The Posture Of A Father's Heart
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 6/16/2025Luke 15
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36:46
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez explores the divine assignment of fatherhood through the lens of Luke 15, illustrating how a father's heart must mirror the heavenly Father's posture of persistent pursuit, radical forgiveness, and restorative love.
Key points
- •Fatherhood is a divine assignment and a sacred mandate that requires men to reflect the heart of God regardless of family circumstances or dynamics.
- •A godly father possesses four fundamental qualities: he is present (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), he provides consistently, he forgives even when disappointed, and he leads with wisdom and discernment.
- •The parables in Luke 15 (the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son) collectively reveal that God's heart is persistent, hopeful, and focused on pursuing the one who has strayed.
- •True restoration in the Kingdom of God involves welcoming back the wayward with open arms, avoiding 'I told you so' moments, and celebrating repentance over perfection.
- •The older son in the parable reminds us that while God values the faithful, His grace does not rob the faithful when he chooses to restore the broken.
Scripture
Purpose
Grace
Family
Restoration
Forgiveness
Life application
This week, identify one person in your life who has disappointed you or walked away from a relationship, and intentionally choose a posture of grace by reaching out or praying for their restoration without judgment.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you been like the younger son, the older son, or the father in the parable of the prodigal?
- Are there areas in your life where resentment has replaced hope? How can you begin to clean your heart today?
- How can you be more flexible in your approach to younger generations while remaining consistent in your core values?
- If God rejoices more over one repentant sinner than ninety-nine righteous people, how should that shift our focus as a church community?
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Full transcript
0:00Everybody, let's stand for prayer as we
0:02get into the word of God. I have a
0:04limited time here to share this word uh
0:07with you. Father, we thank you. Would
0:09you lift your hands everybody just as a
0:11sign of surrender? Lord, we surrender
0:14everything to your will this morning. We
0:18ask that your Holy Spirit will speak
0:21to us
0:23so that in turn
0:26we can live for your honor and for your
0:29glory. Whether people are on campus or
0:32streaming, I pray that what you have
0:35deposited in me will somehow challenge
0:39them
0:40to be a true reflection of who you are.
0:45Bless this word. I have every confidence
0:48that you have anointed me.
0:51You have equipped me. I took time out to
0:55study and to apply the principles that
0:58you've given me in the form of a sermon.
1:02But my gifts alone cannot do it. Takes
1:05the anointing.
1:07So think with my mind and speak with my
1:10vocal cords today
1:12so that your name will be glorified in
1:14Jesus name. Amen. Come on, let's give
1:17him a praise one more time. And please
1:19be seated in the presence of the Lord.
1:24I want to bring your attention as it is
1:28father's day and it is very appropriate
1:32for us to uh be talking about fathers
1:38today. So the subject today is the
1:41posture of a father's heart.
1:45What is that like? What is the position
1:49of a father?
1:51You see, fatherhood is not just a
1:53biological role.
1:56It is a divine assignment and a sacred
1:59position established by no other person
2:02but God.
2:04So when a man is entrusted with the
2:07responsibility of bringing a child into
2:09the world, that role must never be taken
2:13lightly or treated casually.
2:17You see, a father must remain in
2:20spiritual alignment
2:23with God regardless of the attitude,
2:27absence, and the involvement of the
2:30mother.
2:32You see, the calling to fatherhood is
2:35not conditional. And I want all of us to
2:38hear this, not just men. It's not
2:40conditional. It is a mandate from heaven
2:44that requires a man to rise above the
2:48circumstances and display the character
2:51of God in every season. Amen. That's
2:56what God is expecting of a father
2:59because it's a mandate. A godly father
3:03must reflect the heart of the heavenly
3:06father even when his children fall short
3:10or when the family dynamics are
3:14difficult.
3:15So sometimes as men
3:18um we allow our circumstances,
3:22our difficult circumstances, and I don't
3:25want to name them, the dynamics of
3:27family drama to cause us not to step
3:32into the role of being a father. Because
3:36if father's role is rooted, watch this,
3:40in consistency,
3:42grace, and wisdom.
3:45I got to say it again. A father's role
3:49is rooted in consistency.
