God's Plan For Modeling: Pace-Setters in the Home

Sermon Transcript

All right, well, welcome, brave church. How you doing today, everybody? Good, man. I was on my way in here yesterday and had been alerted to the going the happenings out at the Pro Football hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio. And it's not every day that you're a part of a church where somebody gets installed into the pro Football hall of Fame.

Shout out to Randy. Gradish are from this particular church, huh?

Jeff and Timberly got to be a part of that, and that's kind of why. Or Jeff and Kim. I have a jeff and timberly at my church, so I got to remember Jeff and Kimberly when I'm here. But, man, I was watching this, and it was just like a shout out to brave church when Randy got up there, you know, and then I. He happened to talk about Archie Griffin.

I believe that's who shared the gospel with him. But he laid out the four spiritual laws that I learned in sharing my faith. He shared with the whole, you know, everybody that was watching that on tv and everybody that was in our audience heard the gospel yesterday through Randy. Wasn't that amazing? Boom.

And I remember I sent Jeff a text and said, I can tell he was trained at brave church Mandae. He just laid it out there, so that is awesome. He was. Randy was raised in northeast Ohio. I was raised on the other side of the state, northwest Ohio.

A big Ohio state fan. I'm a few years younger than Randy. I hadn't seen him for about 40 years, so I didn't know he'd gotten a little older, you know, but my first trip to Ohio State was when Archie Griffin was a running back there. But just to hear the story of how God has formed Randy, that was so awesome. And then to see Jeff and Kim sitting right there as well, and taking that in with a number of other brave folks, that was just really, really incredible.

So it's always a joy for me when I get the opportunity to come here. And I've been keeping up with your family's fortified series. I was here two weeks ago visiting some good friends of ours in Colorado Springs. He's a recently retired CEO of the pro rodeo, and he said, well, he knew Jeff. Let's drive up and hear Jeff today.

So I was here for that great message on marriage that we had two weeks ago, and then caught up with Jeff's message to husbands and wives. I want to just tell you, I believe Jeff is one of the best. Not only is he one of the best expositors of the word of God, but his courage in just taking on you know, a twisted culture today, but doing it just straightforward, from the Bible, with compassion, with love. I just think you got one of the best in the country. I'm just telling you that.

And so it's just a privilege to be connected to this ministry. I'm excited for how God is using you guys today in this city and around the world. And I count it an incredible privilege whenever I'm invited to share at brave. But today I want to continue this series by talking primarily to men when it comes to your role as fathers and what I call pacesetters in the home. So, dads, this is kind of my belated Father's Day message for you moms, it doesn't mean you check out, but just understand these lessons are for you as well.

But the homes in our country today are not hurting because moms are checked out. Wherever you have single homes today, it's usually a mom that's there in the home, and it's the dad that's missing. And dads, this isn't one of those where I'm here to heap guilt on you. None of that whatsoever. I'm gonna coach you today to help you know that you have what it takes to be absolutely the pacesetter in your home to the degree that you've maybe blown that already.

So what? Let's start where we are today, and God's going to show you how to pick up that role. Okay? I'm here to encourage you, but again, you're the pacesetter.

If every dad did what I am sharing today, we would solve most of our societal ills related to the home, because most of those ills are due to kids growing up in fatherless homes. And even where dads may be physically present, they're checked out emotionally. And this type of thing. It's been said that kids love their moms, but they follow their dads. I know that was true in my home.

I loved my mom. I knew I was going to get a couple of good meals every day. I knew she was going to take care of the wash. She was doing all those things that moms do. I can tell you, though, I didn't really fear her discipline.

Dad was a different story. I love my mom, but it's dad I followed because he was the one that was laying. I'm not talking about that cowering fear, even though I wish he'd been a little more emotionally present to me. I read a few years ago that in our penitentiaries around the country, on Mother's Day, when they provide Mother's Day cards. They can barely keep them in stock.

