The Perfect Father Pt 2 | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson by Chad Erickson First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN) Kind: sermon Scripture: Luke 15:17-20, Luke 15:1-2, Luke 15:20, Psalms 103:13, Isaiah 59:1, Luke 15:21-24, Isaiah 61:10, Joel 2:25, Zephaniah 3:17, Galatians 3:27, Acts 1:8, Psalms 51:12, Revelation 19:9, 1 John 3:1, Jeremiah 31:3 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/chad-erickson--the-perfect-father-pt-2 Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 15 and verse 17 and worship team and sanctuary choir. Thank you for blessing us tonight. Uh what an opportunity I had tonight just to absolutely uh get to be entertained uh not by just talent but the anointing that's in this place is so beautiful. And it's a it's a spirit where you can just get lost in the Holy Ghost. And that's why we love to be in the sanctuary. We get lost in the Holy Ghost here. things begin to happen. Lives begin to get changed and woo God so good. What an amazing what an amazing uh music team we have, production team we have. Thank you. Thank you for doing the very best you can and may God may God bless you for it. Um pastor already announced of course general ministry conference this week. Um please if you will um we have a ticket I'm about to say with your name on it but we do. We have a ticket just for you. Uh we have local tickets. They're for churches in the uh tri-state district. Uh any churches within driving distance where people are driving into the conference at the Knoxville Convention Center. Um if you just show up uh come right in the main lobby. Uh Locust Street, there's a Locust Street parking garage. You can look it up on your phone in app in your app, your Maps app. Um Locust Street parking garage. It's about one block away. Uh they've told us that the uh parking if you leave, you can get there whenever, but if you leave after 6:00, they say it's free. So they say, I don't know if the attendant goes home, opens a gate, and you're just free to leave. So, um just park there. It's a great parking garage. It's the closest parking garage to the convention center that you can park in. Uh go to the um you'll see a booth there. Um registration booth. You can go there. It's our bookstore. you'll see um our movement banner. Uh go to that booth and they will have a ticket for you for your children uh to go to Kids Quest. It's going to be awesome. 6:30 uh the music begins. There's a music showcase begins at 6:30 and then right at 7:00 each evening, worship will begin and we're going to have some amazing preaching. Uh matter of fact, our choir, our choir is the is the main uh feature choir on Wednesday evening. Looking forward to singing there Wednesday evening. And then on Thursday evening, uh, Pastor Carpenter will be the speaker, our general superintendent's address. And matter of fact, before we go any further, um, this is this is a pressure week for pastor and first lady. And when I say pressure week, he is, uh, the general superintendent. We have over a thousand ministers in the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ right here in America. And then we have, I don't know, we have thousands overseas. We have some uh Africa and the Philippines and some of our larger works where we have hundreds and hundreds of of ministers that are licensed with the LJC. Um he is a superintendent worldwide over this whole organization and the pressure is on him at general ministry conference because that's where all the meetings take place, all the general board, executive board, uh ministers, elections, everything takes place uh this coming week in Knoxville. Can we can we just right now before we read from the word of God, can we have a special prayer over our bishop and first lady, over this organization? Come on, why don't you reach your hands towards the carpenters? Father, I'm so thankful, Lord God, that you've given us right here, Lord, this local church. God, you've given us a man and his wife who have vision not just for Blunt County, not just for the tri-state district, but worldwide for worldwide harvest. God, I I believe this week is going to be a great week, Lord, as all our departments come together, all of our leaders come together, Lord God, as we meet to plan a new year, God, I'm just going to believe, Lord God, that the Holy Ghost is going to minister through them, God, give them the words to speak, the words to say. God, I I pray that in every meeting, Lord God, that business will be Lord, that we'll have business, Lord God, that great things will come about because of what's elected, God, because of what is is is is into our constitution and and voted upon in Jesus name. Let great and mighty things come through the assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let revival continue. And let our leaders, let Bishop and Sister Carpenter, Lord God, let them be led by your spirit all week long. In Jesus' name we pray. And the church said, "Amen." Luke 15:17 says, "And when he came to himself," he said, "How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger?" The prodigal son said, "I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, this is so good right