COMPLETE SERMON NOTES
Prone to Wander (Father’s Day)
“Like a bird that wanders from the nest, so is a man who wanders from his from his place” (Proverbs 27:8).
INTRO: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above…” – Same in 1757 as today
“Wander”: to Depart, to Stray, to Retreat
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“Son, you don’t belong here.”
“Place”: The Enemy seeks to remove us from that place:
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CERTIFICATE OF NON-OPERATION
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Ineffective, Unproductive, Negative, Angry, Lukewarm, Depressed, Disgruntled, Discouraged, Critical, Powerless, Lifeless …
GOD SAYS, “Stay in this place … in this environment … in this shelter.”
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The Nest: High, Protected
The Wander Within Must Be Restrained. How?
Honest Self-examination
1 Samuel 15:23, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
a] God is not saying that He will reject a Christian when they rebel (or we’d all be in trouble); He is saying that disobedience is the same as magic and divination. At the heart of magic is rebellion; at the heart of false worship is self-exaltation.
b] There is a deeper anointing, a more powerful place of worship, a more prominent place of service that flows from obedience. When “we reject the Word of the Lord” through disobedience there is a cost…there is a price.
KEY: Pride blinds us spiritually: Muhammad Ali example
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I don’t know how some of you do it without Christ at the center of your life.
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I’m a broken man, from a broken childhood, that resulted in a broken marriage, that led to a broken life.
. . . but God
We are in desperate need of genuine leadership—broken, humble men—men who are not afraid to admit that they need God; men who are more worried about prayer than about status and recognition; men who petition God rather than position themselves. Men have largely forsaken their God-given role as spiritual leaders in their homes. For example:
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Bible reading and prayer are called fanatical while working twelve hours a day is called success.
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We build our career and neglect our marriage.
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Corporate executives are praised and family men frowned upon.
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Pride is considered an asset and humility a liability.
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We know more about our favorite athletes than our wives and our children.
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We’d rather be seen leaving a bar than leaving a church.
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We praise our favorite team yet fall asleep in church.
Men, you’re not called to be a passive, weak, indecisive partner—you’re called to protect, lead, and guard your family. You are to initiate prayer, defend your wife, shepherd your children, and make your home a holy sanctuary not a breeding ground for Satan. You are called to fight the enemy, not flee from him.
I’m tired of weak, passive men who never contend, stand, or fight for anything worth dying for. Our nation is looking for character, our wives are looking for leaders, and our kids are looking for fathers.
Men, STOP the silly video games, get off of Facebook, kill your porn habit, tell your ungodly friends to hit the road. You’re called to lead, love, and die, if necessary, for your family.
We are the reason that the nation is deteriorating. We are the reason the family is breaking down. We must stop blaming everything from God to the government. Dads…wake up! Life is a battleground, not a play ground!
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I can hear it now, “Shane, you’re being too hard on the guys. Back off.”
Often, if the father wanders so will the children
“Today, virtually every societal problem, social injustice and behavioral abnormality can be traced back to absent, delinquent, misbehaving, drunk, or sexually immoral dads who didn’t respect or understand their enormous calling.” (Kenny Luck)
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90% of all women want to change at least one aspect of their appearance, and only 2 percent of women think they are beautiful.
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81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.
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A girl is being bullied every 7 minutes.
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Every 15 seconds a woman is battered.
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50% of music videos portray women as sex objects, victims, or in a condescending way.
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1 of 4 college women has an eating disorder.
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1 out of 3 girls between the ages of 16-18, say sex is expected for them at their age if they are in a relationship.
Girls often find themselves mistreated, miscast, misused, and undervalued. What they need is guidance, esteem, honor and worth that only a father can give. Same goes for boys. They just have a different set of statistics.
O.M.G.: America’s divorce rate is the highest in the civilized world: triple that of Great Britain and France.
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Children of divorce are three times as likely as those from intact homes to be expelled from school or to have a baby out of wedlock as a teenager, six times as apt to live in poverty and are far more likely to be incarcerated.
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However, statistics do not reveal the emotional pain of divorce, which is always particularly devastating for children. Michael Reagan, the son of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, wrote of his parents’ divorce:
“Divorce is where two adults take everything that matters to a child — the child’s home, family, security, and sense of being loved and protected — and they smash it [to pieces], leave it in ruins on the floor, then walk out and leave the child to clean up the mess.”
*SHANE, THIS HURTS!” Good…sometimes is healthy to mourn and weep
The WANDER WITHIN must be dealt a swift blow.
“I’m at a loss. My ‘Christian’ husband is verbally and physically abusive. Ironically, he thinks that I’m the problem; he sees no need to change. He’ll quote Scriptures about submission while yelling and cursing. His anger is also destroying our children. A home once filled with laughter and joy is now filled with fear and depression. We walk on eggshells and cherish the times when he is gone. He also loves his porn more than his family. I can no longer bear it. I never thought of divorce, but now its a daily struggle.”
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This should cause every man to go home and repair what he can: RESTORE, RENEW, REPENT, RE-ESTABLISH…
“Shane, I’ve done too much damage!”
. . . but God
You’d be amazed at what God can do with humility
Closing: Men, our families would rather “see” a sermon than “hear” one:
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear; And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds, For to see good put in action is what everybody needs. I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done; I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do; For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give, But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.” (Edgar A. Guest; I’d Rather See A Sermon).
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“I’ve wandered.” That’s the first step.
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Un-saved: you’re not “prone to wander”; you are wandering.
God won’t make or force us, but He will draw us…”
I want the presence of God Himself, or I don’t want anything at all to do with religion.” – A.W. Tozer