Those will fly out of our prisons on Father's Day. You barely see any taken. And it speaks to the father wound in our country today. And Malachi, chapter four and verse six lets us know that a part of God's plan for healing our land and what I believe is going to be part of the sign of what happens before the Lord's return. It says, in that healing, he will turn, turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

But notice who turns first. It's in the turning of the father's heart to the children that the children just automatically are drawn to the hearts of their father. And so one of the most awesome gifts a man can receive on planet Earth is the opportunity to shape and influence the lives of his children and dads. You've been given that gift. It comes with a built in power and magnetism.

Think of like you have this large magnet that exercises this powerful magnetic draw in its force field. You don't have to pray for that magnetism. You already have it just by virtue of the fact that you're a father. And today, I want to encourage you, as I said, come alongside you as something of a coach to help you steward that influence well. And in this message today, I'm going to focus on several strategic lessons that I picked up from my father even when he didn't know I was watching.

It's true that more is caught than taught. And I can only wonder what would have happened if dad had been even a little more intentional with me. My heart would have longed for that. But I still caught these things that I share with you today, and they had nothing to do with my dad sitting down and trying to teach me these lessons. Rather, they were lessons that shaped my life because of the force field he carried with him as my father.

I wrote this message for a father's day a few years ago and then had the privilege of preaching it at his funeral. And all of these stories I'm going to share with you today. I did develop a relationship with my dad over time, where he knew every one of these stories and what they had meant in my life.

Most of us are familiar with that powerful parental proverb found in proverbs 22 six, which says, train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. One translation says, start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it. Now, fathers here is what I want you to understand about the power of your magical influence as a father without your ever having to say a word. You are a pacesetter in your home.

That simply means the values that will most likely guide your kids when they are old are the ones they picked up from you when they were young. And I say, wow, what an awesome responsibility and opportunity. We've always wanted to be powerful men. Well, you've got that power just by virtue of the fact that you're a man and you're a father.

So today I want to talk about four simple but powerful principles that spell the word pace. So if you're a note taker, even if you're not a note taker, you might want to take these down. I've known in my, you know, I was always known as. I loved acrostics to hang things on. All right, this one spells pace.

P a C E. Here we go. All right, principle number one. Here's the p. Practice what you hope to instill.

Practice what you hope to instill. As I said, mora's always caught than taught dads your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk always talks a lot louder than your talk talks. Do I need to say that one again? You understand? And so, as a powerful pace setter in your home, practice what you hope to instill in your child.

Because the truth is, you will likely instill what you practice.

We find this principle in the most famous Old Testament passage called the Shema. It's a hebrew word for here, and it has been the centerpiece of jewish prayer and worship for centuries. Deuteronomy six four to nine says Shema, o Israel, hear, o Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one. Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.

So, see, it's first talking about what's going on in my heart. Love the Lord.

Then these commandments that I give you today are to be. Underline it upon your hearts. Where are they to be? First upon your heart. Then impress them upon your children.

Yes, we can be intentional about this. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you drive your car down the road or in their day, walk along the road. When you lie down, when you get up, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads, write them on the door frames of your houses and your gates. But what I want you to see is that you can only impress upon your children that which has first made an impression on you, such that it flows from the fabric of your own life.

If you try to impress upon your kids what appears to be of no value to you, not only will there be no stick factor in their lives down the road, but you will likely embitter them. You have only to think of yourself as a child and how your dad did this. If there were these glaring inconsistencies between what he was doing and what he was expecting of you, it ended up embittering your heart. That's how it happens.

As I was raising my own kids, there were times when they would say or do something that I was not particularly fond of, like in our, in our house, at least growing up, we never said stuff like, and I'm, pardon me, but we never said, that sucks. We didn't use that word. And so that wasn't something that we used in my house as I was raising my kids. But they got into junior high or whatever, and they come home and say, oh, that sucks. And I would stop and say, what did you just say?

And they would tell me. And then I would say this. Did you learn that word from me? No. Well, good.

I'm glad you said that because I want you to know that I don't like that word and that word's not allowed in this house. Okay? Because I don't like it. We're not going to talk that way. But if you had told me, yes, you did hear me using that word, then I would tell you, well, since I don't like it, I'm going to change so that you can't use my poor example as an excuse for your poor behavior.