3:53A man, a father has got to be consistent
3:57regardless of the inconsistencies around
4:00him.
4:01A good father must show grace and a good
4:06father must possess good wisdom. There
4:11are four fundamental qualities of a good
4:14father. If you're taking notes, this is
4:17very important here. Number one, he is
4:20present
4:22physically, emotionally, and spiritually
4:24involved in the lives of his children.
4:28So today for all the men on campus and
4:31those of you streaming, you must
4:33understand that a good father
4:37mirroring the image of his heavenly
4:39father is a father who's always present.
4:43Physically, you're there for your
4:46children. Emotionally, you're there. And
4:49most importantly, because you are
4:51reflecting the heart of God, you are now
4:55spiritually involved in the lives of
4:58your children. Number two, a father
5:00provides,
5:01meaning faithfully. He faithfully and
5:05consistently meets the needs of his
5:08children without neglect.
5:11He's always there.
5:14He's all no matter what he a father is
5:18going to provide just like your heavenly
5:21father. Number three, he forgives. And
5:24this is a very special one because he
5:26extends grace even when his children
5:29disappoint, act disrespectfully,
5:33or suffer the consequences of their poor
5:35choices. A father is always going to
5:38forgive because your children are going
5:40to make dumb, stupid decision. Your
5:43children are going to act like they know
5:45it all.
5:48I don't know how many of you parents
5:50sometimes will see your children and
5:52they'll come before you and they act
5:55like they've been on this planet longer
5:58than you and you just stand there and
6:00watch them and say, "I'm going to watch
6:01this joker fail right before my eyes."
6:05But a father, he'll always forgive
6:08because your children will do things.
6:11They'll disrespect you. And how many of
6:13you fathers are suffering from the fact
6:16that your children disrespected you, but
6:19you find it hard to forgive them? I'm
6:22heading somewhere with this cuz I'm
6:24going to show you a biblical example of
6:27a good father. That even when children
6:30are presumptuous and disrespectful
6:35that you'll never neglect them. Number
6:37four, he uses wisdom.
6:41recognizes the uniqueness of each child
6:45and leads with discernment, patience,
6:49and understanding because you cannot
6:51treat all your children the same.
6:54They come with different personalities.
6:57Come on now. And you can't treat them
7:00the same because some need a little bit
7:02more love. Some you just need to leave
7:04alone. You know, don't stress over them.
7:08So the story of the prodigal son in Luke
7:11chapter 15 is one that's very you know
7:14dear to me and and it it's a beautiful
7:17illustration of the heart and the
7:19posture of a godly father despite watch
7:23this the rebellion of his son. The
7:27father in the parable remains
7:31steadfast
7:32loving and full of compassion. Isn't
7:36that the heart of God?
7:38that here is this son, the younger of
7:42the two. The Bible says he was
7:46rebellious.
7:47He was presumptuous. Your children are
7:50going to act rebellious at times. But
7:53yet this father was able to be
7:55steadfast, loving, and full of
7:57compassion. He never closed his heart to
8:02his son. And if I had time, I would
8:06really try to explain to you parents and
8:09in particularly fathers, regardless of
8:13how your children act, you should never
8:17close your heart to your children.
8:20Never never
8:24never.
8:26I preached a message few years ago on
8:28this stage and a segment of it I talked
8:31about with passion. Never give up on
8:34your children. I think it's hidden about
8:3630 million 30 million views because
8:40people connected with that. Never. No
8:42matter what. And this is not just for
8:44men. This is for women, too. I get it. I
8:47understand. Sometimes kids can drive you
8:50crazy. And especially if you're from the
8:52old school, you know, where children
8:55must respect their parents in the Lord.
8:58Come on. Y'all know, you know, we we we
9:00walk in the word of God. Esp can I go a
9:03little bit further? Especially if you
9:05have any Caribbean blood in you.
9:11You from the old school children must
9:14know their place. And if you get out of
9:16place, I'll kill you and tell God where
9:19I buried you.
9:24See, we you know, if you got the
9:26Caribbean blood and if you don't have
9:27it, I guess you're looking at me like,
9:29"Oh my god, these Caribbean people are
9:31evil.
