Dustin Wharton: A Fatherless Generation

Hey man, it's great to be here today. Let's give Jesus another hand plap. Team, thank you. Man, what a great day.

Who's happy to be here today? Man, all right, me too. I've got a lot, we're just getting started. We're gonna have a great time together today.

Excited to be here. Just a few things before I introduce Pastor Dustin, just to get a few announcements out of the way. First of all, any guests here today, anybody visiting for the first time today? One, two, three, excellent.

Four, welcome. Glad to have you here. We not only have new people just about every week, we see people get saved. We see miracles on a regular basis.

So just come expecting today. Come to receive a fresh impartation of grace and God's word today. And come expecting God's gonna do something specifically for you individually in your life today. Welcome.

Well, if you're here for the first time, you're a family. I'd like you to connect with one of our team either before or after service at this point, but we'd love to connect with you and tell you a little bit more about our church and some places you can get involved if you would like to. All right, so this Thursday is our 30 Thursday service. And Pastor Seth will be teaching this Thursday.

I'm taking a Thursday off. Pastor Seth and Eve, you're not with us today, as my wife is not either. Pastor Seth married my youngest daughter Lauren yesterday. It was really good.

I actually, my first daughter's wedding, I escorted her down the aisle, did a 180 and then married her. So this time I actually got to sit and walk her down the aisle and sit and enjoy the service. It's really good. We were about two and a half hours away, so they're still there.

But I was excited to be here today, stuck it up and left and joined you guys. So yeah, excited that somebody said, how was it? I said, I got to do two things yesterday. I got to pay and I got to pray.

And I was about the extent of my day yesterday. And I'm still paying. That's going to be for a while yet. So this Thursday, Pastor Seth's teaching next Sunday is meet the pastor's luncheon.

So if you're new here, you've just been attending in the last several months. We have a special luncheon after church. Next Sunday, you'll be able to meet the pastoral team. You'll be able to ask us questions and just interact.

It'll be right here after church and downstairs in the basement. We'll have lunch and just a little time of fellowship and Q and A. Tell you a little bit about what we're all about as a church. And I think that's probably all of regular announcements.

We have a couple graduates this year in our church, high school graduates. And so we want to recognize one of them today. I'm going to honor one today and Pastor Seth's going to honor one next week. But I'd like to embarrass this young man a little bit.

That city reached for prophesy. We're going to prophesy her this guy. We want to, Eli'd like to have you stand up for me if you would. Let's give Eli Dawson a big hand.

Does anybody know what the name Eli means? No, it doesn't mean to sit down. It actually means to ascend. So I think you need to ascend onto the stage.

Let's go. Come on. Come on up here, buddy. Proud of you.

So Eli, you didn't really turn 18 next two weeks, right? That's good. So Eli just graduated from Frankfurt High School. And I was just thinking about Eli this morning asking God about Eli.

And he just reminded me of a young in context of ascending. A lot of times we think that kings ascended to the throne, that there was a change. There was to be a transition from one king to another. And there was a young king named Hezekiah that took he ascended to the throne at just 25 years old.

Hezekiah means Jehovah is my strength. And what Hezekiah did, his father was one of the most wicked kings, has nothing to do with your father, Re. But his father was one of the most wicked kings he has in Israel's history. But when Hezekiah took the throne, when he ascended, when a transition happened in his life, like it's happened to you now, it says, in the first month, he began to restore reforms of religious reforms in his country.

And so he didn't waste time. He didn't let his age deter him. And so I want to encourage you that the spirit of Hezekiah to rest on you, that Jehovah is your strength, that regardless whether you're 18 and you're a young man, but you're transitioning from one season of life to another, that God has a purpose for you to start to change things in this community and in your next phase in life. So I want you to step into that.

I want you to just be confident in what God's called you to do. A lot of people don't know that Eli's been on some mission trips around the world, right? Where are some of the places you've been? Uganda and Guana.

This guy's been to Central America and also to Africa at less than 18 years old. That's amazing. So God's already put a burden for the lost in your heart and he's already put a vision of what world the ministry looks like. So I just want you to step into that.