That's setting the pace. Do you see, at my mom and dad's 60th anniversary in 2009, my oldest brother, Dave, I was one of ten. That's a lot of kids. But my oldest brother, Dave told of a time when, as a five or six year old boy, he got in trouble for smoking a cigar. He was out on the front lawn smoking a cigar.

My mom caught him and said, what are you doing? You know, and who taught you to, or said it was okay for you to smoke a cigar? And you know what that little boy's response was? Well, I saw a dad doing it. And 60 years later, my dad said this with all of his present.

And you know what? That was the last cigar I ever smoked because I was not going to have one of my kids justifying his smoking his cigar because he saw my poor example. And I said, way to go, dad. Amen. See, that's pace setting.

That's what I'm talking about. But let me tell you about several other values I caught from my father while I was growing up that have shaped my life today because he set the pace for me. One was the importance of worship and fellowship at a Christ centered, Bible believing church. Like brave.

I always say that all of us kids in my family, ten kids, had a drug problem when we were younger. We were drugged to church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. We were there every time the church door was open. You don't think that took my mom and my dad a lot to get ten kids ready every Sunday, Sunday night, Wednesday night.

We didn't always like the fact that we had to go to church, particularly on those Sunday afternoons when we were playing football on the lawn over my cousins or whatever. And it got to be around 05:00 and it was called, hey, time to come home, time to go to church. And we're like, oh, come on, do we always have to go to church? But, you know, little by little, that drug problem was wearing off on me. And I'm telling you what, I was only five or six when I can tell you where I was when it was like the awe of God captured my heart just as a little child.

And I knew, man, he is a holy God, Cal, don't mess with him. Love him, serve him. You know, this type of thing was what my little mind was picking up. And it was my dad that took the lead. And so I say to father, set the pace in establishing for your family a routine of regular church attendance and worship.

If it's just hit and miss for you, like, we go four or six times a year unless we're busy, you know, it will even. It'll be even more hit and miss for your kids because watch this. Now, I've seen this over and over again. What's of casual value in one generation will be of even lesser value in the next. That's just the way it works.

I'm grateful my dad set the pace. And because of that, my faith life has been greatly influenced by regular worship and Bible teaching and fellowship at a local church. In fact, I can't imagine my life today without it. I know what my heart would have been like without the regular intake of the word of God.

I'm grateful my dad didn't get bitter over the fact that he, in essence, had to leave his church for marrying someone who wasn't a Mennonite. Now, I grew up in the evangelical Mennonite church my dad was in, like, this old Mennonite church, so don't get the picture of horse and buggies. Yes, the Amish came from the Mennonites, but we drove cars and this type of thing. But my dad was in this very conservative old Mennonite church. And you didn't marry outside the mennonite church.

He ended up falling in love with my mom, who was a reformed woman. And my dad was going to get kicked out of the church for marrying somebody who was not of the mennonite faith. He said he was going to have to go in front of the church and repent for marrying my mom. He said I wasn't going to do it. But rather than get bitter, he did something better.

And he moved us to the best church in town that was preaching the gospel. And it is there, guys, that. I mean, that church had the most influence in my life over any other institution in the first 18 years of my life. It was there at nine years old, I first understood that I needed a personal relationship with Jesus and gave my life to him. It was there at eleven years old that I was baptized.

It was there at 17 years old. In one of the most profound experiences of my life, I had an audible voice call of God to preach the gospel the rest of my life. And it was at that altar that I surrendered my life to preaching the gospel.

Today, I believe the local church is the hope of the world. And I could tell you that conviction in my life was more caught than taught. And I can only wonder what would have happened in my life had my dad been casual about his faith or our involvement in a local church. One other significant practice in my life today that I caught from my dad was the practice of tithing my income, giving the first 10% of my income to the Lord. I caught that from my dad.

