varieties of it, but this was expensive pure nard itself.

• Mary’s understanding/epiphany of who Jesus really was, caused her to sacrifice & serve

Sitting at Jesus’ feet makes us deadly to the plans of the enemy:

• Mary’s devotion to Jesus caused her to position herself thusly
• Others jostled Jesus as they jockeyed for position
• Mary wanted Him....They wanted to be connect with Him.

• Her posture showed that she understood both His Lordship and her servanthood

• Her posture caused her to observe things that others were too busy to notice

• Her devotion to Christ did not begin with the miracle of Lazarus.
• Her devotion → serious choices
• Financially (nard was imported 1K miles away from India) = Annual Salary
• Socially= It was inappropriate for her to take her hair down to was Jesus feet. This would change the way others viewed her.

Mary was extravagant with her faith and devotion!