OUTLINE FOR OPEN CELLS
(Week of 6 /20 – 6/26, 2010)
The Church And The Coming Kingdom (3)
"Not Many Fathers"
Subject - Spiritual fatherlessness was a tremendous problem in the life of the developing Early Church. It is still a problem today, in the home, the church, the school and every other human institution. Why are there so many teachers, coaches, motivational speakers, but not many fathers? Biological fatherhood may be only chemical, evolutionarily driven, lust-based, self-centered, but true fatherhood is a choice; a choice of a life of sacrificial loving and giving. From Genesis to Revelation the principle of legacy passed on by fathers is revealed.
I. The dilemma of "not many fathers" produces the crisis of "not many sons and daughters."
A. (1 Cor. 4:15) "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
B. (Phil. 2:19-23 NLT) "If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon. Then when he comes back, he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has helped me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here."
C. (Gal. 4:19) "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you."
D. There is a dearth of fatherhood in the earth today and an overwhelming responsibility of caring for those left fatherless. Who will take up this slack if not Christian men? Who will father these fathers?
1. Check out dads4kids.com (Statistics of a Fatherless America)
2. Some fatherless sons: Billy The Kid, Saddam Hussein, Adolph Hitler, Jack The Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, John Wilkes Booth
3. 70% of juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in single or no parent households. (1988)
II. Jesus revealed the nature of God as Abba, and so revealed the cost to Fathers and Sons.
A. (Matt. 11:25-30) All that Jesus revealed came through a Father/Son relationship.
B. (Gal. 4:1-7) Paul clearly embraced and propagated this principle, but with limited results.
C. (Rom. 8:14-22) The redemption of creation hinges on a return to the Father/Son model.
D. (Lk. 2:49) "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Jesus embraced the relational ministry model at 12 [government] Immanuel is "God with us as Abba.")
E. (Eph. 4:11-16) It is logical that the five-fold gifts represent the loving leading of a Father.
III. The life of a Father; waiting for what is prodigal to become what is productive.
A. (John 15:1) "I am the true Vine and my Father is the husbandman."
B. (James 4:7) "The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth and has long patience for it. "
C. (Luke 15:1-32) The story of the Father and the prodigal follows two other stories concerning seeking what is lost. At times, we seek what is lost. As fathers, we often must wait until those who have lost themselves come to themselves and find themselves.
1. (v. 1-7) The lost sheep is sought for and found
2. (v. 8-10) The lost coin is sought for and found
3. (v. 11-32) The lost son must fully lose himself in order to fully find himself. The heart of a father never disconnects from loving concern during this anguished waiting. This is why there are 10,000 instructors in Christ, but not many fathers. Love is patient, suffers long and is kind.