here. I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. Verse 20 says, "And he rose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." This is my part two for my wet message from Wednesday night and not only directed to our fathers in the house, but I believe it's going to speak to every person under the sound of my voice that needs to experience the love of the perfect father. I feel that way. I feel like there's people in this house who may have grown up and maybe the father figure of your life didn't represent fatherhood well. But there's a heavenly father. There's a perfect father that loves you, that cares for you, that calls you his own. Oh my God, I feel the Holy Ghost already. I believe on this Father's Day, come on, somebody just lift up your hands to heaven right here. On this Father's Day, somebody could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You can receive the spirit of the Father inside of you. Oh my God. Woo. Whereby we cry, "Aba, Father." whereby we cry, we're sons and daughters adopted into his kingdom, adopted into his family. The perfect father has love one for another in Jesus name. Anoint me, speak through me, speak to this great congregation. I pray in Jesus name. Somebody shout, "Amen." You may be seated in the house. On this Father's Day, I realize that everyone carries a very unique image of fatherhood. Some envision a nurturing father, deeply attentive to his children's needs with empathy and with care, while others envision a supportive father that encourages dreams and celebrates your successes. Many many know an involved father faithfully present at every milestone of your life. And some know a protective father, a steadfast shield against harm, a providing father working tirelessly to ensure stability. And I can relate. I I describe my father and everyone of those fatherly descriptions. And and to my father who I know is watching by way of internet, happy father's day. You are the greatest father. I could not wish or dream or hope for a greater father than I have because everything I've just described describes the man in my life. Yet there's others that carry the pain of a distant father that might be physically present but emotionally is very withdrawn. Some feel the sting of an absent father, leaving a void of longing. There's others that bear scars from a critical father whose whose words wound deeply. Some have experienced an abandoning father who who severed all connections with you and your mother. Maybe you never even got the opportunity to meet your father. But whatever our personal view of fatherhood, we cannot view our heavenly father as we do an earthly father. Because I I believe that there's some people that have a hard time having a relationship with their heavenly father because you never had a relationship with your earthly father. Matter of fact, the word father to you was never a positive but was actually a negative word. a negative term and I can I can understand I can't relate to it but I I can understand but it burdened me today when I when I began to read the newspaper and I couldn't find one article celebrating fathers a national holiday that is printed on every calendar. I I mean, do do fathers really have that bad a reputation? Is there no good excuse in our current society to celebrate fatherhood and and what a real father represents? It shocked me. It burdened me cuz I began to think, what if the role of fatherhood was promoted and supported? Maybe newspapers uh wouldn't have opened to the front page of of of young people disrespecting police officers and rioting in the streets. And I know, listen, I know there may be a lot of fathers who have who have who have uh they've not stepped up to their role of leadership in the family, but why can't we celebrate those that have as a nation? Why can't we celebrate those that have? I just believe it could cause others to step up. Fatherhood and masculinity are under fire in our society. There's a strong feminist movement that wants to create a narrative where anyone who's male that acts like a man is nothing more than a chauvinist. They call it toxic masculinity. The title has become a catch-all explanation for for male sexism. dominance, aggression, violence. The message men often hear is that there's something inherently defective in the male character. And when masculinity itself is portrayed as a problem, the implication is that the the solution is emasculation. Oh, and don't you know it's the enemy's goal and great pleasure to remove the role of the man from his home. It's a brilliant tactic that has lingered on the sidelines from the beginning of time to confuse genders and confuse identity. To cross genders and cross identity. Come on, church family. We've got to wake up. Uh this talk, this topic of gender equality and gender confusion and gender choosing is not about right. Uh it's all about confusing the role of the genders. But in this place tonight and in this county and in this community and in the great state of Tennessee and especially in the apostolic church, we need real fathers. We need fathers that act like men. We need fathers that love their wives. We need fathers that lead their families and respect their children. To the greatest