So I will follow suit; Happy Father's Day to all the dads who are here today! Maybe, you know, we make a big deal over Mother's Day, but arguably, Father's Day is one of the most important days of the year (Or at least that's what Kris tells me)! After all, without dads, who else would remind us to turn off all the lights, close the refrigerator door, and make sure you check the oil in your car? So for all of the dads in your life this year, just maybe today, you could allow them to use the bathroom undisturbed, wear their tall socks like it's a fashion statement, and for one day not ask, “Where's mom?”

“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets of society,” said the late Billy Graham. And so how so? The influence of the father, of course, so much influences the children and these will be tomorrow's leaders, doctors, lawyers, teachers, even voters. And so the influence of the father is unmistakable - affecting the success, the mental health, the well-being of his children. And you and I are both very familiar with the statistics that that would show.

Children with involved fathers: 40% less likely to suffer from depression, score higher on standardized tests, and more likely to have healthier marriages when they get older - right, we're familiar with this. Oppositely, youths from father absent homes are four times more likely to live in poverty, seven times more likely to become pregnant as teens, two times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and overall, more likely to commit crimes and become incarcerated. The role of the father in the household today is so important. And we know that there has been an affront, an attack on fathers in the world to keep them outside of the home. But the church is rising up in this day, bringing up families together, encouraging the fathers. And for the fatherless today, you are not without hope because many have risen up in the church, this day, to rise in the role of mentorship and love for the fatherless. God has not left us. You see - children were made to be able to imitate and observe the actions of their fathers so that they could be replicated. This is the way God has created us to be. So it's not something that's easily ignored. It's not something that can be brushed away. The importance of the father is so great this day. But for all of us, God has not left you as orphans. He has loved you with an unimaginable love for He sent His Son to die for you. He has loved you and He has given himself for you this day.

So today we're going to learn that just as children learn to observe and imitate their fathers, so also must you imitate your heavenly Father. Ephesians 5:1 in the New King James Version, “Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children”. The children imitate God the Father. In action, in character, in thought, in all that we do, we must be like the God of our Bibles - thinking the way He has called us to, having the proper responses as depicted in the Word of God. Showing the world the character of God - His love, His mercy, His grace - all of these things to a lost world that does not know Him. Demonstrate to the world the love of God in you. Because He has loved you, that is where the change has come in. Because He has loved you, that is why you can demonstrate it this day.

Children learn to observe and to imitate their fathers and this is a very important part of development. I’m sure that they learn about this in school and clinical psychology; they have to be a product of their environment, and they will learn to copy and imitate whatever it is that's around them, church. And so we know that this could be whatever is good or whatever is bad around them. On one hand, children can learn to be respectful, to be kind, to be honest, but they are also just as likely to pick up on the qualities that are not of God - of unloyalty, of dishonesty, of disrespect. We must understand this day that children are not the only imitators. Friends, whatever you look up to, that is what you imitate. This day let us imitate not the world, but our Heavenly Father, who has called you out of the world, not to imitate its ways, but to imitate the ways of our Heavenly Father.

When we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Father, it is His life that we take on as the new pattern of our lives. It is Him that we look up to. It is Him that we surround ourselves with. When we come to church and we look all around at us, we look at godly men and it is them that we want to imitate and follow our lives after. This is what society has been attacking. This is what society has been trying to break down. The role of the fathers. The role of the Heavenly Father and His influence on His children. On the moment of salvation, God gives you a spirit. And it is the spirit of sonship; Sonship to call out to the Lord, “Abba Father, help me, change me, make me new in You, help me to imitate You, help me to be a reflection of Your image this day.”

God is at work within us through the spirit of sonship to make you - and it doesn't matter if you're male or female, we're talking about all the children of God - And that work begins inside of you so that you would reflect His character to the world and also to demonstrate His power and His goodness and His works. When the spirit of sonship comes upon you, you are delivered from being sons of the world to being sons of God. Sons of the world are in captivity. You know, we sang the songs up here today and we're singing about victory. And I really wanted to take the mic, but I couldn't get my thoughts together. But I wanted to say, you know, “Why is everybody praising, oh, victory?” Are we at war? Like, am I missing something here? The fact is that the children of God who were once living in fear, who once couldn't get control of themselves because they were so angry, the ones who had addiction or who had a disease that was a death sentence upon them, those of us who are alive here in the house of God, we have been freed from those things! That's why we're saying victory, and I will dance before the Lord, I will shout, my heart is so grateful that I am here today, not in the same place that I even was last year. And I, physically, can feel those burdens that have been released off my shoulders and brought into the freedom of God. And I know that that is true in the church this day. That's why we sing about freedom, that's what God does.