And I want you to just as you ascend and step into your new season life that you, as Paul told Timothy, don't let anybody despise your youth, but be an example of the believers. And that your youth, whether it's youth and age or youth and your time in the Lord, is never going to be a deterrent what God wants to do in and through you. So let's just, we have a Bible for you. And we want to give that to you.

And we put it from city research. So congratulations. And if you want to just stretch your hands, we're going to pray over Eli. Put your hands forward.

Father God, we just thank you for this young man. I thank you for the heart of God that's in him. Lord, I pray that as he goes about and steps into his next season life, Father, the spirit that rested on Hezekiah to change the face of what was the norm, to go about, and begin to do what wasn't popular, to do the things, Lord, that led people to have a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ. God, I pray that he would have the boldness to do that.

I pray that you'd give him the confidence to do that. Father, give him ideas and inventions and clarity, Lord, of what it is that you've called him and where that you want him to go. God, I pray that you continue to open up more doors to worldwide ministry for him. Father, I just ask that you continue to increase him.

We pray blessing and favor over his life. Father, that you would protect him. And Lord, just continue to grow him and bring him up, Lord, into a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Father. And we just ask us in the name of Jesus, amen.

Amen. Let's give him another hand. Says the guy that just turned 88. Age is not just a number from 88, right there?

Huh? 18 to 88. There's a 70-year spectrum there. That's awesome.

That's awesome. Well, it's with great pleasure. I get to introduce our speaker today. But before I do, actually went to one Phil, Pastor Phil was talking earlier about giving, with hilarity, think of a hilarious situation.

Well, I want to tell you about a hilarious situation you wouldn't have known about unless you were here really early this morning. But so Phil came in about 8.15 this morning. He comes in to prep for worship and to pray, and put some spiritual music going into the background, some Christian music, and just worshiping. And the next thing you know, everything goes black.

And ACDC Thunderstruck comes on the loudspeaker. Now, and he's like, what's going on? Well, what it was? It was our pastor, Seth, behind the scenes in York, Pennsylvania, overriding the music.

So I feel like that's a prophetic word for today. You're going to get thunderstruck today. But I've known this young man just a few years. Pastor Dawson, you want to come on up here?

Just give up for Pastor Dawson Wharton. This guy is also young. I asked him this morning, 33 years old. And God is already using him.

He's a pastor at Lighthouse of Hope Church. Sociopaster leads the worship there, just from a young age that served the Lord. And God has just blessed him a big way. So we'll let you take every minute.

But I was praying this morning, Dustin. And I just got to give me two words. Now, if I could just be so bold as to do this, look at the arms on this man. All right?

Usually I don't get intimidated by other people's arms, but this is one. This is one. But I heard strong and loud. These are two words, strong and loud.

And so I didn't really know what that was. So of course I did a quick search in the Bible. And the other words, strong and loud, only appear twice in the whole Bible. They appear in Revelation chapter 2, I'm sorry, 5 verse 2.

And the setting is this. It's John the Baptist in his revelation. Then he sees it says, there was one sitting on the throne. And in his hand was a stroll.

And on that scroll was seven seals. And he said, then stepped up a strong angel who proclaimed with a loud voice. Who is able to open the scroll and unlock the seals? And it said that he said, John says, I looked on heaven and earth.

There was no one that could open the seals. And he says, I began to weep. And then one of the elders came over and said to me, don't weep. Because there is a lion of the tribe of Judah, of the root of Jesse, who has prevailed.

And he is here to open the scroll. And it said that one came up in the middle of the 24 elders and the living beast as a lamb that was slain to open the scroll. And so as I looked over that this morning, I just asked God how that could pertain to you. And this is what he said to me.

He said that the strong angel with a loud voice, angel just means messenger. Sometimes it can even mean pastor. But that he said this, he said that your strength would give you access, but your loud voice would bring the harvest. And although he's a strong angel, he proclaims with a loud voice and asks the question, who is able?

And the questions that you're going to ask of the next generation are ones that are going to point them to the Lamb of God. And that your size and strength will give you the access and the attention of people. But that won't be what wins them. It'll be not just that you have a loud voice, but it's what you say that's loud.