In fact, I've got a picture for each one of these lessons today. And this first one is of, if you can just imagine, the old desk in our living room where my dad would sit down every Sunday morning before we went to church. And I watched him as a little kid write out a check that he was going to put in the offering basket that day. And then he would come around and give us each our little quarter, you know, that we would put in the basket in our Sunday school classes. And I call that.

In fact, I just saw. Last week I was at my nephew's house and found out that he has that old desk. I didn't tell him, but he's not going to have that desk for long because there's going to be a place that it goes for me. I'm telling you I think of that desk as an altar of allegiance that signified to me what was of most important in my dad's life. And let me ask you guys, see, because I don't ever remember where I was first taught tithing, but I do remember where I first saw it modeled and without anybody ever teaching me, think about this.

Why would I, as a fifth grader, as a 6th grader who now is mowing four or five lawns for different neighbors and this type of thing, and then as I, 7th grade, began to help dad on the farm with the, you know, with the baling hay, baling straw, making money, $1.50 an hour, why was it just natural for me to give a 10th of my income? And I never did it reluctantly. I never felt like, why do I got to give some of this money to God? No, no, no. It was just like, I get the privilege of giving this to the Lord and investing it in his kingdom.

And my heart was just always, thank you, Lord, because you've provided all these jobs and you've given me a way to make money and it's all yours. And I'm glad that you're my provider. Why was that on my heart without my ever remember having been taught?

And if you ask me about the most profound influence on my own giving habits today, I tell you that was seeing my father sitting at the desk every Sunday morning writing out his check as an act of devotion to the Lord. So, dads, I just ask you, where is that altar of allegiance in your life today? And what does it signify about what you value most? The desk reminds me of this pace sitting principle, this pace setting principle. Practice what you hope to instill in your child because you're most likely to instill what you practice.

Okay, so that's principle number one. Practice what you hope to instill. Here's the a. Principle number two is acknowledge your shortcomings. Dad's listen to me.

Acknowledge your shortcomings because this. I know every one of us in here have some of those, don't we?

You're a pace setter. And yes, you're gonna blow it once in a while, but can I encourage you today? You're not alone. Every dad blows it once in a while. Because the truth is there are no perfect dads except the heavenly father that we're trying to reflect to our kids.

But here's the good news. Your failures and weaknesses and shortcomings will not derail your kids or your influence with your kids if you learn to practice this powerful pace setting principle this pace setting principle, acknowledge your shortcomings, accept responsibility for your mistakes and your need to change, and then ask forgiveness when you've been wrong. Guys, this is the key to keeping your child's heart opened. You, I believe. Listen, I'm giving you something very, very powerful right here.

I believe it's fundamental and foundational. Colossians chapter three, verse 21 says, fathers, don't embitter your children or they will become discouraged.

And one of the things that will embitter a child's heart faster than virtually anything else is when a dad refuses to acknowledge his own shortcomings and to ask forgiveness when he has blown it. Your kids know you've blown it. They're just wondering whether you do.

The picture carved in my mind here is of a John Deere tractor in a moment in the field with my dad one day that forever shaped my heart towards him. Now, listen to me. It's the first time and maybe the only time I ever heard him practice this principle. And it forever opened my heart to me. It will always be one of the special treasures of my relationship with my dad.

I would share these things, you know, Father's day or at the funeral or tell my brothers about it, and their jaws would be on the ground because they never knew my dad this way. Not they had bad relationship, but we just didn't share affection and show emotion and this and that. But when I would talk about this, they're going, what? That actually happened? Yes, it happened.

And it's a special treasure because of what it did to open my heart to him. And at the same time, it took me to a deeper level of trust with the Lord. I had just come home from a canoe trip. We would have a youth group canoe trip every summer. And this year we had it at the very beginning of the summer.

And our youth pastor had spoken the whole weekend on how to have a closer relationship with your mom and dad. Now, I can't say I had a bad relationship with my mom and dad. You know, we only know what's normal, right? I can only say that I longed for a close relationship. Like I say, there was no affection.