And so when you have that spirit of sonship, you become heirs of the Lord, heirs of His kingdom, and co-heirs with Christ. You receive the power and the keys to the kingdom of heaven to bind and to loosen. The power is in your tongue to bring life or to bring death. All the power of God is given unto you. So where are the sons of God? The sons of God are rising in this season. You know, and that is the reason why people can turn away from the treasures of this world. And the world can't understand it, how people can spend so much time in prayer and in church, but the reason why is because they have the spirit of sonship inside of them. And it makes us really understand the difference between the treasures of this world and the true treasure that's found in Christ, and there is no comparison. And so we turn away from the treasures of the world. We're able to walk away from our earthly plans - maybe your plans for retirement, or you leave your cushy job to enter into full-time ministry. How is that possible in this kind of age? Where people worship money, where people love themselves, where people care about the size of their house and the car that they drive most of all? Only through the spirit of sonship that comes at the moment of salvation will you be able to turn.

You can just ask my Father, who, when the spirit of sonship came upon him, God did an unmistakable, powerful thing in his life, and we all benefited from that work in our house. We have a saying in our house, and it is, you know, when we're going through something tough and there's an obstacle that we're facing, we say, “Well, if the Lord did it with dad, He can do it in this”, amen?

The power of sonship was within him, and the work is still happening in front of our faces today. Because of his transformation, his love and patience for me was able to come in, and that is the only reason why today I can love and care for my family in the way that I do. And so he received from the Lord, and also he was able to deposit that within me, and that is the power this day of sonship.

Romans 12:2 - “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will”. The Bible warns about transforming to the world. We said that we're a product of our environment, and He said, “Don't be transformed like the world. Do not be like the world.” This day you must understand that your mind has to be bought back by God so that He can rewrite the DNA on your brain so that you no longer react the way you always have, so that you don't have the ability to transpire and do the things of the patterns of this world. This is only possible through the blood of Jesus Christ who paid the price to get the copyrights back to your soul and to your spirit. He won it, He bought it so that you could be rewritten as a new creation in Christ this day. Amen?

Be transformed, be transformed. You see, the image of this world has been imposed upon the sons of God. We're living this imposter life that's not the true you, because God knows who the true you is - And we've been kind of, you know, straddling both sides - but God, this day, wants you to come into your true life. Because God is your creator, God is your father, and He wants to rewrite who you have been. No longer living your life in the way that the world wants you to live. In fear. In doubt. In weakness. That must be done away with. And your new life must be found in Christ. This day will you live your true life unto God - to be who He's called you to be, to be faithful, to be decided, to be power and anchored in the faith of Jesus Christ? That is who the sons are called to be this day.

We underline the word conform. “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world” - its values, its patterns, its principles. One behavior that we really need to let go of is the fact that we think that change only comes when everyone around us changes first. But no, we change now despite what is going on around us because the power of God is in you to be the change maker. You will be the initiator of the change in your household. It is not the wife, or the husband, or the children, or the teacher, or the boss that needs to change. It is us reflecting the character of God to the whole world that greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world! Only then, only then, with the transformed mind of Christ will you be able to discern what His good, pleasing, and perfect will is. Hallelujah.

It is not our will, it is not the plans that we have had for all time; It is the will of God. And I hope that the church can come into more trust than ever before this day, because as your Creator, the only way that you can experience true joy in this life, is if you are living out the life that He has created you to have. What makes one happy is not going to make you happy. And we think with covetous eyes always, with “the grass is greener on the other side”, always looking at what our neighbor has - that's not for you. But if you trust in the Lord this day, that He is your Creator and He has good things in store for His children, that will make you the happiest you've ever been. People are depressed in the United States because they're always looking at what somebody else has. Be satisfied in the treasure of the Lord Jesus Christ in your salvation this day, and the plans that He has for you.

