Jentezen Franklin - Fathers, Where Are You?
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What a blessing to have all of you here today. We appreciate you on this special, special, special day worshipping God with us. And I think it would absolutely be in order if we took a moment and said to every father in the house, stand to your feet, and let us give you a handclap of great adoration and appreciation. We love you. You’re amazing.
All of you. Come on, keep standing, we’re not done. We’re pretty rough on ourselves, but sometimes, we need to know. Look at the men of God in God’s house this morning, it’s powerful. God bless you. If you have your Bibles, I’ll invite you to open them with me this morning to the book of Genesis. I wanna go to Genesis 2, and then quickly into Genesis 3. But I wanna share today a message that I think will hit everybody in your life, but I am going to preach to our fathers today. But I believe what I’m gonna share will also prepare future fathers, future husbands, future wives. Whatever situation that you’re in, I believe God’s word will speak to you and find you today.
I want you to see in Genesis 2, let’s go with verse 22. «Then he took the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, and He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Now this is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh and she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and be joined unto his wife: and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, were not ashamed». So, this was literally God finding the right mate, bringing her to a match making place where they fell in love and they are married 'cause He called her his wife. So, God married them. This is the first setting of family and marriage. And then the first verse of the next chapter, the next verse after the marriage. «Now the serpent».
Now the serpent. And then I wanna read one other quick verse, and this is my main key verse this morning, verse 9. «Then the Lord called Adam, and said to him, 'Where are you? '» It’s pretty interesting that the only two human beings on this planet who could literally say, not spiritually speaking, but literally say, «God was my Father». We think of only Jesus being the Father’s Son, but the truth is, Adam could say, «God was my Father. I had no earthly father. I had no biological father but God».
So, there are only two, Adam and Jesus. And they both made decisions for all of us that would affect us in remarkable ways, and we see that we are all the sons of Adam, and in Genesis 3, and this is something I want you to get in your head for a moment, 'cause this is really, I believe, an insight, a revelation, or whatever you wanna call it. But in Genesis 3, it’s not just what happened in Genesis 3, but it’s what always happens. There’s a pattern that is established that is unbreakable and it’s guaranteed concerning your family, concerning your future, concerning your marriage, concerning your children, concerning your family, and here it is. They get married, they have the blessing of God on their marriage.
As far as a perfect marriage, this is as perfect of a marriage as possible on planet Earth. She was the perfect bride, he was the perfect husband, they had no problems, they had no troubles, they had no in-laws, they had no family, they had no one else but them to deal with. It was the perfect marriage, literally. And even the perfect marriage, as soon as they’re married, the next verse, «Now the serpent». What a revelation. The serpent immediately shows up when Adam and Eve are married. There is a wedding and then there is about to be warfare. There is a bride and a husband, and there is a battle. And, «Now the serpent». That’s an amazing insight because you need to know, you must understand this principle.
That is not just Genesis 3, it is now, it is present, that there is a serpent, the devil. He is real. The first point is you have an enemy against your home, against your marriage, against your family. And I don’t care how good of parents, I don’t care how perfect your family, I don’t care how amazing the heritage of faith, I don’t care how great the grandparents, the parents. There will come a time when now… Notice the timing. Once they’re married. He never bothered, he was around during creation, he was around when Adam was by himself.
As soon as they get married, now the serpent was crafty and he makes his move. It’s not just you and God, it’s not just you and your wife or you and your husband, it’s not just you and your kids, but it’s also, and you must understand, that there is Satan and demons at work to destroy every family that wants to honor Jesus Christ. At some point, Satan will show up and he’ll try to destroy those that you love, and he did it in a perfect environment then, and he can do it, even now, he will come, but he doesn’t have to win. When Satan shows up, who does he speak to? Who does he show?
Now, God made Adam first, God made Adam first. He was the head of that home, he was there first, she came from him, she was taken from a rib, and made by God, and given life by God, but he was first. But notice how it worked then, and it still works now. The enemy does not recognize divine order in a home. The head is the dad, the head is the husband, the head is the father. Satan did not come to Adam, the snake showed up and he was talking to Eve. The enemy bypasses Adam, goes to his wife, gets an in road on someone that Adam loved, and begins to whisper her, «The Bible’s a lie, God’s not telling you the truth. You can’t base your life on the word of God. This is not good».