There were no words of love. It's kind of like we always say, well, you knew they loved you. I go, yeah, well, how? We never said it. We didn't do a whole lot to show it.

Yeah, but they fed you and they clothed you. Yeah, well, we do that for orphans, too, don't we? So I'm praying, Lord, I would love to have a closer relationship with my mom and dad. But I don't know whether my mom and dad ever even think about that. Would you show me?

And I was praying, particularly with my dad, because what would wound me the most is when he would unload his anger on me while we were working on the farm. I never heard an apology. And nothing. It was always, boom. He would unload.

It would wound my heart. It would make me want to close off. It would embitter me.

And I knew we loved the Lord. I knew we went to church. I knew we heard the gospel. I'm going. I think my dad has a heart in there somewhere that's sensitive to the Lord.

Would you please show me that? That was Sunday, late afternoon, when we were leaving the canoe trip. Monday morning, I'm up in my bed. My older brother Dan was just a year older than me. And dad comes up.

It's early June. It's been a wet spring, so he's got some late corn to plant. He's under pressure. He grabs us by the feet, shakes us awake. And again, we had names for all of our farms and stuff.

So he gives us what we're supposed to do. He said, just come over to the south farm, take my truck down to the iker place, pick up some corn, bring it to the 66 acres where I'll be planting, and then I'll give you your next assignment. So we get dressed, get out the door, get on our way to the south farm, and I heard him say that he wanted us to pick up his truck. Well, his truck wasn't there. Now, there was another truck there that belonged to another farmer, but I didn't want.

We're actually having a debate about should we take the big farm truck, should we take Ray's pickup? I don't think we should run off with his pickup that had the fuel on the back of it and everything. So we're actually having this discussion when I see my dad tearing up the drive 80 miles an hour with dust blowing all over the place. And the first thing out of his mouth when he jumped out of that truck was, I told you to take the truck and go. That's exactly what it sounded like.

I said, you told us to take your truck. That truck right there. Get going.

We jumped in the truck, both of us shaking our heads. My brother talking about the old man. My face is turned away because I don't want him to see the tears. And in my heart, I'm saying, lord, this is why I don't want to care anymore. Because every time I attempt to open my heart, it just gets hurt again.

The day after I prayed, this is what I get. I don't want to care anymore. So we drive down to the Iker place, we get the corn, we bring it back to the 66 acres. He's way down at the other end, just turning around, planting as he's coming this way.

My brother says, go ask the old man what he wants next. I said, I ain't going out there. You go out there. But because he was a year older, he always prevailed. You get on out there.

So this just represents me standing there, waiting for the tractor. Last place in the world that I want to be that day. Hat down over my face, heart hurting.

One of the most powerful things that ever happened in my life. And God knew. Cal, I've heard you trust me with your dad. My dad pulls up to where I'm standing. Normally, he would just kind of dial the tractor back and give us the directions over the engine this time, out there in the field, my hat down, he shut the tractor off.

It sounded just like this.

And then out of my dad's mouth, I am so sorry I jumped all over you today. That was wrong. Will you forgive me? Tear rolling down your face. Are you kidding me right now?

I could hardly talk. I looked up, I said, dad, it's okay. And I'm telling you, on my way out of the field that day, it was like the Lord was going, come on, I've got your dad. Trust me with his heart. You just keep your heart in the right place.

I'll tell you that. Forever was a moment that opened my heart to my father. I had the chance to tell him about it numerous times. He said, man, I don't remember that. I said, dad, I'll never forget it.

That was for me that day.

Dad's listened to me. I've had many times as I was raising my own kids, that when I would blow it, it was kind of like the Lord would help me remember the tractor, and his word would be, you know what? You need to go shut the tractor off right now. You need to go minister into your child's heart and open that heart back up again. I had times where I had to do that, even in the middle of the night, because I couldn't sleep until I had made it right.

And it just sounds like, here's the six words you need.

I'm sorry.

Will you forgive me? And I would go further to say, I want to be a better dad to you, and I'm trying to change this. So will you help me? Will you pray for me. Will you just know that I'm asking the lord to work in my heart so that I can be a better dad to you.