So this week, as I'm going through some of my notes and writing this Father's Day sermon, Maya comes to mind. And I had the privilege of seeing her take prom pictures a couple years ago when she was graduating. She's a smart girl and all her friends were in the high honors classes, and they were all talking about getting their apartments ready for college. And I knew that Maya had decided to stay local. And so, as she's listening to everybody, I'm sure, you know, there's an excitement there - They're all getting ready. “Oh, what college are you going to”? And she has to respond that she's going to a local college. But look, she had the grades, she had the scholarship to go to any four-year university that she wanted to go to. And maybe, maybe for just one moment, she thought “Am I missing out?” You know, “Did I make the right choice”? But I want to tell you today, you are never going to get second best. God always stores for you what is the best for you. You never get the leftovers in Christ Jesus. And I bet if you ask her today, she has no regrets. She has chosen right in the Lord to follow the plans that God has had for her!

People need to see the resemblance between us and our Father. We look at young children and we say, “Oh, look, he looks just like his dad. He's just like him.” And that's what people need to say about you; that you are just like your Heavenly Father. “Oh, look at her. She just can't get enough. She can't get enough in church. What's wrong with that one? She never stops praying.” That's right, because we are just like our Heavenly Father.

It's so important that we don't look like the world, that we don't value what it values. I've seen so many people try to survive in church, but they don't make it because they never made a decision about what it was that they're going to reflect. There's got to be a distinction between the sons of God and the sons of the world.

Can we put up 1 John 3:1? “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason why the world doesn't know us, is that it didn't know him.” And so this verse is emphasizing the fact that there are two groups: the sons of God and the sons of the world. Do not be mistaken - The sons of God are marked with the character that they are righteous in the Lord. They are marked with love for one another and for the church. They seek to do what is right in God's eyes, and they go the length to make sure that they are pleasing, living lives that are pleasing to Him. Not just on the outside - not just fixing it to what we do on the outside, but going deep in the heart, making sure that our thoughts and our minds reflect Christ. Whereas the children of the world are marked with a lack of righteousness and a lack of love in their lives; they follow the ways of the father of this world - of self-preservation, of lies, and of hatred. And so we turn away from those things of the world because Jesus says, “Whoever is not for me, is not with me. Choose this day whom you will serve” because this day we see that there is no in between. So let the sons of God be revealed in this season, the true sons who imitate the Father.

"...just as Jesus bears the image of God, so also must we be transformed into His great image."

Now secondly, we will see that just as Jesus bears the image of God, so also must we be transformed into His great image. Jesus knew who He was as the Son of God. There was no changing his mind, He knew exactly who He was, and I'm reminded of the story when his parents lost track of Him when they went to visit Jerusalem. And when upon finding them, they said, “Where were you?" And He said to them, “I was in my Father's house. Didn't you know that that's where I would be? I was with my Heavenly Father.” Throughout His life, many people tried to convince Him otherwise, but He never changed course. He knew exactly who He was. They hurled insults at Him. They accused Him of blasphemy, they said that He was healing by the power of the devil, and they said that He was Beelzebub, the lord of the flies. On the day of His crucifixion, they beat Him, they hurled insults at Him, they spit upon Him and yet He did not respond to them. He continued in His image, in the Father's image, so that you and I would be saved through following in His example, amen.

That is the power of Jesus Christ to be able to restrict Himself from the things of this world so that you would have a path of salvation to follow this day in the example that Jesus has set for each one of us - gladly to walk in the image of His daddy. This is the sign that somebody knows who they are, isn't it? When you're at work, when you're on the field, when you're at school, you see some people who dig in deep that don't question who they are, right? When there's a heated meeting, they're not going to change their stance just because it's the unpopular opinion. When things get heated or when they're being unfairly criticized, they don't change their stance. And friends, that has been the Lord Jesus Christ who faced the entire world and did not shake for a moment for He knew who He was. This day, do you know who you are in Christ? Can the world shake the ship? But no, we stand steadfast in the Lord this day, anchored in our belief that it is God who is our Heavenly Father. He has paid the price. He has earned the respect of each and every one of us that we would follow in His example.

This day, if you truly understood that Jesus is the image of God, then we would have a whole new understanding of what it is that He accomplished on the cross. He gives you the image of Jesus so you know exactly what it is that you're supposed to look like. If we can have 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 up. It's a mouthful so stay with me. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” And [verse] six, “For God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.” And so we can go back.

So who is, who is the god of this world? It is Satan who blinds the minds of the people in this world so they cannot see the light of the gospel. The light of the gospel is the truth that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. That God - that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father - the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. Satan has blinded the eyes of the people so that they never come to understand that. But to the church this day, He is shining a light in this place, that the light of the glory of God would be opened up to you, that you would understand for the first time that Jesus is the unseen God. You see, God has no form. He is not a human being. And so Jesus disposed Himself; He took his jacket of glory off in heaven and came down as the perfect image of God to this earth so that you could follow in His example, so that you could be saved.