church body, I say happy father's day. Uh I'm not going to stand here ashamed to talk about fathers just because we have people in this audience who have a bad uh woo they have got a bad relationship with a father. But I say happy father's day to every man who's the priest of their home. Uh every man who prays with their children and prays along with their wife and and leads their home and says uh I'm the man of this house uh it is not to be dominant but to be a spiritual leader. Thank God for the men of First Apostolic Church. Happy Father's Day. Now I know we're not perfect fathers. I said, 'I know we're not perfect fathers, but I have come to preach about the perfect father. He's not an absent father. He's He's not an abandoning father. He's not a distant father or a critical father. His love knows no limits. His pursuit never waivers. His restoration always renews. His joy uh is over us. He gives peace uh and he lets us to feel acceptance. to every father here tonight. He is our role model. So with that introduction in Luke chapter 15, it's important that we see who was listening to this parable that Jesus was telling of this lost son. Look with me in Luke 15:1. The Bible says then drew near unto him. Here we go. We're going to describe who is there in the in the audience of Jesus. drew unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. Verse two, in the here here's the other side. And the Pharisees and scribes, they were there too. And they murmured, saying, "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." This was a split crowd. You had publicans and sinners. And then on the other side of the aisle, you had Pharisees and scribes, the publicans, the tax collectors. They were despised by all. They they worked for the Roman government. They they cheated their own people. Alongside of them were the sinners, the outcasts, the thieves, the the prostitutes, anyone who the Jewish law would consider unclean. These were the prodals of their time. They were broken. They were ashamed. They were desperate for hope, which is why they were in the presence of Jesus. These Pharisees and scribes, they were the the religious elite. They they followed every rule to stay pure. Pharisees were were ministry leaders. The scribes, they they knew the Bible by heart. They believed that sinners were too filthy for God's love. They saw God as this distant judge for only the obedient. And for the publicans and sinners, this made God feel unreachable. They couldn't afford sacrifices. They couldn't keep the law. They felt God's anger was their fate. And the Pharisees, their harsh looks uh cons confirmed what they felt. But Jesus's parable of a father who sees his son from a far off changed everything. for the father runs uh with compassion. This blew the minds of the Pharisee, of the scribe and it also blew the minds of the publicans and the sinners because it showed God was a God of relationship. Uh he was ready to forgive no matter the past. Uh for the Pharisees, they were in shock. They murmured. How could this Jesus even give attention to these sinners? Oh, they thought that God should never even care about the despicable. But Jesus was there to tell both sides of the aisle, I've come that you might have life and life more abundantly. The father's love goes so much greater than what you look like or or how you actuh or your reputation in the community. Uh but your father's love goes so much further. Amen. So here we have this prodal son and Jesus begins to tell a parable because only Jesus had the ability to tell a story that would come to life and people of that day could relate to. He wasted the prodical son wasted his inheritance. We preached about it. We taught about it on Wednesday night. He comes home ashamed. He's ashamed expecting rejection. But verse 20, look at verse 20. This is where we're going to start preaching tonight because it reveals the father's heart even before the son begins to repent. The Bible says in verse 20 that the young man arose and came to his father. But when he was yet great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. It says, "But when he was a great afar, a great way off, this distance showed the gap that sin creates. This distance reveals the void that sin creates." Woo! I'm so thankful for a God who can look beyond the chasm called sin. He can look beyond. He looked beyond my fault and saw my need. It was the great Dy Rambo, an apostolic woman back in her years that she wrote a song when she saw her brother-in-law dying in a hospital bed. Uh, and her brother-in-law said to her, "Said, Daddy, there's no hope for me." Said, "Daddy, if you knew the sins I've committed in my life, there's no way that a father's love could ever reach me." But Daddy began to pen the lyrics. He looked beyond my thoughts. He saw every one of our needs. Uh when we couldn't even see what our needs were, we couldn't even describe our needs. Uh when we were like the prodical son and all we could do was come to oursel and say uh I'm no more worthy but to be a slaveh or to be a servant in my father's househ. And he said my love is greater than your need. He said my compassion is greater than your need. He saw the son's heart, not the mess he