Swallow your pride and learn to speak those words as often as you need to. And, dads, if there's distance between you and your kids today, speaking those six words might be a good place to start. Maybe some are older and they're estranged and you feel like, well, they don't want to hear from me. Well, start taking ownership for what caused the estrangement and just let them know that, man, God's speaking to my heart, and I'm sorry for what I did to wound yours.

Some of you can only imagine what that would have done for your heart if you'd heard those words from your father. You can still choose to forgive him regardless, but it would change the relationship. You can just imagine if he would have acknowledged his wrongdoing, whether he'd own his responsibility to change. Humbly ask your forgiveness. That morning in the field shaped one of the most profound parenting practices I've ever learned.

As the pacesetter with your kids, acknowledge your own shortcomings. When you blow it, practice what you hope to instill. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Principle number three. Here's the c of pace.

Communicate affection and affirmation. I'm not sure where we learned that once boys are past the age of four or five, they stop needing affection and affirmation. But over and over again, I hear similar stories from people in my generation and older, of parents who, for whatever reason, were seriously inhibited in showing affection and speaking words of affirmation. My dad's generation reflects the sentiments of the husband who said to his wife one day, I told you on the day I married you that I love you. And if anything ever changes, I'll let you know.

You've known some like that, haven't you?

Well, for some reason, we need those words and those assurances more than just once.

At least I did as I was growing up, and I could never quite figure out why. In our family, we seem to be uncomfortable sharing words of affirmation and displaying physical affection to one another. All I know is that as hard as I tried to pretend, I didn't need it. I still long for it. And then, 1977, I head off to Bible College, where during my freshman year, I was overwhelmed by the affection and affirmation of a dorm full of guys, led by a resident advisor who saw through our tough guy Personas, taught us how to give and receive love.

Until then, guys, I don't think I'd ever hugged a guy in my life and can't say I really wanted to see that wasn't considered manly, but this guy's impact on all of our lives was profound and it became normal to give a guy a hug and say, I love you, bro.

And I discovered that I enjoyed being regularly affirmed like that. Right before we were to head home for Christmas break my freshman year, we were having a little time together in the dorm and a time of communion, and we were supposed to share with a couple of guys how we could pray for each other over the break. And I remember asking a couple of my friends to pray for me. That I would have the courage for the first time in my life, to tell my dad that I loved him. I was an 18 year old college student and had no recollection of ever having heard those words from my father or having spoken those words to him.

And I'll never forget the night I broke the ice. We got a nice little Christmas tree here. We would gather all ten kids, many of them married at that time. And we had a great. We would have great Christmas celebrations.

You could feel the love in the room even though we didn't speak it. Those were special, special moments. On Christmas Eve, when we would open our gifts, dad would read the story. Christmas story from Luke, chapter two. Mom would play some Christmas carols.

We would cut up and have the greatest time.

And on this night, a number of my brothers and sisters, now married, had headed home. It's 1230 in the morning. Dad is making his way to the bedroom when it was just off the corner of our living room. And I was there alone, big basketball in my throat, trying to figure out how I can tell my dad that I love him. But I stopped him that night.

Daddy. He turned around in the doorway of the bedroom and said, yeah.

I said, I just wanted you to know I really love you. And he came walking across that living room and right there in front of the tree, gave me a big dad hug with a tear rolling down his face. And I love you too. And I can only tell you guys that that forever broke the ice between my mom, between my dad and me. My mom had a harder time saying it, what my dad did.

But from then on, there was never a time that I left my father's house, that he came to a ball game, whatever. That I didn't give him a big hug and say, love you, dad. And he would tell me, I say to you, dad, swallow your own basketball.

And set the pace in communicating affirmation and showing affection. I don't know why, but guys, think about this. Jesus himself, the son of God, probably was pretty affirmed in his own life, but for some reason still needed to hear the voice of his father speaking in his baptism. This is my son whom I love. With him I am well pleased.

