JUNE 21, 2020
FATHER’S DAY SERMON
A FAITHFUL FATHER HAS INFLUENCE
Mark 5:21-24; 35-42
Introduction: Today is June 21, 2020. The world is celebrating this day as Father’s Day, giving tribute and honor to the most important and influential person in the family – The Father! I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be a father. The Lord has blessed Regina and I with four wonderful children. It is a wonderful honor to be their dad.
I know I am not a perfect father and have made many mistakes as a father. But I believe I got a few things right along the way. Either way, I know I have had an influence in the way our children turned out. I also know, that as a man in Pastoral Leadership in the church, my life has influenced others in some way or another.
Fathers, you are influencing the lives of your children every single day. They are watching you and they are learning from you. Sons are learning how to treat a spouse. Daughters are learning what to look for in their own spouse. Sons and daughters are learning how to serve the Lord. Your children are learning how to appreciate the Bible, the church and the things of God, just by watching you.
Being a father, a good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and unappreciated heroes in all humanity.
One woman noticed that back in 1909. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon when she came up with the idea of having a Father’s Day. You see, after Sonora’s mother died, it was her father who raised her and her five siblings. So, she wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man.
Her father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. Then, in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Since the father’s responsibility is so great to our families and before God, we need to know how to carry ourselves as we move through life. This text introduces us to a man named Jairus.
As we unpack this text in detail today, I want to share with you the lessons Jairus taught those who were in the center of his influence. Faithful Fathers, I want to remind you that you are influencing others every minute of every day. We need to make that influence count for the good of our families and for the glory of God.
Let’s look at three movements regarding Jairus in this text as I preach about A FAITHFUL FATHER HAS INFLUENCE!
I.
HOW HE APPROACHED JESUS
v. 22
A ruler’s desperate approach. A desperate approach always lays hold of Jesus.
A. There Is A Selfless Attitude. Jairus was a ruler, one of the most important men in the community. The rulers were now violently opposed to Jesus and were publicly expressing their opposition. By coming to Jesus, Jairus was running the risk of arousing the hostility of his peers and of being reprimanded. He could have easily lost his position and profession.
Something else is noticeable. Jairus himself was approaching Jesus. Why would he leave his dying daughter’s side to seek Jesus’ help instead of sending someone else. The point is that Jairus was desperate for help.
B. There Is A Humble Attitude. This powerful and prosperous, influential man, this man of standing in the community, was not ashamed to humble himself before the Lord. He “fell at his feet,” v. 22. The word “fell” means to “to descend from higher place to a lower.” Jairus came down from his lofty perch to humble himself before the Lord.
· Laid aside all his pride and dignity
· Laid aside all his family and friends in all their prejudice and opposition
· Laid aside his profession with all its security, fame, and authority
Dads, men, this is what the children around you need to see. They need to see fathers who are not afraid to approach Jesus Christ. They need to see fathers who are not ashamed to kneel before the Lord in public, and in the home. Children need to see fathers who are like Jairus, will admit before God, their families and everyone else, that they are helpless and hopeless without the help of the Lord.
II.
HOW HE APPEALED TO JESUS
v. 23a
Jairus was well aware that his wealth could not buy healing for his daughter. He knew that his social position and his power could give him access to the social circles in his town, but it could not give him access to what he needed most. Probably, for the first time in his life, Jairus realized that he was absolutely helpless to do anything for the daughter he loved.
How did Jairus appealed to Jesus?
There Is A Pleading Attitude. The word “besought” means to call tone’s side for help, to plead, to entreat, to beg. The ruler pleaded and begged Jesus for help.
Fathers, it is our responsibility to lay the children within the position of our influence before the Lord and trust Him for their upbringing and their salvation.
You will notice that Jairus did what he did in public, before all. He did not send a servant to call for Jesus. He did not allow another person to do what was his responsibility. He publicly humbled himself before the Lord and sought Jesus for the needs of his life.
Fathers, men, that is a good example for us today! We have been given the opportunity to influence lives for Jesus. One of the ways we do that is through our public worship of God.
The children around us must see our devotion to the Lord lived out daily. They must see us trusting in Him, walking with Him, and looking to Him for all things and in all things.
III.
HOW HE ASSOCIATED WITH JESUS
v. 23 b -24: 38
When Jairus came to Jesus, he told the Lord of his great need, then he immediately invited Jesus to his home. In verse 38, Jairus brought Jesus home with him. He was not ashamed to confess Christ in public, and he was not ashamed to bring Jesus home to confess Him before all those in his home.
Again, Jairus lays out a challenge for men today. Going to church is one thing, but to bring Christ home with you is quite another thing altogether. May I remind you that the responsibility for the spiritual formation of your children does not rest on the shoulders of the church. The responsibility for training children in the things of God begins in the home Proverb 22:6. How many Fathers and men are committed to disciplining your children in order to raise them in the way they should go? And men, as the head of the home, the responsibility to train up a child in the way they should go, begins and ends with us.
When Jairus brought Jesus home, everything changed. His daughter was raised from the dead and God was glorified in his child.
Jairus associated himself with Jesus. He invited Jesus into his home. Fathers and men have you invited Jesus into your home?
Comments