created. Anybody thankful for that? Anybody thankful that he sees your heart and not the mess that maybe you're in tonight? Uh maybe the mess you've been in this weekend, but he sees your heart that it's your desire to please him. Uh I don't want to live this way anymore. I don't want to act this way anymore. This is not who I want to be. I might be living in sin, but this is not where I want to live. And your father has enough compassion and he has vision that he can see within you and see your heart and say I see that you truly want to live for me had compassion. Compassion meets heartfelt empathy. He shares the heart. He then the third thing is it says the father Jesus told about the father ran and running was shocking rich men. You've heard this preach. Uh, respected men never ran. It was undignified. It was undignified. But here it is right here. The father doesn't have pride. Cuz pride would cause a person to feel I got to watch what other people think of me and what other people say about me. But Jesus was conveying to this crowd, this split crowd. He was saying, "Your father has no pride. His love for you is greater than his reputation in the community. He will Oh my God. He just wanted his son back so bad. He was willing to go where the son was." And then the Bible says, uh, there was a hug. He hugged his neck and began to kiss him. And if you've ever seen a Middle Eastern kiss, they they kiss from side to side. Boy, I don't believe it was just a a one time thing. I believe that father began to kiss that son from side from cheek uh to other cheek to other cheek and he could not believe he my son has returned. Uh my son which was once dead uh is now alive. Uh this prodal that was tattered this prodal that smelled like swine and smelled like a pig's pin uh it didn't matter to the father because the father he didn't see a failure. He saw his son. Psalm 103:13 says, "Like as the father pityth his children, so the Lord pityth them that fear him." Come on, somebody. I want to feel pity from my father. I want to feel pity for my father, pastor. So, I'm going to pity my children like I want my father to pity me. If we're going to learn from the from the father that's perfect in all ways and all things, uh, we got to be able to ask ourselves, uh, what happens if my child makes a mistake at 16 or 26 or or 36 or 46. Come on, fathers. We can't allow our feelings of rejection. Oh yes, this father could have felt and remember the feelings of rejection from his child walking away. But instead, he didn't allow that to sway his response. Uh because he said, "I've got to run to him. No matter what he did to me, no matter how he offended me, no matter how he disrespected me, I can't allow my feelings to get in the way of the restoration process." Cuz that's what this is right here. It's a restoration process. Uh to every father, I'm with you. I'm in this with you. Come on. Sometimes sons and daughters can do things that hurt you. Sons and daughters, the people that are closest to you, we preached about it Wednesday night. The people that are closest to you can hurt you the worst. Uh but we cannot stop them from coming back home. We cannot we cannot put up a barrier and stop them uh and keep them from being restored. So the question is, do their mistakes make them any less our daughter or our son? The prodal just assumed that his mistakes disqualified him from being a son. But Isaiah 59 and1 says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear." There's nothing you're going to do to shorten the arm, the hand of the Lord uh in a getting right back into your life. Uh there's nothing you can do that when you begin to cry out to God, he won't hear you. Uh nothing can stop him from being the great father, the heavenly father, the perfect father. So the son in verse 21 begins his apology. He's broken. He's he's fully expecting to become a servant. He said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son." And the father cut him off and commanded restoration. He turned to his servants and began to make commands. Woo! He said, "Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet. Bring hither the fatty calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry. Come on, let's talk about the robe. He said, "Bring forth not a robe." He said, "Bring forth the best robe." This was all about status. Uh in Jewish culture, the robe, it showed status. Uh it told everybody who you are. He said, "The best robe." That was likely the father's own personal robe. and it covered the son's tattered clothing. I want you to see what happens here. He says, "Ah, you're going to come into my house, but you're not going to come in looking like that. When you walk into my household servant, as a slave, you're not going to come in as a sinner, but I'm going to put a robe over you. I'm going to put a robe of righteousness upon you. Uh, I'm going to cover the stain. God, I'm about to preach here in a moment. Uh, the robe restored his dignity in the presence of not only his father, but in the presence of the servants. It was an act of love. It was an act of compassion. It honored the son publicly. Y'all see this? This was important to the father. It was important that the other servants