RESPECT - Father's Day 6/16/19
RESPECT
Father’s Day Sunday
June 16, 2019, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
I salute the men of our church. You have my respect and rightfully so. To Chris and Trey, you have my respect and rightfully so. June 16th is also my wedding anniversary. Fifty-Seven (57) years ago today I married the father of our children. Though we were both imperfect, even on the bad days, I always respected him.
According to Webster, respect is a feeling of admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
Synonyms: esteem, regard, high opinion, acclaim, admiration, appreciation, estimation, favor, recognition, etc
Antonym: Contempt. Disrespect, disdain.
Contempt is the fruit of pride (Ps. 123:4)
There are many different words in the Bible translated as respect. However, the main thought seems to be: In respect, “I will look toward you.” In disrespect, “I will turn away from you.”
People because they are people have different notions of what they respect. Today, I am handing out a piece of paper and ask each one of you to write in no more than three words what you respect. You don’t have to sign your name. This is not a test. I am provoking you to check your heart, be honest with yourself because God already knows what you respect. You will not impress him with a pseudo spiritual answer. However, if a spiritual answer is genuine, please be honest and state it with boldness.
Some of you will remember a dream I had the week prior to our first Father’s Day here at Willow Fork, June 14, 2014. Yesterday, as is my custom, in preparing for special days, I reviewed sermons from years past and ran across the dream about the book, Dad Time, by Max Lucado.
Since the dream, I have shared excerpts from the book at least twice. Books are written in Heaven, and then released to Christian writers. It occurred to me that since this book was revealed to me in a dream by the LORD that I should read it again. I dutifully did so, and chose our Father’s Day hero today to be Jairus.
First the dream, for those who have forgotten:
Dream-June 2014: “Sandra and I were on our way to church. It was Father’s Day. The path to our church was hidden and could not be seen from the main road. The path was covered with an awning of oak trees. There were so many cars along the path to the church we would have to walk a long way.
I was driving and let Sandra out so she would not have so far to walk. I then discovered a short-cut that was not visible to the eye from the path where all the cars were parked.
Job 28: “There is a path which no fowl knows and which the vulture’s eye has not seen; the lion’s whelps have not trodden it, and the fierce lion passed by it.”
Our service was at the top of a flight of stairs. The steps were slightly slanted and I was carefully watching my step, but my feet were flying over the steps barely touching.
I was carrying in my hand a copy of the book, “Dad Time” by Max Lucado.
At the top of the stairs, I saw the people of our church. Sandra, the musicians and Deacons were all preparing for church. The room was filled with great joy, expectation, supernatural light and the glory cloud (End of Dream).
Could it be the great joy, expectation, brilliant light and glory cloud was the presence of our Father God anticipating, “Dad Time”? That today we will remember to honor our earthly fathers, but we will also remember that the Father is also our Daddy God. That Father God has great joy because of His children.
“We never outgrow our need for a father’s love; we were wired to receive it.” (Max Lucado)
“JAIRUS is the leader of the synagogue. That may not mean much to you and me, but in the days of Christ, the leader of the synagogue was the most important man in the community. The synagogue was the center of religion, education, leadership, and social activity. The leader of the synagogue was the senior religious leader, the highest-ranking professor, the mayor, and the best known citizen all rolled into one.
Jairus has it all. Job security. A guaranteed welcome at the coffee shop. A pension plan. Golf every Thursday and an annual all-expenses-paid trip to the national convention.
Who could ask for more? Yet Jairus does. He has to ask for more. In fact, he would trade the whole package of perks and privileges for just one assurance---that his daughter will live.
The Jairus we see in this story is not the clear-sighted, black-frocked, nicely groomed civic leader. He is instead a blind man begging for a gift. He fell at Jesus’ feet, saying again and again. ‘My little daughter is dying, Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live’ (Mark 5:23).
He doesn’t barter with Jesus. ('You do me a favor, and I’ll see you are taken care of for life.’) He doesn’t negotiate with Jesus. (The guys in Jerusalem are getting pretty testy about your antics. Tell you what, you handle this problem of mine, and I’ll make a few calls…’) He doesn’t make excuses. (‘Normally, I’m not this desperate; Jesus, but I’ve got a small problem.’)
He just pleads.
There are times in your life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. Jairus is at such a point. What could a man offer in exchange for his child’s life? So there are no games. No haggling. No masquerades. The situation is starkly simple: Jairus is blind to the future and Jesus knows the future. So Jairus asks for help.