And that will actually turn people to Jesus and actually let them see the Lamb of God. So just want to bless you with that today. All right. I guess your wife's here, right?

Yeah. You want to point out your family here? Yeah. Good luck.

Oh, well, she tells you she won't want to stand up. My wife's in town and I have four kids. Duke, he's seven. Dakota, she just turned five.

Jeff, he's three. And Judah, turns one in a couple of days. Yeah, so we got our hands. Very good.

Let's give him a warm hand. You're going to be blessed today by the word God's put on his heart. Please pay good attention and be ready to receive. I appreciate that.

Hey, let's give it up for Pastor Fred and just thank him for all he does. Check, Mike. I could get just a little bit more if that's all right. Yeah, man, I'm grateful to be here.

Just thank you for the opportunity to share. There is no greater message than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You have an amazing opportunity today to receive from the Lord. That great I am that we sang about.

I love this song. Takes me back a little bit. Man, we haven't done some of those tunes in a while. I love them.

I love them. But the great I am, the great I am, the creator of the sun, the moon and stars. Breathe the stars into existence, measures the universe by the palm of its hand. That God wants to have a relationship with you.

He wants to have a relationship with you. What does that mean for you today? That God wants to have a relationship with you. I'll start off and just say that I'm so grateful for the worship team here.

Whitney, for bringing Psalm 23, I want to let you know that I added this morning at the top of my page, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not one. So God has orchestrated today. Someone say amen. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But yes, I am a pastor at the Lighthouse Hope Church just down the road. We're having service right now under the leadership of Pastor Tim McGregor. And I'm grateful to be here today. I want to say, and specifically, thank you, Pastor Fred, for allowing me to have the pulpit today.

I don't take it lightly. I believe this is the most serious calling that there is, that we need to be reverent regarding the pulpit. When we're being a messenger, we're supposed to speak as if we're speaking the words of God. And so I don't take that lightly.

Today I pray and I hope and I enter into this with the most seriousness. Yeah, I'm going to joke around you. I hope you laugh. I hope we play and have fun.

But at the same time, I realize that what I say can change things, can change the trajectory. What I'm saying, you'll start to think about. So I really do take that to heart. I believe that I do have a word from the Lord for you that could change your life or it could just affirm and confirm where you are now.

You say, yes, that's exactly what I'm feeling. Let's start here. Would you just think about the culture of today? Would you think about if you look at the landscape of just take the United States, for example, if you would evaluate the culture, if you would survey the culture, what would be your response?

Is it beautiful? Is it hopeful? Is it exciting? Opportunistic?

Or is it depressing, chaotic? What is your view of the culture? There was a time about a month or so ago when I was praying to the Lord and honestly I was getting a little bit frustrated with culture. I was like, wow, what is going on?

And I was asking the Lord, Lord, what is this? I feel like we take a lot of steps forward and then a million steps back. I feel like there's no hope. We're not going to get on track.

Up and down, backwards, forward. I felt the Lord impress upon my heart about the people, about the generation, about the culture of Dustin. It's like, that's my name, by the way, Dustin, it's as if they're living like they have no father. I'm a father, I've been a father for a short time.

I've been reading books, you know, but there's nothing like the experience of being a father. Nothing like actually putting your hands to the plow, changing a diaper, right? I mean, there's nothing like that. That's ultimately what grows you.

Reading some books though about the statistics and what happens, what happens when people don't have a father, when they don't have a father figure in their life, someone to guide them, someone to teach them. Man, the statistics are crazy of the lifestyle that comes of a person that does not have someone that's been there for them. Someone agree with me? Yeah.

And so I'm here today and I'll realize that some of you are here that have not had a biological father that has been there. The Lord has a word for you today. I'm here to speak to someone that maybe you've had a biological father, but it has not been what you hoped it had been. And you wish you would hurt, I love you.

You wish you would feel the pattern of the back. You wish you heard the approval of that father. There was a person that called themselves your dad, but they weren't what you needed. God has a word for you today.