9:35Your kids are going to do some crazy
9:38stuff."
9:40But this father instead he waited,
9:43watched and welcomed his child home with
9:47open arms restoring him with dignity and
9:52love. Remember this whole story was a
9:56message given to the church. It is a
9:59parable. It is an aslike principle of
10:02what the church should be, what the
10:05believer should be as it relates to the
10:09kingdom of God.
10:11And so Jesus was saying using this
10:14parable to say that this man,
10:18this father, regardless of his his son's
10:21behavior, he restored him. That's the
10:25father's heart. That's the heart of God.
10:28God is in the business of restoring
10:32backsliders. He's in the business of
10:35restoring people when they walk out of
10:37the faith. When they do the most dumbest
10:39thing in the kingdom of God, that's the
10:42heart of the father. You see, this is
10:45the posture of a true father's heart.
10:47Unwavering, gracious, wise, and aligned
10:51with the character of our heavenly
10:54father. You see, throughout his
10:56ministry, Jesus often used parables.
10:59These are earthly stories with uh
11:02heavenly meaning to illustrate the
11:06values and the priorities of the kingdom
11:09of God. These parables weren't just
11:13moral stories. They reveal the heart of
11:16God. They reveal the heart of God. Last
11:19week, if you remember, we explored the
11:21parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25
11:25where Jesus taught the importance of
11:29preparation and wisdom in anticipation
11:33of his return. However, today we return
11:38our attention to Luke 15,
11:41a chapter rich in revelation about God's
11:46heart towards the lost. Don't don't
11:48don't miss this. This whole chapter 15
11:52of Luke points us to the heart of God.
11:56If we ever get to the heart of God and
11:59understand how God loves his children as
12:04parents, we would never miss him. You
12:07cannot love people based on what they
12:10have done to you. I got to say it again.
12:14You cannot love people based on what
12:17they have done to you. That's why some
12:20of you have love like a faucet.
12:25You turn it on when you feel like and
12:27you turn it off when you don't want love
12:29to pour. But love has got to be poured
12:31out consistently. Even when you're
12:34offended, even when you're hurt. Even in
12:37marriage. Come on now. Even in mar. You
12:40can't just love your spouse when your
12:43spouse does right. Cuz sometimes your
12:46spouse will drive you crazy.
12:50See, I know you don't want to shout cuz
12:52she's sitting next to you. He's sitting
12:53next to you and you are scared to death
12:56that if you say amen, you're going to
12:59die tonight.
13:08Just keep look straight at me. You don't
13:09have to look at that for don't say
13:11nothing.
13:13And you know I'm telling the truth.
13:17You see Jesus delivers three distinct
13:21parables. Let me list them for you. It's
13:25the parable of the lost sheep. Remember
13:27that. The parable of the lost coin and
13:31then the parable which I'm talking about
13:33this morning of the lost son. Each story
13:37unveils a unique perspective
13:41on how God responds
13:44when his children go astray. Not only
13:47that, and together
13:50these parables paint a full picture of
13:54the posture of the heart of God.
13:58These three parables are showing us the
14:01heart of God. Now, here are four key
14:03lessons we can learn from this story uh
14:07of the lost son. Number one, the
14:10father's heart pursues the lost. Let's
14:14look at verse 4 to verse 7. It says, if
14:17a man has a hundred sheep and one of
14:21them gets lost, what will he do? What
14:24will he do? Won't he leave the 99?
14:28Come on now. Won't he leave the 99
14:30others in the wilderness and go to
14:33search for the one that is lost until he
14:37finds it? That's the posture of God's
14:39heart that God is saying that I will
14:42leave. Come on now. If we ever follow
14:45this, we will rearrange how we do
14:47church. The parable is teaching us how
14:51God looks after his children. that if he
14:54has a hundred sheep, if one of them
14:57strayed, he is so willing to leave the
15:0099. You see, our attitude is God, the
15:04one strayed. Why you going after him?
15:07Just pay attention to those of us who
15:09stayed and who are faithful and who are
15:12good in the church. Everybody's just
15:14wonderful. You know, we come and we clap
15:16our hands and we shout, we speak in
15:18tongues, we give our offerings, and
15:19we're wonderful. The 99 has been
15:21perfect. Why are you going to go for
15:24that one person who has left the fold?
