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Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 Role models: that is what they talk about when they talk about fathering now days. It is all about role models. Who was your role model? What did you learn from their example? What kind of example are you setting for others? We learn by watching. Especially us guys. We certainly don't learn by listening, our wives will tell you that! You know the old saying, "Do what a say and not what I do." Well too often what we say gets drowned out because what we are doing is too loud. So, who are our role models as Christian fathers and grandfathers? Of course God the Father, but those shoes are a little too big for most of us. What is a little more down to earth example? One of the first examples of fatherhood in the Bible is Father Abraham. His name "Abraham" is based on the same root as "Abba" which means father. Certainly Abraham was not perfect. Just read Genesis and you will find that out. But how is he an example for fathers today? First of all Abraham welcomed God. In our story today God comes to Abraham. In the heat of the day Abraham was resting in the entrance to his tent where he was shaded from the Sun and he could feel the wind. Then he saw three strangers. He didn't know that these were the Lord and two angels. But he welcomed them. Even though Abraham did not know at first who he was welcoming I believe this incident shows the openness of his heart. How can we be open to God? It is a stance that we have to take with life. The fact that you are here shows a certain openness to God. Placing ourselves where we can be influenced by God shows an openness to God. Reading the Bible, worshipping, praying are all important ways that we open ourselves to God. Have your children or grandchildren ever seen you pray? You know, I think the problem is that most men don't know how to pray. You know we guys are the strong silent type. We are not big on communication. But praying is just talking. It doesn't take any flowery speech or even correct grammar. Have you ever had a friend that no mater what you say they know what you mean. Well, God already knows what you mean before you say it - He's just waiting to hear you say it. How is Abraham a role model for father's today? Abraham was open to God and he trusted in the Lord. The first part of the passage we read tells of God having a little fun with Abraham. God appears in disguised as an ordinary traveler. Appearing as an ordinary traveler he predicts that Sarah will have a baby. Sarah laughs because she doesn't realize that this is God. Then God said, "Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?" It was then that they realized this was no ordinary traveler. I believe that the fact that God could pull this practical joke on Abraham shows the kind of relationship they had. Guys, you know that there are some people you just don't joke with. There is not enough trust in the relationship for them not to misunderstand. But then there are friends that you can joke with because there are years of trust between you. God knew that Abraham trusted him enough that he could joke with Abraham and have a little laugh with him and Sarah. What kind of relationship do you have with God? Is it a tenuous and shaky one? Or is it one where trust has developed over years of interaction? Your children and grandchildren will see what level of trust you have in the way you face crises in your life. So take time to get to know God. Develop a deep level of trust and your children will see that trust. How is Abraham a role model for father's today? Abraham was open to God, he trusted in the Lord, and he rejoiced at God's goodness. Now I don't want you to get the idea that Abraham's relationship with God was not without its problems. There were difficult periods. Just read the chapters between the two passages in our lesson today and you will see. But in the end Abraham was able to rejoice in what the Lord had done for him. Notice it was Abraham who gave Isaac his name. Isaac means "Laughter." Abraham was celebrating the laughter of Joy that God had given him. Every time he called his boy he would remember the laughter of God's joke under the oaks of Mamre. And at the same time he would celebrate the joy of God's promise of a child being fulfilled. Do you celebrate God's goodness in your life? When something good happens is your first response to give thanks to God. Come on now guys, when one of our sports teams pulls off a great play we have no problem celebrating. We jump up and down. We even dress for such occasions and prepare to celebrate. Now I am not suggesting that you should come to church with your chest painted red or orange, please! But I am saying our children should see us taking joy in praising and worshipping God. Even if you can't sing well, even if you can carry a tune in front loader, you can make a joyful noise. Fathers, and I am not just talking to those who have been primary caregivers to children � (I am talking to all the men of the church. All the uncles and godfathers and all who in the church are fathers and grandfathers in the faith.) Fathers, follow the example of Abraham. Be open to God. Develop a relationship of trust with God. Rejoice at the goodness of God. Perhaps the overriding theme in this lesson is the joy and laughter. Is your faith a source of joy? One day a child asked the preacher "Is it true that God puts joy in our hearts if we love him." The preacher decided to step out on a limb and said "Yes." At pointing to some of the people in the church the child said "Well, I think someone forgot to tell their faces." Abraham laughed his way all the way to eternity. Do your children see the joy and the laughter of God when they look at your face? I am not saying that we should not be reverent. But you can be reverent and smile at the same time. You can be religious and have fun. If you don't believe me, just take a look at Abraham. Genesis 18:1-15 Once day Jesus went golfing with St. Peter. When Jesus got ready to tee off he pulled out a nine iron. St. Peter said, "Lord, excuse me but you don't use a nine iron to tee off. If you do the ball will go into the water hazard over there. Only Tiger Woods could use a nine iron and hope to get the ball over the water." Jesus said, "If Tiger Woods can do it, I can do