Even the heavenly Father showered that kind of affection and affirmation on the heart of his own son. I love the way the old King James version says it. Romans 1210, be kindly affectioned, one to another, with brotherly love. And I always say, if someone is kindly affection to you, you tend to know it because they show it and your kids need to know it, which means you need to show it. And yes, that expression of love may change in different ways.

You know, when they're teenagers, you kind of hit them on the arm or whatever. You know, whatever. You just. There needs to be affection and there needs to be affirmation. And I say, dads be the pacesettere in your own home because most of us can think of what the absence of that did in our own hearts.

I don't want my kids growing up without that right. Communicate affection and affirmation. Here's the final one. Principle number four. The e is exemplify faith in Christ.

Stand on God's promises. Trust the Lord through all the challenges and trials of life. He will be there and he will work things out for you as you stay faithful to him. Romans 828 is a fantastic promise, and we know that in all things. I want to hear you say all things.

Come on. Better. All. There you go. You know that word all?

I like to tell people I'm a greek scholar, and that word all comes from a greek word which literally means all in all things. God works for the good of those who love him, who've been called according to his purpose, and dad's as a pacesetter. That means you're going to have to demonstrate to your kids that you're a trusting God and you are humbly dependent upon him through all the ups and downs and trials of life. And their eyes will be more glued on you when the chips are down than at any other time.

What are the accused? They're taken from daddy. See, we're walking with a supernatural God who has made supernatural promises and fulfills them in supernatural ways. He will show himself faithful to you and your family as you trust him. This particular lesson is one of the greatest lessons of faith God ever taught me.

I might have even shared it with you before because it's one of the life lessons for me. The picture here is a lesson I learned my sophomore year of Bible college. I'm home for Christmas again. Freshman year it was the Christmas tree. Sophomore year it was the dinner table.

Because it was just mom and dad. Dad would come home. He was the boss of the farm gang for a corporation. But he would come home for lunch every day, and I'm the only one home. All my younger sisters and brothers are in school and others are out of the house and working.

I'm there alone with mom and dad. I come to the dinner table that day. I had never seen this in my life. As I approached the table, my dad had his arms crossed and his head down. And I remember thinking, he looks depressed.

I'd never seen my dad depressed. And so I said, dad, are you okay?

He said to me, I have a $300 fuel bill that I don't know how I'm going to pay now. Go back and do the mathematic. $300 in 1979, what that would be today on a meager farm income budget with ten kids and Christmas time when you're trying to buy a few gifts. I had no idea that sometimes they just borrowed money to buy gifts.

I remember feeling this heaviness for him. I had been reading great books of faith at the Bible college. Charles Finney Moody, George Mueller. And I wanted to say, well, come on, dad, let's pray and let's trust God.

But that's not what I said because I didn't want to sound super spiritual. And, you know, while we knew the Lord, we didn't really pray like that in our home.

And can I tell you, I probably didn't have a lot of faith that maybe God was going to somehow dropped $300 on us. I kind of wish today that I at least laid my hand on him and say, lord, would you lift the weight off my dad, let him know that you love him. But I didn't do that. We ate in silence. Dad headed back to work.

But after work, I went up to my bedroom, one of the greatest lessons the Lord ever gave me. I got down on my knee at my bed and I prayed something like this. Lord, God, it has always been so difficult for my father. Here it is, Christmas time. He's trying to celebrate.

He's got ten kids. He wants to buy gifts. And now we've got this $300 hanging like a weight around his neck. God, I know you're the provider. I've read the stories of what you've done for others.

You can do it for us. Would you show us a miracle of your provision, lord? And would you lift that weight off my dad's heart? I don't know how long I was at prayer, but what I will tell you 05:00 that night, I'll never forget it. My dad came through the door with an unexpected bonus check from Louville brothers.

An unexpected Christmas bonus check. Anybody care to guess how much when he opened it up? $300. That's the God we serve.

Do you know what that did for my 21 year old faith? I came here to tell somebody today it may be noon. Your head's down on the table. You're not sure how God's going to come through. Your kids are watching.