15:26Well, you missed it. Because the message
15:28in the parable is that the heart of God
15:31is he he's so willing to leave 99 of his
15:35sheep to go after one lost soul.
15:40Can you imagine if the church will take
15:43that position
15:45that instead of us trying to scratch
15:49each other's back in the building, Yes
15:52sir. In the church expose our talents
15:56instead of us trying to affirm each
15:59other here. What about the people who
16:01used to be in the kingdom? Do we have
16:04any heart for them? Oh, I know they
16:06backslid. They went out of the the
16:08church and for whatever reason they've
16:10walked away from the faith. Why are we
16:12not going after them? Why are we so
16:15caught up with what position we can hold
16:17in the church?
16:21Why? Why are we so concerned so much
16:24about okay, you know, what we can get
16:26from God? I want to come to the church
16:28every Sunday to hear from the pastor to
16:29get my word, you know, and for the
16:32pastor to speak over me. Why are we not
16:34going after the people who used to be in
16:37the kingdom?
16:41I guess y'all are not ready for this
16:43sermon this morning. See, that's the
16:45whole message of this parable. And then
16:48it says here, you know, God is not
16:50indifferent to the one who strays. This
16:54isn't a matter of forsaking the 99.
16:57We're not The principle is here is that
17:00he's not forsaken the 99 because heaven
17:04rejoices more over one sinner who
17:07repents. It's in the Bible. Over one
17:10righteous who stayed. So wait a minute
17:12now. God in heaven is not having a party
17:16and rejoicing just because, watch this,
17:19and I know it's going to hit a lot of
17:20us. Just because you come to church
17:22every week, just because you pay your
17:24tithes and your offering, just because
17:25you hold a position in the church,
17:27that's because you've been good all the
17:29time. That's not what heaven is
17:30rejoicing over. Why? Because our
17:33righteousness is like filthy rags before
17:36God. What God says I like and I'm going
17:40to rejoice over is when one backslider
17:43comes on and say I surrender all.
17:48That's what he's rejoicing over. Are you
17:52hearing me? So the father's love doesn't
17:55diminish just because one walks away.
17:59You see, his heart leaned in towards the
18:03broken, the wounded, and the weward.
18:08That's the heart of God. Number two, the
18:11the father's heart is persistent and
18:14hopeful. Yes, in this story, it is
18:18persistent. Remember the second parable,
18:21the paragraph the lost coin, he talked
18:24about
18:26in verse 8 to 10, suppose a woman. And
18:29you know when I was reading this, I was
18:30like, man, this was written and this
18:33happened so many years ago and it is so
18:37relevant, watch this, to the personality
18:40of who we are. He uses parable. He said,
18:43suppose a woman had 10 silver coins and
18:47lost one. Why? Why didn't, you know, I'm
18:50just going to meddle with the scripture
18:51here for a minute. Why didn't it say
18:53suppose a man
18:56lost 10 silver coins
19:00and loses one?
19:03I wonder what if if he had just said a
19:05man, would it have real significance? I
19:09don't think so. Because and and I know
19:11you ladies not going to shout now, but
19:13but perhaps could it be that he he uses
19:17a woman because there's some correlation
19:22between woman
19:25and money.
19:28See y'all y'all y'all y'all not working
19:29with me this morning. But let me just
19:32read what the scripture says. It says,
19:34"Suppose a woman had 10 silver coins and
19:37loses one. Does watch this. Doesn't she
19:41light a lamp? Yes, sir.
19:44And sweep
19:47the entire house
19:50and search carefully. In other words,
19:53what he's saying, when a woman loses her
19:55money,
19:58she'll tear up the house
20:01to find it.
20:05So just as a woman carefully and
20:08persistently searches, so does the
20:10father. A woman is serious about her
20:13money.
20:16And all the men say,
20:19serious about her money. She's serious
20:21about her money. The posture of his
20:23heart is one of relentless hope that
20:28what was lost can be found.