it." So Jesus used the nine iron anyway and the ball went into the water hazard just as Peter had said. Since Jesus had been so gracious to forgive his sins, St. Peter decided to show the same grace to Jesus. So they gave Jesus another chance. So Jesus walked down to the pond to get his ball. When he got there he stepped out onto the pond, walked across the water until he saw the ball. Then Jesus reached down into the water for his ball. He put the ball back on the tee and started to use the nine iron again. Peter said, "Lord, you know best, but I told you before; only Tiger Woods could hit that ball over the water with a nine iron. Jesus said, "If Tiger Woods can do it I can do it." So Jesus hit the ball into the water again. Jesus had forgiven Peter three times for the same mistake so he decided to give Jesus another chance. So Once again Jesus went down to the pond and walked out on the water to find his ball. As Jesus was out there walking on the water looking for his ball a group came up to play and one of them saw Jesus out walking on the water. He fell to his knees and in amazement blurted out, "Who does he think he is, Jesus Christ!?" Peter said, "He is Jesus Christ. But he thinks he's Tiger Woods." I am not a good joke teller. Maybe my timing is off or something because a lot of time when I tell a joke people don't laugh. So I don't tell a lot of jokes. But God can tell a joke. You may not realize this but God has a great sense of humor. The problem is sometimes people are afraid to laugh at God's jokes. The Story I read from Genesis is a joke. It's a story with a humorous ending. Perhaps more accurately it is a story about a practical joke. Not the kind of mean spirited practical joke that people play on each other, but a practical joke full of grace and love. You see God wanted to bless Abraham and Sarah again, but God wanted to have fun with them too. So one day God and two angels came to visit Abraham with a message. But God and the angels did not appear as one might expect; as heavenly creatures in bright robes with wings. Rather they just looked like three ordinary travelers. So Abraham did what any Godly person would do, he offered them some food and a place to rest. Back then travelers were easy victims. So God commanded that faithful people should always treat travelers with the utmost respect and hospitality. That is what Abraham did. After such hospitality it would be appropriate for the guest to bless the host. So God said, "Where is Sarah, I mean, your wife." Now Abraham should have suspected something when the man knew his wife's name. But he just said, "There in the tent." And the traveler said, "I will be coming back this way and your wife will have a son." Sarah heard this from the tent and started laughing. You see Sarah and Abraham were very old: like 90 or 100. The Bible says, "It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women." She had aged beyond he biological capability to conceive and bear children. Maybe this stranger thought that "Old Man Abraham" had a young wife in the tent. Or maybe he was just being silly with a jest blessing. Either way this stranger's folly made Sarah laugh. Maybe she imagined two 100 year olds timing contractions and laughed even more. Then God revealed to Abraham who he was and said, "Why is Sarah laughing? I am God. I can do the impossible if I want to." At that moment Abraham and Sarah realized that these were no ordinary travelers but messengers from God. And Sarah came out from behind the tent flap her wrinkled face red with embarrassment. And she said, "I didn't laugh." I imagine God chuckled as he said, "Yes you did." Sometimes in the course of living, God surprises us with a sudden unexpected gift of grace. That is what the story of Sarah laughing is all about. My last year in Seminary, early in January, Melissa started saying, "I think I am pregnant." I said, "Sure you are." It was too early for the doctors to even test to see if she was. It was what we have hoped and prayer for. It would be too good to be true. I know I've told you the story of how when we could get a test they took some blood and told us to call back later that afternoon for the results. When we called they said the test was positive. I was so dazed I had to ask them if that meant that we're pregnant. When I told Melissa she started laughing, crying, hollering, and jumping up and down all at the same time. The nurse on the phone must have heard Melissa because she said we made her day. Since that moment my life as a Christian father has been one joyous surprise after another. And that is what Christian Fatherhood is. It's constantly being surprised by the grace of God. God has graciously allowed us to raise these wonderful little people. Laugh about it! Enjoy yourself. When we are possessed by the God, who invented joy and laughter, we should be filled with that joy and laughter. Life is a laughing matter. The problem is that most of us are afraid to laugh at it. We get too caught up in the responsibilities of life to enjoy it. But we serve a God who constantly surprises us with joy. We serve a God who took pleasure in making an old woman laugh and then making her cry for joy at the birth of her firstborn. Christian Fathers especially fail to laugh joyfully at God's grace. We get so involved in the matters of providing for our children that we miss the joy. We are so concerned with raising them right that we forget to laugh with them. Years from now they will not remember how many clothes you bought them or how much money you made. They will remember sitting on you lap and hearing a story. They will remember fishing and camping and playing ball. Try playing with your children, reading to them, shooting hoops with them. Let your daughter try to teach you how to bake cookies. These are the important things, but most people don't do them until they are grandparents. Enjoy your life. God graciously gave it to you. And enjoy the life of your family and friends; they are gracious gifts from God. Remember life is a laughing matter and God, the author of life, is a real joker. God is a joker who loves us with every laugh. And if some day a stranger comes to your door and says "Why were you laughing?" Don't deny it. Remember it might not be just any traveler. Instead say, "I'm laughing because my Heavenly Father loved me so much."