Lift up your head. I want to tell you. It may be noon, but your five o'clock's coming. You're walking with a goddess who has supernatural provision.

Can I tell you, my God was there for my dad the day before he went into farming. He ran heavy equipment. He was a bulldozer operator and a good one at that. But he had a truck trailer and a bulldozer and up in Morenci, Michigan, going across a bridge one day. The whole thing collapsed.

I wouldn't be here had not the God of my father spared him. We have pictures of that day. The back of the truck is hanging over the edge of the bridge. The cab is resting on its tank. He said, I felt like if I moved, that whole truck was going to go over backwards.

The trailer is floating down there, 30ft below in the river and all you can see is the blade of the bulldozer above the water.

Thank you, God, that you protected my dad that day. My God was there the day a car ran up under the back of the farm truck my dad was driving and rolled it several times. My dad climbed out through a window with nothing more than a bruise on his leg. My God was there the day my dad fell 40ft down a silo. He was taken out one of those doors up there.

His feet slipped off. He ended up with only a fractured heel, crawled to the truck, drove himself to the doctor, had it surgically repaired. Yes. He was in a boot for a long time and putting that heel looked like it was a puzzle that needed to be put back together again. And do you know that was in his forties.

He lived to be 94 and never had another pain in that heel. As God healed him.

My God was there the day my dad fell asleep at the wheel of his car. 83 years old and at 60 miles an hour hit a four ton pillar of cement.

I think my dad, in his 94 years, wore out more than a few angels.

I smiled to myself because I can imagine God putting an angel on assignment for my dad. And the angel is saying, lord, do I have to? He's a tough assignment.

But that God was my father's God for 94 years and that God is the God I'm walking with today.

He's the God of my protection, the God of my provision, my peace, my pardon, my power, and anything else I need because he is the God of promise. And that same God will be there for you. Dad, you're the pacesetter. Your children cannot escape your influence. Anchor your faith in Jesus Christ.

Look daily to your heavenly father for help. Walk with him and ask him for wisdom and grace as you set the pace, and God will be faithful to you and to your kids for generations to come. And one day they will rise up and call you blessed because you, daddy, we're the pacesetter and I'm walking with your God because I saw you walk with him. Amen. Can you give God praise for that?

Today I'm going to ask the worship team to come. We're going to sing this one final song. I want to just ask you to stand for prayer right now. And we're going to have the prayer team down here. And I want to just say to dads today, I don't know which direction you need to take the application here, but I do know in my life that something happens when I just take a step of faith.

Maybe for some of you, you feel like you're doing well, but I just need to come and cement these things in my life again today. Say, lord, you've made me a pay setter. I want to be the best one I can be.

Maybe for some of you, you've got estranged kids today and you're not sure what you need to do to reach out to them and bring them back. You know what? Maybe for you it's coming and uniting your heart in prayer with someone who will say, you know, God wants to bring that one back and he'll give you the wisdom and the guidance as to how to reach out. Maybe for some of you it's just, Lord, would you release my heart from the regret, the guilt and the shame of how I failed so that I can start over new with you today and be a reflection of what you want me to be? Maybe for some of you, it's I need to get in relationship with this father who loves me.

I don't know what it is for you today, but listen, just nail some things down before you leave and if again, you need to come, these guys would be glad to just hear your heart and pray with you about what God is speaking to you today. And, moms, if you're there, too, sometimes the best thing for dad is just, hey, I know you're the pacesetter, and I want you to know I'm your biggest cheerleader and you have all my prayers for whatever God is speaking to you right now. Father, in Jesus name I say thank you.

Thank you that you've been an incredible father to all of us and to the degree that our earthly fathers represented you well, we thank you for that to the degree that they didn't. We're not going to make excuses anymore. We want to bring you a heart, Lord, that says, rescue my heart, train my heart. Forgive me where I need to be forgiven, Lord. Help me to stand in this generation as a pace setter in my family with my grandkids.

Wherever we may be with regard to our family, God, may we be a reflection of your heart. In Jesus name.