20:32When the lost is found, the whole
20:34community is now invited to rejoice. You
20:38see, God's mercy moves him to act. And
20:43his joy is to connect to the return.
20:47That's man, when I read this, I'm like,
20:49God, you're saying something to the
20:50church because we've twisted it. We
20:53think God rejoices when we start
20:57elevating our self-righteousness.
21:00I'm right. You know, I've been done. You
21:03know, we Oh, I've been in the church for
21:0530 years and oop, glory to God. I've
21:07been righteous ever since.
21:10The whole two stories, two parables of
21:13the lost sheep and the coin is telling
21:16us the posture of God's heart that he
21:20doesn't see things the way we see it.
21:22Number three, the father's heart is
21:24patient and very forgiving. Luke 15:11,
21:29it says, and it teaches us that this
21:31parable is perhaps the most powerful
21:35picture of the father's emotional and
21:39spiritual posture towards his children.
21:41Number one, the pain of rejection.
21:44Pain of rejection. The younger son told
21:47his father, "I want my share of your
21:50estate." Isn't that bright? Isn't that
21:52presumptuous? I want my share of your
21:56estate now. Now before you die.
22:03That don't sit well with me.
22:06Your estate before you die. I'm not
22:10going to wait till you die for the will
22:12to be read. I want my money. Now that
22:17could not be a Caribbean parent. I could
22:19tell you. I'm sorry. I just have to put
22:22that in there. So, his father agreed.
22:24The father agreed. I told you it wasn't
22:26a Caribbean parent because no Caribbean
22:28parent is going to agree with your
22:31children being presumptuous coming to
22:33you and say, "I want my inheritance.
22:36There's a funeral the next day."
22:41So the son request
22:44was presumptuous and dishonoring
22:47cuz your children are going to dishonor
22:50you
22:52and they're going to be presumptuous.
22:54Next, yet the father did not resist.
22:58Sometimes love releases even when it
23:01hurts.
23:04That's the posture of God's heart.
23:07Sometimes we do him wrong, yet he
23:11releases love. The father allowed his
23:13son to make his own choices, even bad
23:16ones. You see, love doesn't always,
23:19Watch this, love doesn't always protect
23:23from pain. That's right. But it always
23:26waits for hope.
23:29With hope, you know, hey, you want to
23:32make your bad decisions, but you know
23:34what? I I know life is going to hit you
23:36a certain way, but I'm gonna love you
23:38anyway. So, ladies and gentlemen, the
23:41consequences of rebellion. Luke 15 verse
23:45I begin at verse 14 about the time his
23:48money ran out. Cuz see this in in this
23:51lesson in the kingdom of God, two
23:53things, two principles here. In the
23:55kingdom of God, when you walk away from
23:56God, when you think, I don't need
23:58church. I don't for whatever reason,
23:59those of you streaming, you know, you're
24:01just turned off by churches now. and so
24:02forth, whatever. And and and you say,
24:04"Well, I don't need God." And so forth.
24:06Again, the whole story and purpose of
24:08the parable is to teach us how we should
24:11operate in the kingdom and what life is
24:13like. So, you can leave the kingdom of
24:15God, but circumstances in life is going
24:18to hit you one day.
24:21The other story in the moral of the
24:23story also is that even when children
24:26disrespect you and they leave and think
24:29they know it all and they can get
24:31through life without your counsel, like
24:35this prodigal, his money ran out. All of
24:39your tricks and your ideas will run out
24:42one day.
24:44The Bible says a great famine swept over
24:46the land and he began to what? starve.
24:49And when he finally came to his senses,
24:52and I love that because at the end of
24:53the day, this is why I preach the
24:55gospel. This is why I love what I do.
24:57You know why? Because I'm not sent to
25:00condemn anybody. I'm not sent to put
25:03anybody in hell. My job is to preach
25:06hope to you. Because whether you receive
25:08it or not, one day, the circumstances of
25:12life is going to hit you so bad that
25:14you're going to come to your senses.
25:16you're going to conclude that you need
25:19God in your life.
25:23And so there are consequences to
25:25rebellion. Number two or uh the next
25:28point I want to bring out is the power
25:30of return. Luke 15. So he returned home
25:34to his father and while he was still a
25:37long way off, his father saw him coming.