And then there's others like myself that have had a great father and a great upbringing. My dad's here. And there's times when I want to share the coonness of God to the hurting and to the broken and to the fatherless. And I realize that I had a good father and sometimes I'm ashamed of that.

But all these pieces, all of us come in different places and I don't know where you are, but I know that God knows exactly where you are. And no matter what our upbringing, what our experience is, he wants to be today your father. Come on. Give him a kiss.

That's good. And when you think of father, you could be saying, I'm in a church service. So yeah, I got the Sunday school answer and that's not a bad thing. It might actually be good.

But I want to hear your true honest answers. Does it trigger something? When I say the word father, does it trigger something for you? Are there any scars?

Are there any wounds? Are there any hurts? Are there any pains? Is there any loss regarding your father?

You wish he was here. You wish someone was here in that space. You're searching for it. If so, you're in like company.

I believe there's a father wound in our culture. There's a father need in our culture. Have you realized this? Like I said, a while ago.

As if they're living like they have no father. And if we're not careful, even in the church, our church culture, we can live and walk. Even us, we're not exempt from it as if we have no father. Have you felt that before?

I got to do it on my own. I got to accomplish this on my own. I got to achieve on my own. I got to be married on my own.

I got to raise my kids on my own. I got to raise my business on my own. That's you living. As if you don't have a father and we do.

So let's open up the Bible and we'll start in John 14 and then we'll go to Romans chapter 8. You got your Bible with you. If not, no judgment. I hope we have it on the screen.

I believe we do. Thank you guys. Appreciate the media team and everything. So much.

So if you don't have your word with you, which I'm sure Pastor Fred would say we encourage you to bring your word to open it so you can mark it and you can go back and look at it on your own. But here's where we're going to be. Again, this is Jesus talking to us here. You all there?

John 14. Say what's up? Nice. All right.

Here we go. We're going to go John 14 and John 8 and these will kind of set the foundation of our conversation today. Here we go. Verse 18, John 14, verse 18.

Again, this is Jesus talking. He gets right to the point. I will not leave you as orphans. I am coming to you.

He's talking about when he ascends on high. It's going to feel as if you're alone. It's going to feel as if he left you. And we can worship the people to feel in the same way.

I will not leave you as orphans. I'm coming to you in a little while. The world will no longer see me. But you will see me because I live.

You will live too. Verse 20. I am in my father and you are in me and I am in universe 21. The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

And the one who loves me will be loved by my father. Glory to God. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him. I will not leave you as orphans.

Say amen to the word of God. Would you? Go in your Bible more towards the end just a couple of books to Romans 8. I love you on the pages.

So go ahead and turn those pages. That's awesome. Romans 8. This is Paul by the Holy Spirit.

And this is what Paul says. Romans 8.14 through 17. Y'all there. For all those led by God's Spirit are God's sons and all that and daughters.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead you received the Spirit of adoption. Glory to God. By whom we cry out of a father.

The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children. And if children also heirs. Come on. Ears of God and co-heirs with Christ.

That means we're in the inheritance. If indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Here's what I believe today is the Father, the Father wants you to regain his spirit of fatherness over you. The Father wants you to rebuke any father with spirit that you have accepted and tolerated and placed on your soul.

Any orphan way of living and believing, get it off. Scripture challenges us to put it off. To put it off. Let me pray Lord we just thank you for your beautiful presence in this space.

We just welcome you. We just welcome you. I know it's easy to put up a wall up. I know it's easy to guard yourself.

I know it's even Scripture says guard your heart above all else. He never said guard your heart from him. Don't guard your heart from the Lord. Open up yourself here now as we pray.

Open up your heart. God told us soil of my heart so that you can plant the word that you desire today. I don't want to be hard. As I even read those verses I don't want to read those verses like I've read them a million times Lord.

I want them to be real and illuminated in my heart and in my life. Change me today. Lord for I have wounds and I have hurts and I have pains and I know that you're here today to softly come up close to me and embrace me and to heal my life. What is this that?

In Jesus name. I'll say amen. Amen. We'll just thank you for your presence.