And where is Adam? Where is Adam? He was either there and he was silent, or he was not there, he was distracted, he was just uninvolved, he had just taken a back seat. But the truth is, the Bible said, «And she took his fruit from the forbidden tree and ate, and she gave…» So, this is what I’d never seen. I don’t know how I missed this, but when I read this story again this week, «And she gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate». So, he was there, but he was silent. He was there, but he did not speak up, he did not protect his family, he did not stand there in the place that he was called to do. So, there’s two sins that take place. There’s the sin of commission, the sin of commission is when you do what you know you’re not supposed to do. She took the fruit, and she knew she was not supposed to do it. But he committed, Adam, the sin of omission, which is he did not do what he should have done.
And this is the challenge now, this is the challenge, that men be the spiritual voice that speaks up in our homes. This is God’s absolute, absolute requirement for fathers if you’re going to honor the Lord, and God honor your family, is you must speak up and speak the truth in love and say with compassion, and say with love, «The word of God is right, » and we stand on the word of God. If we’re not praying, if we’re not bringing our kids to church, if we’re just doing the sin of omission, it’s just as bad as doing something that you know you shouldn’t be doing. «Then the eyes of them both were opened after they ate it, and they were ashamed».
Notice, it happened then and it happens now. What happened then? God puts a couple together and when He puts 'em together, immediately they become a target for the snake, and the snake begins to mess with divine order, and the man says nothing, he’s silent and he’s disconnected in the way spiritually that he should be, and even emotionally that he should be, and the Bible said, «They hid themselves from God». And that’s exactly what happened then, and it’s what happens now when men begin to lose their walk with God. Because in the cool of the day, God came down and said, «Adam, where are you? You used to walk with me, we used to walk every day, hand in hand, and we would talk to one another».
And we would spend this special time. It’s a beautiful thing of showing you a man who was listening to God and God was listening to him. Prayer is you talking to God, Bible reading is God talking to you. And when you read the Bible and you pray on a regular basis, you’re walking with God. If you don’t talk and walk with God and read God and He talks to you, and pray, and you talk to God, you are not walking with God like you’re supposed to. And that’s why God is asking men today in our generation, «Where are you»? It’s time for men to come out of the hiding, it’s time for men to say, «God, I wanna be that man that you don’t ever have to ask, 'Where are you? ' Where are you spiritually? Where are you in prayer, in devotion of my word? Where are you for your children when the enemy’s coming after your children? Listen to this preacher».
It’s amazing, Adam is there and he’s not, the question can be asked, «Where are you»? When the serpent’s talking to his wife. «Why are you not speaking up? Where are you»? And that’s went for his wife, he’s not there. But then you move and God asked him, «Where are you? We don’t have a relationship, I don’t hear from you all week long. Adam, I’m searching for you and you’re hiding from me». You’re hiding from church attendance, you’re hiding from emails and texts from your Christian buddies, because when you fall into sin, as it was then, you start withdrawing from Christian influences, and withdrawing from people who hold you accountable, and withdrawing from church services and sermons like this, because this is the pattern then and that’s exactly the pattern now.
And if you know that you’re hiding, and you may be hiding in work, you may be hiding in sports, you may be hiding in entertainment, you may be hiding in a hobby, you may be hiding, I don’t… working on this, playing golf. All of those things are fine, but God is crying out and saying, «It can’t come before me. Where are you»? And you know what? When God said, «Where are you»? He came out of the bushes and he said, «God, I need to talk to you. We have a problem and I wanna tell you what the problem is». And God said, «Where are you? Why are you hiding»? And he said, «That woman you gave me». That’s how it was then, and that’s the go-to for all us men. I don’t like this sermon. But the go-to for all of us is, «God, that woman you gave to me».