25:40The Bible says the father saw him come
25:43in and with compassion, filled with love
25:48and compassion, he ran to his son,
25:50embraced him and kissed him. You see the
25:53father, watch this, didn't wait, didn't
25:56wait with arms closed.
25:59Are you coming back home?
26:02You took my money and now you wasted it
26:05and now you going to come back home
26:07where you think you going. No, instead
26:10he ran towards his son. Watch this.
26:12Here's here's the message God's trying
26:14to tell us in the parable. He every time
26:17you return to him, he's not saying, you
26:19know, okay, all right, so you wasted all
26:21your life. Now you're coming to give me
26:22what's left over. No, he ran to him with
26:26restoration because this is what the
26:27gospel is for. It is all about restoring
26:30people back to God. Watch this. The
26:33father, it was no guilt trip. Not even I
26:35told you so.
26:37Because sometimes when our children
26:40finally wake up, we're so quick to I
26:43told you so. You shouldn't have done
26:44that. None of that. He reinstate him or
26:49rein reinstates his son with honor. The
26:52father's posture is not judgmental, if
26:56you will. I'm not going to judge you.
26:58And too many times in the kingdom of
27:00God, we've got too many people who what?
27:03Judge.
27:05You see, the father's heart is just and
27:09what? Generous. When the elder son, and
27:11I'm closing with this, when the elder
27:14son complains,
27:17the father
27:18doesn't minimize his faithfulness.
27:22So, we're not saying for the 99 sheep
27:25that remains. We're not saying for those
27:27of you who have done it right, you
27:30didn't walk away from the faith. Those
27:32of you who did well, or if you're
27:34dealing with your children, I know
27:36there's some of your children are good,
27:38but the other one you got to pray every
27:40day. I get it. But watch what the
27:42scripture says here. The father did not
27:46minimize the son that was good. He
27:50simply clarifies his approach. Let's
27:53read it in verse 31. His father said to
27:56him, "Look, my dear son, you've always
28:00stayed with me, and everything I have is
28:04yours. We had to celebrate this happy
28:07day, for your brother was dead and has
28:11come back to life. He was lost, but now
28:14he is found." Did you get the message in
28:17that?
28:20He didn't diminish the older the older
28:23son and how he felt because that's
28:26that's just real. I mean, how could you
28:29just the younger? It wasn't even his
28:32time. He came to you asking you for
28:33money and you just gave it to him and
28:36now I've been with you. I was the one
28:38who you were sick in bed many times. I
28:40had to nurse you. I was the one who did
28:42all the house duties and so forth. And
28:45now my younger brother is coming home
28:47and watch this. And you going to have a
28:49party. You never had a party for me. And
28:53he going to come home and you going to
28:55find the biggest calf to kill. And you
28:58going to have a party over a backslider.
29:06You see, God's grace doesn't rob the
29:08faithful. He restores the broken.
29:11Because he did not come to save those
29:15who are perfect.
29:19He came to save those who are lost. So
29:22there's room at the table for the
29:24righteous and the redeemed.
29:27So what does the posture of a father's
29:30heart look like in today's world? And I
29:34close and wrap this up. Number one, it
29:36gives even when it hurts.
29:41It gives even when it hurts.
29:45Men,
29:46even when it hurts, keep on giving.
29:50Fathers, even when it hurts, keep on
29:53giving. Church, you're streaming.
29:58People going to hurt you, man.
30:01It going to hurt you.
30:03I've been doing this a long time
30:06and I've been hurt badly.
30:09What?
30:11There's some days I
30:16But you got to forgive
30:19because that's the story. That's the
30:22message in the parable.
30:25You're not going to like
30:27what people do to you. You're not going
30:29to like what your children do to you.
30:31You're not going to like their response.
30:35But you have to have the father's heart.
30:38Keep on giving when it hurts. Number
30:40two, it waits with hope, not resentment.
30:45Some of us got to clean up our hearts,
30:47man.
30:48I just wish our inside
30:52would be as dressed up as the outside.
31:03Some of you, resentment is eating you
31:05alive.