realized, "My son has come home and there's nothing for him to be ashamed of. I'm going to give him not a robe. I'm going to give him the best robe. And theologically, it symbolizes God's grace, covering the sinner's shame with his righteousness. Isaiah 61:10, it says, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God." Right here, watch this. For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Oh, bring forth the best robe and put it on him. I want you to put a ring upon his hand. What did the ring do? It showed both wealth and position, but it was also a signant ring that gave authority within the family. When you had that ring, any contract that was binding, it was a signate. It said, "I carry the family name and this right here gives authority to whatever is in this document. Put a ring on his handsh and I want you to put shoes upon his feet because servants went barefoot but sons wear shoes." These sandals marked the son as a free man, not a slave but as a free man. And then verse 23 said, "And bring hither the fatted calf. Kill it. Let us eat it and be merry." Killing the fatted calf was a big deal. We realized that a little later on in the parable when the when the older brother got jealous. It was saved for rare feasts. It it was saved for wedding feasts. Uh for important feast days. Uh this was an invitation not just to the family, not just to the servants, not just to the household, but for the entire village. Uh they would celebrate the the son's return with the father. Pastor, preach about it this morning. It wasn't just the son. They were celebrating with the father because it was the father being Mary. He went from person to person, from house to house, saying, "My son, who I thought was dead, which was once dead, oh, he was dead in sin, uh, but he's alive again, uh, he's come home. Uh, he's back in the father's househ. But today, he's going to dine with family and friends." Woo. I'm just going to read it for verse 20 says for says for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to be married. Listen, we have a father that takes joy in restoration. Having us return to the house is not good enough. Uh he wants to see us restored. Restored what's been lost. It was Joel 2 and 25. God our perfect father. He told his children, "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten the canker worm, the caterpillar, the palmer worm, my great army which I sent among you." He said, "I've taken away, but I'm about to restore it." He was saying, the father was saying to the son, uh, "Oh, you had to go into a far off country. You had to waste everything that I gave you in order for you to wake up and realize that being a son is much more than riches and much more than possessions, but it's a place in the family. It's a place in the home. Uh it's a place in leadership. Uh and he said, "I'm going to restore unto you." The perfect father rejoices. Uh when we return, he celebrates redemption. Zephaniah 3:17 Zephaniah. Woo. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. Do you see that right there? I'm so thankful that my God is a singer. All right. God said, "I'm going to sing over you. I'm going to sing a song of joy." It brings joy. And not only the angels in heaven are going to rejoice, but the Bible says right here, "I'll rejoice over thee with singing." God said, "I will sing joy over thee." And so I want to conclude 30 minutes and 49 seconds. I'm doing good. I want to conclude because here it is. You got to forgive me, but I'm a Pentecostal preacher and I can see types and shadows of the plan of salvation all throughout this parable because the robe represents repentance. The robe describes as the best robe represents restoration of righteousness. You see the the son returns and rags and that symbolizes a sinful state. But the father he's immediate. He commands him to be clothed. He demands him and signifies forgiveness and lifestyle change because repentance is the first step of salvation where a sinner acknowledges their sin, the prodal, the Bible says came to himself. I'm so thankful that when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, uh, and when they said to Peter, "Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved?" I'm so thankful that Peter had an explanation and had a message uh that came from Jesus himself. Uh he said you got to repent uh you got to be baptized uh in the name of Jesus uh for the remission of your sins. Uh and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Uh repentance is coming to ourselves. Uh repentance is acknowledging uh I don't deserve to be a son. I only deserve to be a servant. I'm going into my father's house uh and I'm going to serve any way I can serve. Oh, but with repentance uh comes forgiveness. And with forgiveness comes a robe that's put upon us uh in this sinful lifestyle is now covered by the blood of the lamb. Somebody shout yes. Woo. The robe, you may be seated, the robe is a necessity, but salvation is not complete without the ring and without the shoes. For the ring symbolizes water baptism. The ring placed on the son's finger signifies authority and sunship uh in a covenant relationship. Water baptism in the name of Jesus is essential for the remission of