Matthew 9:35-10:8 Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful." The story goes that there were these two shoe salesmen. They worked for competing shoe companies. They were both sent to a new territory where neither company had any salesmen. They both arrived with a supply of shoes not knowing what their needs would be. When they arrived they both realized that this territory was unlike any they had ever been to before. It was the custom of the people in that area to go barefoot all the time. No one wore shoes. Quickly as soon as they realized the situation both shoe salesman ran to telegraph their home office to alert them to the situation. But their messages were quite different. One sent the message: "Don't send any more shoes. No one here wears any." The other wired his office and said, "Send all the shoes you can. No one here has any." Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful." But to appreciate the meaning of what he said you have to look at the context. Jesus has been traveling around and healing the sick and raising the dead and casting out demons. In fact Jesus had just cast out a demon. The people were amazed. But the religious leaders said that Jesus was possessed and that it was by the Devil's power that he cast out demons. In these circumstances most people would throw up their arms and give up. Like the first shoe salesman Jesus could have just said these people are hopeless. But instead Jesus looked at the people and saw their need. They were like sheep without a shepherd. They had no leadership or direction. They were easy prey for wolves. But instead of giving up on them Jesus saw an opportunity. It was out of compassion that he refused to give in to the hopeless situation. Because of his love and pity for their state he declared "the harvest is plentiful." Even the leaders of the people were Godless. But instead of saying, "These people don't care about God," Jesus said, "these people really need God!" Jesus said "The harvest is plentiful," but he didn't end there. He went on to say "but the laborers are few." Jesus, while he was in the flesh, was but one man. How could he bring the kingdom of heaven to all these people? He said "Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest." That would be like the shoe salesman saying not only "send me more shoes" but "send more salespeople so we can reach all these shoeless people!" I don't know how many of Jesus' followers prayed for more laborers, but the prayer was answered. The next thing we know Jesus is calling his 12 apostles. And he gives them power to do the same things he was doing. He also gave them directions. They were to focus on the lost sheep of Israel and they were to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom. And in the end Jesus said, "You received without payment, give without payment." They received God's Kingdom without paying anyone. They are to offer the Kingdom with the same openness. The harvest is plentiful. I look at the world around me and I see the same thing that Jesus saw in his day. The people seem helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. Last Sunday we were talking in the Sr. High Sunday School class about temptation. We wondered why do people do some of the things they do. One of the conclusions we came to is that they are empty and they are trying to fill the emptiness with just about anything. They are without direction or purpose or meaning and so they grasp onto anything. The question is: How will the church respond to this observation? We could wire the home office and say, "the people in the territory don't have anything to do with God. So we will just give up on them. Don't send us any more Kingdom because no one here will buy it." I have heard too many Christians express this attitude. I have heard good church going Bible toting people say, "Oh we don't need to invite them to church because they don't go." Excuse me? If they don't go to church then here is an opportunity to open up new possibilities in their life. The person may not be a Christian at all and this will be a chance for them to be saved. The person may be a Christian, but have never experienced a nurturing church like Grace and it will be an opportunity for them to grow in grace and faith. The other possible response to the situation is the one Jesus had. We could see the need and respond. We could wire the home office and say, "The people are Godless. They have no direction , no hope, no love, no joy, no peace; send all the above as you can because these people need it! And send more laborers while you are at it because the job is too big for us alone. But be warned. Some of Jesus' disciple prayed for more laborers and Jesus said "Good, here are the tools. Go harvest." It is one thing to see a need and the opportunity but it is another to do something about it. I know as a pastor the harvest is usually far bigger than the laborers. It as often difficult to get laborers for the harvest. Whether it is substitute Sunday School teachers, or people to donate blood, or people to work the seeds of hope table; sometimes it is hard to get laborers. But I have discovered something else. God will answer prayers for laborers. Sometimes it's not right away, but God will supply. Sometimes the very people who see the need end up being equipped and called to respond to it. Praying for laborers is dangerous, because God may say, "Good, you go into the harvest." Look out the window. Look at the world around us. The people are harassed and helpless. They are like sheep without a shepherd.
We need to wire the home office about this situation! "From Grace on Harbison - stop To home office in Heaven - stop Situation desperate - stop. People are without hope or purpose - stop." |