John Lloyd - Living Sent As A Father

Irresistible Fathers: Living Sent as a Father

Mark 1:9-13

June 16, 2019

Pastor John Lloyd

Devoting attention to our walk with God is important and should be a priority. How is it going?  How could it improve?  First is our relationship with God. Second is our relationships with other Christians. Third is daily pouring out the love and resources of God to those outside our door. Today, we will focus on how to live sent as fathers and men and our sphere of relational influence.  Help me to be an irresistible father. Pastor John

Mark 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

I Thessalonians 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Big Idea:  Being a treasured son of our heavenly father lays the foundation for irresistible father/influencers.

How can I live sent as an irresistible father/influencer?

I.               Embrace my identity as a ___________ of God.

 Mark 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Matthew 6:31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

A.    Reject the loudest voices of ____________ identities.

_

Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Shame - I am not enough.

Guilt - I have not done enough.

Insecurity - My identity is in me: how I look, what I do, or what I have. 

(I John 3:1-2).

B.   Internalize what God’s __________ says about my identity.

 Mark 1:11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Hebrews12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let your relationship with God deal with the need for man’s approval, appetites and the ambitions, and the from this world.(Matt 4:3, 4:5-6, 4:8-9)

II.             Let my _______________ flow out of your identity not vice versa.

Mark 1:12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

A.    Let __________ pour out deeply because we received it from God.

I Thessalonians 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Help me to be a vessel to remind my children that they are fiercely loved by God.  Help me to pass onto them the beautiful gifts God has given me.

B.    Let work be a ________ because my Savior is always working in me.

9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.

Help me to train my children in what is true and beautiful!  Prov. 22:6

11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Help me to model and encourage my family to a holy life. 

Live sent by embracing Jesus and being sent to those in our influence.

Live sent by recognizing we are a steward, not an owner.

Live sent by asking the Lord to help us know and understand the love languages of those in our relational network. 

Live sent by encouraging and developing the gifts and talents of our children.

Spiritual Growth Questions for June 16, 2019

Opener:  Describe a father who has impacted your life?  What traits did you admire?

1.    Read Mark 1:9-15.  Go through each verse, observe words, principles.  Consider what these words meant to those who first heard them.  Reflect and discuss how they could be applied in your life.  Repenting and believing is a natural response when the Kingdom breaks through into our lives. Why?

2.   Read Matthew 4:1-11.  Spend time identifying the nature of each temptation.  Why were these words so important to the disciples and early church?  How do we experience these same temptations today? Read I John 2:15-17 for help.  How did Jesus deal with these temptations?  What helps you deal with temptation?

3.   Reflect on Mark 1:11. “You are my beloved son in whom I well pleased.”  How can this truth help build irresistible fathers/influencers?  How does our enemy try and steal our identity? What helps you to remember who you are in Christ? 

4.   Read Hebrews 12:1-3.  Go through each verse, observe words and principles.  Consider what these words meant to those who first heard them.  Reflect and discuss how they could be applied in your life.  How did Jesus deal with shame? 

5.   Read I Thessalonians 2:9-12.  Discuss the characteristics of an irresistible father found in these verses.   What ways have you seen these characteristics passed on that have been effective?  How can you pass them to those around you?

Memory Verses: Mark 1:11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”