sins. The ring symbolizes the believer's new identity found in baptism. Galatians 3 and 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. The shoes. Let's talk about the shoes. Uh oh, it represents the Holy Ghost in filling. Uh it repres it res represents the Holy Ghost. It's its preparation, its readiness, its protection for our journey of faith. The infilling of the Holy Ghost, the evidence by speaking in another tongue is the empowerment for the Christian walk. Acts 1 and8 says, "But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost uh has come upon you, these shoes that the father commanded uh to be put on the feet of his son." Uh woo, they were transformative power of the spirit. Uh, oh, I believe in Jesus name. Somebody uh that's here tonight needs uh and you are going to want uh to receive this gift of the Holy Ghost. Uh you're going to want these shoes put upon your feet because it's going to start taking you places. Uh they're going to receive power whether they receive power for to be witnesses of me where here, there, and everywhere. there. Jo, Jerusalem, uh Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. Uh there's power. He's going to give us shoes to take us to places where the power the power the power can be released. And then the feast represents the joy of our salvation. I'm almost done. Psalm 51:12 says, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy spirit." It all points, I like this right here. It all points to the marriage supper of the lamb. Come on. The father as they began to rejoice as they heard singing and dancing and they began to rejoice uh for the son had come home. Revelations 19:9 says, "And he saith unto me, write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb." It's the final celebration of redemption. Oh, do you hear me? Tonight, it's going to be the final celebration of redemption. Oh, they were having a time. They were having a time at the father's house with singing and music and dancing. But there's coming a day. I'm preaching about a day. Woo! There's a trumpet that's going to sound. Uh we're going to be caught up together to meet our savior in the air. Woo! We're going to join him for all eternity. Uh there's going to be a party in heaven. Uh there's going to be a marriage supper of the lamb in heaven. We're going to rejoice. We're going to shout. And for all eternity, uh the father is going to rejoice because we finally made it home. I'm preaching about the perfect father. Hallelujah. No matter what our view of a father is, Jesus wants to show us a perfect father. This is what a perfect father looks like. He's not distant or critical. He's the father that runs to us. He restores his patience. He rejoices. He has joy over us. 1 John 3:1 says, "Behold uh what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us uh that we should be called the sons of God." I wish you would just stand to your feet uh if you're a son, if you're a daughter of God, and you would just lift your hands right here and begin to thank God for the robe. Uh begin to thank God for the ring. Uh begin to thank God for the shoes. and begin to thank God for the fatted calf who has been slain in the party that's about to take place. Uh I believe in this place there's going to be grace uh amazing grace uh how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Uh I once was lost but now I'm found. I was bound bind but now I seek. Come on somebody. If you're thankful for the grace of God in your life, uh why don't you pray for somebody next to you and begin to just call their name and say, "God, uh they need to feel your grace. Uh God, they need righteousness to clothe them." Uh come on, you got to you got to want this. Uh you got to see the need for it. You got to seek after it. The only way the son receives the ring and the robe and the shoes is he's got to come home. Uh he's got to come back to the father's house. There's got to be an altar in his life. Come on, somebody. The father loves you. The father cares about you. The father has an expected end for you. His thoughts are towards you. Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yay, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, in loving kindness, uh have I drawn thee? Come on, somebody. Do you feel drawn to the altar? Do you feel drawn to the father's house tonight? Uh that you could just say, "God, I want to feel that redemption. God, I want to feel the Holy Ghost. I want to feel it just surging through my body. I want to feel the power. I want to experience the authority." Come on. But you got to come want it. You can't come expecting to be a son. You got to come expecting to be a servant and allow God to transform you into a son. For the mountain shall depart uh and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not be depart from thee. Uh neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, sayeth the Lord. Uh that hath mercy on thee. But thou, oh Lord, uh are a God full of compassion and gracious, uh longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. Uh know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God. Uh the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. Uh how excellent is thy loving kindness, oh God. Uh