Dallas Notes: Fathers and Sons (Panorama Full Gospel Foursquare Church, June 1990)

Fathers and Sons
Audio from a father-son banquet at Panorama Full Gospel Foursquare Church in June, 1990


best ministry: teach what Jesus taught in the way He taught it
we cannot learn most of the things that matter most by simply being told
sometimes learning in the college of hard knocks wounds us so much that we spend the rest of our lives coping with those hurts
the way to learn is by being with people
the young can learn from the older when the hearts of the fathers (older) are turned toward the children (younger)
my heart is mostly turned to self-gratification instead :-(
We live in a time of great confusion about what it is to be happy. Many men constantly go through pain of deciding are they happy or not and why not and what would make them happy.
men used to be together more, working or hunting or fishing
nowadays the idea is that people shouldn’t ‘waste' time like that
[men waste a lot of time watching sports without the same benefits]
living together is how the young learn the wisdom of the just which is primarily the knowledge of God and His rule and focusing squarely on Him
2 Chr 16.9
the beginning of this wisdom is to accept others for who they are
the only way to get acceptance is to receive the KoH in our lives
we live with God and before God and it heals us
then we can love our neighbor as ourselves b/c we can actually love ourselves
and then we can begin to move on to loving one another as Jesus loved us
children need to be accepted for who they are
it is crucial to be able to honor others, esp. our father and mother. it is crucial to our own health.
honor is being grateful for others, for the goodness and beauty in them
[created in the image of God]
one of the greatest things you can do is honor your father [and mother]
(not the same as saying they didn’t do anything wrong. the answer to wrongs is forgiveness.)
[but the barriers there are their unawareness and continuing wrongdoing]
we have to be able to honor our parents and be thankful for them b/c they are the source of our life and we can’t be fully thankful for our life otherwise
[one reason we don’t bless others is we don’t feel blessed and we don’t feel that we have anything to give as a blessing]
blessing is the most effective form of witnessing on the face of the earth
the Lord give you peace. well-being, shalom
it is sometimes appropriate to ‘witness’ explicitly to others. it is always appropriate to bless them.