We thank you for never giving up on us. God forgive us for placing those hurts. Those hurts from relationships. The pain that and I don't want to just single out fathers but the pain that people have that have gone before us.

The pain that it caused ourselves. Forgive us for then allowing the hurts of those relationships and we place them on you. Give us Lord for thinking that you're the same as them. Do you know God is not the same as us?

Have you heard the verse where Jesus says that you fathers you think you know how to give good gifts to your kid. You though your evil in comparison how much more? How much more your heavenly father? That lie that you believe that your father is the same way as that teacher or abusive relationship.

Man rebuke that. That's a lie. We'll talk about it. It is a lie.

So the first question I'll ask is do you know how present the father wants to be in your life. How present he wants to be in your life. So much so. Let's look at a couple verses together.

He says pray without ceasing. First Thessalonians 5 17. In other words talk to me constantly. Come on is there any relationship that you have that says talk to me constantly.

I mean it doesn't want to know why else you have to tell me to break from me. God loves us so much that he says talk to me constantly. Come on. He says I want to be so intimate with you that I have the hairs on your head numbered.

Oh man. Come on. In other words that's Luke 12 7. In other words I know the details of your life.

I want to be involved in the details of your life. Think about the hairs on your head numbered. That seems like God that does not matter at all right. That's completely irrelevant.

But God says it is. It is. That's how much I care about you. That's how much I want to be deeply intimate in your life.

I want to know the details. I know the details of everything that you're going through. All your cares. All your concerns.

The things you prayed about. The things you cursed about. God knows the details of your life. He wants to be that intimate with you.

He also says this in Psalms 139 verse 18 that my thoughts for you outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore. In other words I think about you constantly. Oh he's not limited by time like we are. He can stop at any moment and think about you.

He thinks about you constantly. That's how present the Father wants to be in your life. Do you believe that? Have you received that as a Christian?

So do you think the Lord's got better things to do? He doesn't care about that thing. I shouldn't bring that to him and God doesn't care about me. He's not invested in me.

He's like that. No, that's not true. John 519. How present the Father wants to be.

Jesus gave them this answer very truly. I'll tell you the Son can do nothing by himself. This is Jesus talking. He can only do what he sees his Father doing.

Because whatever the Father does the Son also does. That's a beautiful thing. In the church we love to talk about Jesus and Jesus is that lamb in the center. Jesus did conquer hell in the grave and we praise God for that.

What Jesus came to do was reveal the heart of the Father. Everything Jesus did, He did because He saw the Father doing it. That was His heart. For God so loved the Father so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son.

The cross is a revelation of the Father's heart for you. That's how much He loves you. He cares so deeply and yet we walk even as Christians like God doesn't care about us. That we are not His sons and daughters.

That we are alone. That we are outcast. That we are left out. You are in the club.

You are in the church. You are in His family. God called you son and daughter. I can't articulate which I wish I could.

I wish I could articulate and eloquent you enough to. I can't testify together with your spirit that you are God's son. It's an importation of the Holy Spirit. Receive it by the Holy Spirit today.

Instead you receive the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out. It's not spirit. Together with my spirit. He says, oh yeah, I am God's son and daughter.

I am royalty. I am an heir with Christ. I'm in the inheritance. Someone say amen.

I'm in the will. Amen. Every person here in the sound of my voice. I'm here today to exhort you, to encourage you, to lift you up for you to see yourself like you've never seen yourself before.

Anointed, chosen, set apart, loved by your Father. Come on now. Man, I'm so sick of Christians being shy. So Christians with their mouths quiet in school and you're like, I don't know if anybody wants to hear the message of angelism and all that.

You are God's son. Walk like it. Talk like it. Act like it.

Live like it. Believe like it. Come on, man. Jesus help us.

The cross is a revelation of the Father. It was an illumination of what the Father is like. Thank you, Lord. I believe that there's going to be a generation of people that are going to allow this spirit, this orphan spirit.

They're going to walk into the darkness and break the spirit off this generation. It will be broken through the Spirit of God on us. We have a responsibility to bring fatherhood and motherhood. Please don't misunderstand me.