Verse 5 is just reiterating - it's not us that Satan is trying to keep you from, it's not the preachers, it's not the pastors. It's Jesus as Lord, it's Jesus as the Christ. He is the Savior. And this day may our eyes be open to the light. If you could put up verse 6, “...God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’”. When was this said? This was said in the beginning in the book of Genesis when God said, “Let there be light.” He is shining the light of the Glory of Jesus Christ to a dark place. The earth was dark and void and chaotic and empty, and He brought the light into a dark place, but this day God brings light into our hearts. He is bringing the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, illuminating. Let revelation come. Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! Give Him praise! Jesus is the image of God this day. Hebrews says, “He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being.” The Father of light - He is coming in to show you that Jesus is the perfect, exact, complete, absolute image of God. And you know what we say? Oh, He is just like His Father! Amen? Amen.

"Are you willing to go through your metamorphosis this day to be created into a new creation in Christ…"

So some of us, we bear the image of our earthly fathers. And one thing that I have, just like my dad, I can do that furrowed brow, just like him. And Sammy has it too. So we inherit some good and some bad from our earthly fathers, and that's just like the earthly father; the first father, Adam. But this day truly is the time for us to bear the image of our spiritual father, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”. The word conformed here comes from a Greek word, “summorphos”, “morph”, right? We hear the word there like metamorphosis - of a caterpillar that turns into the beautiful butterfly. Are you willing to go through your metamorphosis this day to be created into a new creation in Christ this day with new hearts and new minds in Him? And if we could have both Romans verses…

We just went over this verse in the previous point, And I want to show this to you in the scripture. In the first one it says, don't - “do not conform to the ways of this world.” And into the second it said, “be conformed into the image of the sons of God.” Today will you make a decision? Will you show the whole world what your choice has been? To be able to follow in the image of Christ? All your actions will show the decision that you make this day. Will you follow and be conformed to the ways of the world, or will you follow in the footsteps of your Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, being conformed to His perfect image? Only the Father can do it.

One thing that I admire about dads is their ability to build with their hands (It's something that I don't have the capability of doing). A couple weeks ago, a couple of the guys got together to build a shed, and I'm there watching at their ability to put the walls up and really have the ability to create and build, and it's really something that's amazing (I see some smiles over there). It's amazing because I don't have the ability to do it. But I want to tell you that your Father in heaven is that same master craftsman. He is building something in you this day that is unimaginable, whose walls will stay up forever through the generations. That you would be holy and blameless until the day of Christ. So would you allow the Lord to transform you, to open up your eyes to the light of the gospel that is in the face of Jesus Christ? Amen.

So first, we learn to imitate, secondly, we bear the image of Christ. And finally, we live lives worthy of imitation. Amen. Now, every dad has a rite of passage for their kids; It's just something that you have to do to be able to gain any respect in your house. So if I had to guess what some of those would be for some of the dads in this house, first I'd say for the Lefler house, you have to solve a Rubik's cube. At the Masellas, you have to at one time or another evangelize a gas station attendant. At the Landwehrles, you have to restore a car engine. And at my dad's house, you have to make a perfect pot of white rice. You're not getting any respect without it. Now, for the Lord in His house, what is it that we have to do? We have to have somebody imitating us. Somebody's got to be following your example. We follow in His example, but it doesn't stop there. Who's on your path? Who's on your feet, on your trail, following your path of salvation, your path of transformation? It is the example to the whole world that it's possible. And that's why we look to the people who are here in church to be willing to be transformed, that others could find their way. You become those doorposts or you give the signposts on the highway that people could find their way to the Heavenly Father. This is a lost world. It's a dark world. We already discussed, in that verse before, that Satan blinds the minds of the world so they can't even see Jesus, but they can see you. If you have that spirit of sonship inside of you, they can see exactly the way to the Father. And so in the Lord's house, somebody has to be imitating you. It's not for the later, it's for the now. And some of us have taken a backseat approach to this, thinking that, “Okay, when I'm a perfect Christian, then somebody can follow me.” No, there is glory in the process of God doing the transformation. You know, when people can say, “No, follow me as I follow Christ. Come behind me and do as I do.” When you can say that before people, you're just saying to them, you know, if you live as I do and you have the faith, you will grow closer to Christ. This is the way it is in the world today; We need to have a visible character of following God for the whole world to see and this day, God's putting His sons and daughters on display to the whole world.