31:07Your bitterness and your anger has not
31:11only corroded you inside, it has
31:14literally disfigured your image.
31:19It has changed your external beauty.
31:23Number three, it demonstrates
31:26restoration rather than condemnation.
31:32God's not here to condemn you. It is to
31:34restore you. That's the heart of God.
31:37Number four, it honors repentance over
31:41perfection.
31:43That's the heart of God. It's about
31:46repentance,
31:47not being perfect. Number five, it keeps
31:51the door open for both, watch this, the
31:54angry and the bitter.
31:58God God doesn't get mad when you get
32:02mad.
32:05All of us have been angry at God at
32:07times when we don't get our way. He
32:09doesn't get mad when you are mad. I'm so
32:12glad God is not like man
32:16that he throws a tantrum.
32:20So ladies and gentlemen, I want to
32:21remind you that every earthly father
32:24should mirror the posture of our
32:25heavenly father.
32:27Be a source of love, not just rules.
32:32Not just rules.
32:34our boys at home.
32:37We we set boundaries,
32:41but we gave them love more than rules.
32:44More than rules. We let them develop. We
32:48may not agree with some of their
32:49choices, but we let them develop. We
32:52need to be open to correction,
32:55but quick to forgive.
32:58We need to be consistent in our values,
33:00but flexible in our approach.
33:05My boys know my values,
33:08but I'm flexible in how I approach them.
33:12Why? It's a whole different generation.
33:16When I said complete,
33:19different generation the way they think.
33:22That's when I deal with you younger
33:23people. I don't judge you, but your
33:27generation is completely different from
33:30me. And my generation
33:34I I my generation. Good morning. How are
33:38you? Nice to meet you, sir. This
33:41generation, what's up?
33:47My generation, that's disrespectful.
33:49What's up?
33:53So, I have to be flexible. So, when they
33:55come up, hey, Bishop, what's up? Hey,
33:58what's up?
34:00I'm I'm flexible.
34:02Oh, y'all not with me here. Y'all
34:05laughing at me, but that's okay. You got
34:07to be a reflection of God's compassion
34:10even when your children, watch this,
34:13don't deserve it.
34:17Romans 5'8 says, "But God showed his
34:19great love for us,
34:22that by sending Christ to die for us,
34:27that while we were jacked up sinners,
34:29didn't get it right, messing around,
34:33he still loved us."
34:35So, if you've walked away from God,
34:38if you feel unworthy to return to him
34:40this morning,
34:42if you've been judged
34:46and perhaps others
34:49have judged you and you've turned away
34:51from God, maybe you're even a dad and
34:53you think you flunked the test as a
34:54father.
34:56With every head bowed and every eyes
34:58closed, here's one thing I want to share
35:01with you this morning.
35:04the posture of a father's heart. Our
35:06heavenly father,
35:08he's always looking for you to return.
35:12Return to your first love.
35:15Wherever you are, whether on campus or
35:17streaming,
35:19return to your first love. Fall in love
35:21with Jesus one more time.
35:24Get back to loving him. Get back to
35:27saying, "God, I've strayed. I've walked
35:28away. you've blessed me so many times
35:31and yet still I didn't show the
35:33appreciation to be consistent in my walk
35:36with you. If you've never surrendered
35:38your life to him, well, today is the day
35:40to do it.
35:42So, if you know that you have never
35:44you've never given your life to Christ
35:46or you once did but you walked away from
35:49the faith, I'm just going to simply
35:51invite you to say the sinner's prayer
35:53with me.
35:55Then immediately after that, I'm going
35:58to ask you to please make sure you scan
36:02a QR code
36:04and let us know that you gave your life
36:06to Christ. That way, we can follow up
36:09with you, give you the tools you need in
36:12order to be on this faith journey and to
36:14be successful at it. Go to church, read
36:19your Bible, stay around the right
36:21people, and you will grow in the word of
36:24God. If you're ready to surrender and
36:27return to him, would you repeat after
36:28me? Say, "Lord Jesus,
36:31I repent of my sins.
36:33I embrace the free gift of salvation.
36:38And I declare with my mouth. I believe
36:41in my heart that I'm born again in Jesus
36:45name.