Back into the culture. Have you realized kids need mentorship and they're running for it from it? Have you realized sons and daughters need guidance and they're avoiding it? Have you not heard them crying out?

Somebody leave me. Somebody guide me. So then my dad told me I was trying to get advice on disciplining kids and it's hard. Disciplining my kid, it's hard.

But he said to me when I first born Duke was young, he said, well, you'll realize they'll start to cry out, discipline me, discipline me. They won't use those words. But in essence, they're saying, I'm not acting the way I want to act and I need somebody to come in and adjust the way that I'm acting. I need help and no cry out for it.

Yeah. And that's when the father steps in and directs and redirects and shifts and son, I'm here. I'm here and they come. Thank you.

Discipline. Have you heard them? This generation crying out. Haven't you seen the social media pages?

Haven't you seen them wanting attention? Where are the fathers? Where are the leaders in the church? I'm not just talking about biological fathers.

Where are the men of God that are looking for this generation to look back and say, hey, buddy, you're going the wrong way. I know you're crying out for help, but you're not going to find it, searching there. You're not going to find it in the drugs. You're not going to find it in that avenue.

Or how long are we going to let them run into chaos? How long are we not going to step up and look back? How long are we going to be concerned about our stuff, our platform, our stage? And when are we going to give the next generation a shot, the next generation and opportunity?

Hey, man, I'm not going to find it in here. Let me have an opportunity. Here's the church. Here's your father who fearfully and wonderfully made you, who knit you together before you were your mother's womb, who set you aside for a specific purpose.

And you're going to be searching your whole life trying to find it until you find it in Jesus. Nothing will make sense. But when you find it in Jesus, you'll start to realize that, hey, my gifts were for something bigger than myself. And yeah, that's right.

That's right. Have we heard them crying out? Some of you today, God's going to heal for you to then heal the next generation. Some of you, God is going to make holes so that you can turn back to your sons, your daughters, maybe not even biologically speaking, but even mothers that you'll be able to turn back and say, hey, I want to keep you from the same mistakes that I had and I want to lead you in the right way.

God says in Malachi that he will send a messenger and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the father, lest there be a curse upon the land. Here's what I like to tell you. It's not your fault that parents don't care about their kids and give them free access to a smartphone and the internet, et cetera. But it is our responsibility to influence the culture, to bring qualities of the father into the community.

And that certainly is a cult of mothers and older women to gather children like a hen gathers her chicks. Jesus said he came to do to guide them along the path like the shepherd for his name's sake. So God is here today to maybe ask you this question. Why do you think I'm absent?

Why do you think that you have to do it on your own? Is it because you've been wounded? It's called a father wound or a father need. You know, there's also a spiritual influence of that, a spiritual influence.

And I'd like to refer to that as the orphan spirit. It's one that influences you in such a way, one that says I'm on my own. I got to do this on my own. It's a self made man mentality.

It's a DIY or it's a do it yourself mentality. So I have to make it on my own. If I don't do it, no one will. It's a restless spirit.

You can't sit it. You can't sit at home and just like rest and be still and know that I'm God. That's just not a part of your life or a part of your rhythm. It's a restless spirit.

You can't seem to settle down. It's called the orphan spirit. You lack confidence. You overcompensate for something.

You may be dealing with an orphan spirit. If you worry so much and lack hope for the future or pessimistic about family and marriage, if you're critical and skeptical of good people, if you're closed off and guarded, you might be dealing with an orphan spirit. Jesus was the perfect example. Jesus was looking at his father at every step.

He might say, Dustin, how could I? How could I from what I've seen my father be like? I have no example. I have no direction.

You've had a good father. You've had a present earthly father that gives you a shadow of what the Heavenly Father, what about me? Here's what I'd like to encourage you with. You might not be able to relate to me and I might not be able to relate to you, but do you know one that probably can?

His name is Jesus. You know there's an argument about it, maybe not argument, but there's debate about it that we're not sure in Scripture completely, but do you know that more than likely Joseph, Jesus's earthly father, was not present in Jesus' life during his most meaningful moments in his life? The last mention of Joseph in Scripture was when Jesus was 12, but when he was 30, when he was coming into his public ministry, there is no mention of Joseph only married. In other words, Jesus might be like you where you wish you had the presence of your earthly father and you did not, but you know what Jesus drew in key moments of his life.