And I could almost hear Adam say, «She’s the wrong one, I married the wrong one». And God said, «She’s the only one for you. There’s nobody to choose from. It’s just you and her. She’s the right one». Come on, say that out loud, «She’s the right one». 'Cause that’s what the enemy did then, and he’ll say now, «You married the wrong one». Well, how do you know it’s the right one? If you’re married to her, she’s the right one. Ephesians 5 said that, «The head of the church is Christ and the husband is the head of the wife». Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of the wife, but we have veered so far that the question in our culture today is, «Who will be the head of the home? Will the husband be the head of the home, or the wife be the head of the home»?
But the question of the Bible in Genesis 3 is, «Who will be the head of the home? Will the husband be the head of the home, or will the snake be the head of the home»? Because if you don’t come in divine order, that does not mean she is inferior, that does not mean that she is less than, that means you are firstly accountable for everything, from finances, to trouble with the children, to whatever is going on from the housing, to insurance, to million other things and raising those kids. God, when He came to the garden, He did not say, «Eve, where are you? You’re the one that started all this». No, she was the one who did it, but God said, «I’m not looking for her, I’m looking for you because it’s not your fault, but it’s your responsibility to deal with it».
This is the thing we’ve gotta get and understand as men. Not everything is our fault, we’ve tried our best, some of us, to model to our children and to our wife and to our families that, you know, the best that we can, that we love God, and to live this way, and try to teach them, and sometimes, they do whatever that you gonna do just like I did when I came up under my great parents. I ended up ultimately doing what I wanted to do. It’s not their fault. And sometimes, it’s not our fault, but here’s the point I want you to get, it’s always your responsibly, and that’s why God called Adam. Even though he didn’t initiate the curse, and the disaster, and the dysfunction that came on that family, he was responsible, God trusted that family to him, it was his seed, therefore, he still had to engage. He had the responsibly to be there spiritually, he had the responsibility to be there financially, to feel the burden.
Your wife may make more than you, all of that, but it should be your overall responsibility and weightiness of that, firstly accountable for everything in that home. The burden is on me. This is what a man is in God’s eyes, this is the role a father takes in God’s eyes, this is how you’ll be judged when you stand, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and he will look at you as a father and a man, and he will… And I’m not preaching down to you, I am preaching to myself, I’m with you. I’m a man just like you’re a man, and one of these days, we’re gonna realize, 'cause a man walks up and can preach the Bible does not mean that he is something that is unearthly. He is as earthly, and in many cases, targeted by the enemy in ways you cannot even imagine.
And the point I’m trying to make is we have too many weak men. We need to be men, we need to wake up the mighty men who will stand up when the serpent is talking to the wife, when the enemy is messing with the children, when all hell is breaking loose. It may not be your fault, but it is your responsibility to handle it all, and if you’ll stand up, God will stand up with you, and God will say, «Now I got you praying again, now you’re walking in the cool of the day. I know where you are, but I finally located where you are. Now we can fix it. Now divine authority has come». And the Bible says, «Husbands, love your wife, » Ephesians 5, «Love your wife as Christ loved the church, and wives honor and submit to your husbands».
And when you do that and you get that divine order, the serpent’s power, he will form the weapon but ultimately, it will not prosper. I tell you, our children and our children’s children are blessed for a thousand generations, the book of Deuteronomy decrees, if we stand in the promises of God. Clap your hands and say, «Amen». Hallelujah.
I wanna say it like I wanna say it. When the Lord found me, I was a sinner. It wasn’t His fault, it was my fault. I did it, I was guilty. But my Father took responsibility and he said, «I’ll come down to earth, and I’ll carry a cross. And it’s your fault, but it’s my responsibility to redeem you and forgive you, and love you, and raise you, and after the fall, believe in you, and encourage you after you’ve been through your own fall. It’s not my fault you fell, I did my best to tell you in the law what to do and not to do, but since you did fall, I don’t quit on you. I have covenant love for you».
Not a contract, a covenant. And a contract is one person with another person, and they think that’s what a marriage is, that’s a contract. «As long as you do, I do. I do my part, you do your part». Covenant says it’s not two people, it’s with three people, it’s with husband, it’s with wife, it’s with God, and nothing can separate us from the love of God, therefore I love you, and the more I love God, the more I love you, the more I serve God, the more I serve you.