An Awesome Challenge

A Christian man was walking to church one night when he encountered four boys "goofing off" on the street corner.  He invited them to go to the service with him.  They did, and each of the boys also agreed to return to church with him the next Sunday.  They became the nucleus of a dynamic Sunday school class the man began to teach.

Years later, a group of the man's friends decided to contact the four boys to see what had
happened in their lives and to invite them to write a special birthday letter to their teacher to read at a surprise party.  Listen to what became of these four boys!  One became a missionary to China, one was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank, one was the private secretary to President Herbert Hoover, and the fourth was President Hoover himself!

This is Fathers' Day - a day to honor the dads of our church.  And that is good - I'm a dad too!  But every member of this church is part of the Family of God and each of us play a vital role in the development of children  of all ages!
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HUMAN FATHERS CAN REVEAL GLIMPSES OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER 

  Human fathers can help people glimpse a bit of our Heavenly Father's love for His children. Dads can have significant and lasting impacts on their children's lives when they invite God to pour His love through them to their children. Here are some of the many encouraging messages fathers can send to their children: 

• You are important because of who you are, my valuable child. The messes you sometimes cause are of no consequence compared to your intrinsic worth. 

• Have fun and laugh. Humor contains great healing power. 

• Be flexible and trust God to guide you. He has great adventures planned for you. 

• Every moment you live is a gift from God, so use your time well. 

• God has given me an unlimited supply of love for you. You don't have to compete for my love. 

• When you place your faith in God, even a little bit of faith will accomplish great things in your life. 

• I'm going to invest time in being with you as often as I can, because I want to get to know you as much as I can. 

• I'm going to put my love for your mother into action. When I love her, that love extends to you. 

• God can teach me whatever He desires; I'm open to His guidance and willing to seek forgiveness and growth. 

• If you're not good at something, yet you enjoy it, go ahead and do it. Practice will help you improve, and results don't matter as much as the process. 

• When you make mistakes, I'll show you mercy. When it takes you awhile to learn things, I'll be patient. 

• I'll help point out the many ways that God is working in our lives. 

• I'll encourage you to passionately pursue your dreams. 

• When you're happy, I'll rejoice with you. When you're sad, I'll cry with you. 

-- By Whitney Hopler

Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the  Lord, not for men." 

According to our text, it is imperative that we walk under the leadership (anointing) of the Holy Spirit every day. Sometimes this is hard  very hard  because we still have a fallen nature.  When you got saved - when you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior - your spirit was saved.  You became spiritually alive!  However, each of us still has a fallen nature.  Those little temper flares that most of us have - those sharp things we say and immediately wish we had not said it - those negative thoughts that plague us and bring us down?  Those come from our fallen nature.  The goal, then, is to learn not to submit to it, but to bring it under subjection to our spirit.

All believers are engaged in a spiritual conflict.  We often agonize over the same sins and failures on a routine basis.  The Holy Spirit teaches us to bring our thoughts into subjection to God!  This is done through reading and meditating on the Bible - God's powerful Word!

As one person put it real well,

I'm not as good as I'm going to be, but I'm a lot better than I used to be!

When the Holy Spirit leads us we enjoy a marvelous freedom, because we aren't always worried about how others see us.  But it is not an independent "couldn't care less attitude," but a holy desire to please God. 

The works of the flesh can keep us out of heaven.  However, as we allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His fruits in our lives, our fallen nature is renewed in the image of God Himself!

If we have the fruits of the Spirit in our lives we are easier to get along with - we even like ourselves better and sleep more soundly!

Why?  Because when the Spirit leads us we have the same priorities that God has. 

What are the fruits of the Spirit?

1.  Love (agape) - A caring for others and work to seek their highest good without the motive of personal gain.
2.  Joy - a feeling of gladness based on the love, grace, blessings, promises and nearness of God that belong to those who believe in Christ.
3.  Peace - the quietness of heart and mind based on the knowledge that all is well between the believer and his or her heavenly Father.
4.  Patience - endurance, long-suffering; being slow to anger or despair.
5.  Kindness - not wanting to hurt anyone or cause him or her pain.
6.  Generosity - The KJV and the NIV both translate this as "Goodness."  It means the state of being good, kind, virtuous, benevolent, generous and God-like in life and conduct. 
7.  Faithfulness - firm and unswerving loyalty to a person to whom one is united by promise, commitment, trustworthiness and honesty. (As in church membership)
8.  Gentleness - restraint coupled with strength and courage; it describes a person who can be angry when anger is needed and humbly submissive when submission is needed. It has been suggested that only strong people can be gentle, therefore it is power under control.
9.  Self-control - mastering one's own desires and passions, including faithfulness to one's  marriage vows; also purity. 

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.    Galatians 5:16-18

Sometimes we just have to do what we know is right  even when we don't feel like it.  If you were at my nursing home Bible Studies this week you have already heard this story, but bear with me!

There are two institutions under fire in the United States today.  One is the church, and the other is the family.  As a result, the world system makes a mockery of ministers and fathers. 

As a pastor and a dad I can assure you that I need prayer - but all of God's people do, right? 

Galatians 6:1-5
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

I opened this message with a story about a man who was walking to church many years ago.  He came across some guys who were loitering - "hanging out" in today's language. He chose to involve them in the work of God   even establishing a Sunday school class so that the boys could learn about God. Each one became a world leader!

May I challenge each of us to be alert to the needs of those around us and to seek ways to bring them to Christ!  And may we all do our part to be sure that going to church is worth the effort!