"Being a Christian doesn't mean you are perfect, but it means the One who is in you doing the work this day is perfect."

Being a Christian doesn't mean you are perfect, but it means the One who is in you doing the work this day is perfect. Philippians 1:6 - “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ”. God is going to do this transformative process within each and every one of you, setting you apart this day. There's a glorious work that's happening even in this room now. Eyes are opening, the light is coming in for the very first time, and some of us are willing to be transformed. Some of us are willing to trust in God that You will set us apart. He is recreating you in His perfect image. And we trust that he alone will carry it to completion, for He is the author and the finisher of your faith and He will do the work that is required.

So we must live our lives so that others can follow us and also find their way of salvation. This has to be a life - This has to be a place overflowing with life. Filled with the effervescent power and Spirit of God that when people walk through the door, they would say, “Wow, I've never experienced that. There is life in that place.” But I tell you, this is the spirit of God that you feel! And He is at work manifesting in the physical earth this day. It's not something up in the air, but it is something we can see and experience with our eyes this day.

Now in the final words of Jesus, before He left the earth, what did He say to His followers? But “...go and make disciples of all nations”. This is why Christianity now 2,000 years later is still going strong. We take what we have learned from our teachers, we teach it to those who will be faithful, and they in turn will teach it to others also. This is Christianity. This is the sharing of the faith. This is what it means to evangelize. This is the power of God at work in the church this day. I am a follower of those who have discipled me, but I am also a disciple maker. And even those who are watching from afar - and believe me, they are watching - the coaches, the teachers, the friends, the neighbors, because they want to see what the experience is - They want to see how you react. They want to see when you're going to lose hope. “This can't be for real. They can't really be different. I'm not buying all this Christianity stuff. I'm not buying it. I've known them a long time.” But we demonstrate to the world that there is a work of sonship within us. Let us be deliberate this day that others may follow.

There is a philosophy that is just rampant in our society. I know that you've seen it before, “only God can judge me”. Maybe, you know, you've seen somebody with it tattooed on their arm or on their stomach. It's in pop songs today. It's on clothes everywhere. But what do they really mean when they say that? “Only God can judge me.” (You know, it's such a cool saying). It really means “Don't look at me. Don't judge me. Don't measure my actions.” But I tell you this day, Christians do not have that privilege. And Paul said to the church, in 1 Corinthians 4:9, this is the truth of the Christians - “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as human beings”. Whew, we are on display for the whole world to be watching. Praise God you are on display, let the sons of God rise up in this season! For He wants His sons to shine like stars in the sky, that the whole world would see the work of God inside of you. Your sonship will never falter, it will never die, may the sons of God be revealed in the whole earth. When I think of that, it's just such a beautiful, beautiful verse that Paul realizes that he is willing to be put on display. Are you willing to live a life that can be watched by all through the power of God this day?

So how is it? How is it that you may live a life worth imitating? Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ” Can you say the same to others? Are we promoting, are we hurting, or are we hindering the walk of others this day? Because that's the question we need to ask ourselves daily. Can others follow in your footsteps? And there should be a great confidence in our heart, a confidence, “Follow me because if you walk as I do - I am not perfect, but the One that is in me is perfect. And He is doing a perfect work in me this day. And if you follow after me, that you will find Christ.” That is the church this day. When we think about this, the Lord sums up His commands in the Bible into two. First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. And secondly, love your neighbor as yourself. Would the love of God rise up in the church this day?

My father, who I said had the spirit of sonship inside of him, decided that he would be an example to his children. And by that power, I now am able to live my life - able to love my family in the way that I've been called to do it. This day, would you see that God has called you to love others just as you love yourself? With the same investment that we've all put into our own lives - would you give your life to the Lord Jesus this day? To be put on display at the end of a procession like those condemned to die in an arena, made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.

Angels are looking at you even today. All of creation watches what you will do - the sons of God. Would you choose to serve the Lord with all of your heart and would you allow Him to make a change in you? To say, “Yes, Lord, I will stand as a witness this day. To testify of what You have done - in power, in strength, in might. Because You lowered Yourself lower than the angels, I may also rise up in the power of God this day.”

“Join together, my brothers and sisters, just as you have us as a model. Keep your eyes on those who live as we do. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you. Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” Be an example this day. Only through the power and the work of Jesus Christ can you take on the spirit of sonship.