therefore the children of men put their trust uh under the shadow of thy wings. Come on, somebody. I'm preaching about the perfect father. But the mercy of the Lord from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto the children the children's children unto your grandchildren unto your great grandchildren and the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed uh the Lord the Lord thy God merciful and gracious longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands thousands forgiving iniquities uh and transgressions and sin. I wish every person in this house would throw your hands up and begin to pray a prayer of repentance. Come on. Oh God, I don't deserve anything. God, I don't deserve anything. There's not any mercy. There's not any grace. There's not any kindness I deserve. I'm just a despicable prodigal son. I'm living in a swine pin. I don't deserve. I'm not coming with a spirit of an entitlement, but I'm returning back home. I'm going to tell my father, "Forgive me. Forgive me." Come on, pray a prayer of repentance. Forgive me. I'm sorry for the life that I lived. I'm sorry for what I wasted. I'm sorry that the inheritance you gave me, uh, I no longer have it. It's gone. I'm sorry that you gave me the opportunity for a perfect life, but I messed it up in sin. I'm sorry I found myself on a bar stool. I'm sorry I was smoking two packs a day. I'm sorry I got into drugs. I'm sorry alcohol consumed my life. Come on, you got to be sorry about it. I'm sorry for everything I've done and everywhere I've been. I'm sorry for the thoughts that I've thought. And so, Father, I'm coming home as a servant. I'm coming home. Oh, I'm coming home as a servant. I want humility. I want there to be humility in my life. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Come on, somebody. You just got to plead to the Father and say, "God, just receive me back as a servant. Just as a servant. That's all I ask. Come on, somebody begin to say, "God, whatever you want of me, I'm yours, Lord. Everything I've got, everything I'm not, try me out and see. Uh, see if I can be completely yours. I'm going to give myself to you. I'm going to come and serve. Uh, I'm going to come and be what you've called me to be." Uh, I'll say yes. I'll say yes, Lord. I agree. Come on. If you've repented, I believe you're starting to feel I believe you're starting to feel the feeling of that robe over your shoulders. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Feel that feeling of that robe being placed over your shoulders. Uh come on. You're you're wearing rags. Your clothes are ripped up. They're dirty. Uh they're filled with grime and sin. Uh but come on. When you begin to repent, uh you begin to feel that robe of acceptance. That robe that's going to say, "I forgive you of your sins." Uh, I'm going to cast your sins as far as the east is from the west. Uh, I'm going to cast your sins into a sea of forgetfulness. You are not going to be a servant. You are going to be a son. Come on. I hear the prayer of the saints. I I hear the prayer of those that are here tonight. This might be your first time in an apostolic service. This the first time you felt what you're feeling. Woo! I wish you would just respond to the word. I wish you respond to the word and you say, "Hey, you're talking about You're talking about a ring. You're talking about a ring where there's authority." Come on. I offer you baptism in Jesus' name. Uh for the remission of your sins. Uh for the removal of your sins, uh I offer you the blood of Jesus. Uh you're going to be buried. There's going to be a name applied to your life uh that's going to give you authority. But you got to be willing to get into the baptistry. You got to be willing to put the ring on your finger. Get in the baptistry and allow those sins to be washed away. And for your body, you're going to come out new, a newness of life. Uh there's going to be a regeneration that takes place. Uh and then, oh then, you're going to be shuh with shoes. They're going to be upon your feet. Uh and God's going to take you places with his Holy Ghost to do great and mighty things. Come on. on. If you got the Holy Ghost, I wish you begin to speak in another tongue right here as the spirit gives the utterance. You just begin to speak in a tongue that just says, "God, lead me, Lord. I'll follow. Will you lead me, Lord? Holy Ghost well up. Holy Ghost fill us. Holy Ghost overflow in our lives. Come on, fathers. Let this be a prayer of the father. Lord, let the Holy Ghost uh overflow in my life. Uh let it run over uh let it run over into my wife and into my children. Uh let it run over into my neighborhood, into my subdivision, into my apartment complex. Let the Holy Ghost, Lord God, let it fill. Let it flow. Let it work. Let it move. Let it empower. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Come on. I'm done preaching. They're going to sing. But come on. I just want us to continue to pray and say, "God, I'm thankful, Lord God. I'm so thankful, Lord God. Cuz you are my father." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're my father. The perfect father loves us. The perfect father restores us. The perfect father heals. Come on. He wants you