And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it.
And God, who knows what it is like to lose a child, empowers his son.” (Max Lucado – Dad Time)
We know the story, on the way to Jairus’ house; Jesus was followed and surrounded by the crowd. The woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of his garment and was healed. Before Jesus finished speaking with her, people arrived from Jairus’ house to give Jairus the news, “There no need to trouble the master any longer---your daughter has died.” Jesus spoke the wonderful words of life to Jairus, Be not afraid, only believe. He would not allow anyone to go with Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. Jesus proclaimed to the weeping of the people, the girl is not dead, but she is sleeping. Jesus took the child’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. He tenderly clasped the child’s hand and said to her in Aramaic, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little Girl,” wake up from the sleep of death. Instantly the twelve-year old girl sat up, stood to her feet, and started walking around the room!
“Father God never dismisses a parent’s prayer. Keep giving your child to God, and in the right time and the right way, God will give your child back to you.” (M.L.)
Our kids were God’s kids first.
God had respect for Jairus’ prayer.
David asked the LORD to respect his prayer:
2Ch 6:19Have respect to the prayer of your servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which your servant prays before you.
May we all have the blessing that the Lord will respect our prayers.
I began to study the scriptures to discover what the Lord respects:
1. The first mention of God’s respect was to Abel:
Gen 4:4-5:And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect..
2. The Lord told the Israelites that he would respect them and bless them contingent upon not worshiping idols; and complete obedience to God.
Lev 26:9For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
When Israel was under attack by Syria during the time of King Johoahaz, the Lord had respect unto them because of His covenant word:
2Ki 13:23And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither did he cast them from his presence as yet.
Psa. 138:6Though the LORD be high, yet he has respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knows afar off.
Rom 2:11For there is no respect of persons with God.
The Lord has given us a command to honor our father and mother with a blessing:
Exo. 20:12Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Men of God I bless you today as those who have the respect of God and that He will respect your prayers and bless your families with the blessing of your Heavenly Father. May you know and experience the blessing of the love and respect of Father God in your life.
I was greatly blessed by Bill Yount story of His Father’s blessing:
An Earthly Father's Blessing by Bill Yount.
“When I was a child, my father drank heavily at times for years, and I felt like I could never please him. My father passed away many years ago.
One of the last times I saw him in the hospital, I left his bedside and was walking toward the door when I heard my father say, "Bless you, Bill." It was as though everything within me was waiting my whole life to hear those words from my father. I literally felt something in the Spirit break off of me from my head to my toes, and I have never been the same since.
I know a mother's love and prayers for her children are powerful, but nothing on earth can ever take the place of a father saying to his children, "I love you and I bless you!"
I sense many of you have been raised with an earthly father who loved you, but somehow failed to communicate his love and affirmation to you. You have grown up, but there is still an unanswered cry coming up out of you... "Daddy, where are you?"
Being an earthly father of three children and a man of God through the blood of Christ, I would like to pray right now over you to release an "earthly father's blessing" upon your life. By faith, I am going to stand in proxy (in the place of your earthly father), and lay my hand upon your head and speak an earthly father's blessing. Listen carefully, for many of you have never heard these words before...
"I love you! I love you! You are so special. You were born to shake the world and there is nothing you cannot do! I am so proud of you! You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased! You are my beloved daughter ...You are daddy's favorite little girl in the entire world! I love you! I bless you coming in and going out. I bless you in the market place, in the city, and in the field. I bless your wallets and purses, that they will never know what lack is. I bless the fruit of your loins and your children's children."
"In Jesus Name, I break that generational curse of an orphan spirit off of you and your family. That orphan spirit that tells you, you don't belong. I bless those yet to be born, that they will be born crying... "My daddy loves me!" I cancel every negative curse word ever spoken against you in Jesus Name. I bless you with an earthly father's blessing that cancels those curses."
"As the Father has sent me, so I send you into your purpose and destiny. And nothing will stop you now. You will go the distance to finish what God has called you to do. I bless you and I love you...I love you...I love you! I bless you with an earthly father's blessing!"
Father, open the heavens over these loved ones and show them how much you love them.
Tell someone..."My Daddy loves me!"
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of Dad Time by Max Lucado and story written by Bill Yount, The Father’s Blessing. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I entered into their labors.