From the Heavenly Father. And God's here for you today. It might be a key moment, a marking point in your life where you say, man, I've felt like I've been alone all up until this point, but here I realize God has been faithful all alone. The Lord has been calling me all alone.

That I've been a son and daughter and he has been faithful. Things have not been easy, but God has been faithful and he's got me through. And I just want to give him praise. I just want to thank him today for all that he's done and who he's been to me.

That I might not have had people and honestly physical relationships. I've been alone, but here's the thing I know. The Lord has been on my side. The Lord has been faithful and he's been with me and he's for me.

We just thank you for that Lord. So you might be in good company with Jesus. But here's what Jesus knew. Jesus knew beyond head knowledge of the approval of the Father.

The approval of the Father. Are we good on time? I don't see a clock. Is that what you're playing?

There's no clock? Everyone good? Y'all say yes. All right, good.

Say, keep going. Hey, don't lie now. Don't lie, all right? We are in the church.

That's good. I like it. I like it. Jesus knew beyond head knowledge of the approval of the Father.

And not because of money, fortune or fame, not from work, so accomplishment, no, from relationship. Here's what I know. Matthew 3 17, this is a revelation of that. In key moments of Jesus' life, the moment he needed it most, he heard the voice of his heavenly Father.

In Matthew chapter 3 verse 17, this was before Jesus did any of his public ministry. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. And he came up before he did anything. I want to add that.

He didn't have any of his miracles, any of those actions that we praise him so greatly for. Before any of that, his Father said, this is my son. Again, it was revealed by the Holy Spirit, the dove, right? This is my son.

Whom I love with him. I am well pleased. Jesus made a way for you to receive all those things for you. This is my son.

It declared identity over him. Made him. Who am I? I'm a son.

I'm a daughter. Whom I love intimacy. With him, I am well pleased approval. No need to fight for approval.

No need for that restless work. No need for that muscle in it up. God, I just want you to be pleased with me. God, I just, if you would just be pleased with you, son.

I'm pleased with you, son. God, I pray over these people, your sons, your daughters, today that their illumination happened. An epiphany, if you will, a clicking in the mind. Oh, yeah, son, daughter.

Oh, yeah, clothed in righteousness, clothed in royalty. Yes, I have an anointing upon my life that I'm called to steward. Yes, son, identity. I love intimacy.

Please, approval. And another time in Luke, chapter 9, verse 35, a voice came from the cloud saying, this is my son, whom I've chosen. Listen to him. There it is again, intimacy, identity.

I've chosen you. Approval. Listen to Jesus. Have you experienced that?

If you haven't, I pray that you open yourself to receive it today. The approval of the Father. Are you going to listen to Jesus and receive what he made away for you? Or are you going to keep running?

Are you going to just keep running? Keep searching. You just believe the church is holding out on you. That dust is just, hey, he doesn't have your best interest.

No, guys, are you going to keep running? And if you keep running, what do you even run into? When you get where you're running, are you going to be happy with what you receive? If you get where you're planning, are you going to be happy with what you reap when it comes forth?

That's right. No need to keep running. He made a way for you. He made a way for you to come into relationship with him.

And you just receive it by faith, son. You just receive it by faith, daughter. This is important for us as believers, leaders in the church. It's important for us, leaders, messengers of God in this culture that we live.

It's important for us to receive this so that we can give it. So you say, Dustin, I don't want to live with an orphan spirit. I don't want to live this way. You're talking all this thing.

You're preaching to the choir. I'm living this way, but I just don't want to. How? Give me some input in my life.

How not to live this way. Here's the important thing that you need to do. Listen to me. Someone say, listen.

Shove your neighbor and say, hey, listen to this. Listen to this. Yeah. Wake up.

This is good. This is good. Here it is. Something that might help.

Here's what it is. Write this down. You have to learn to distinguish between voices. Distinguish between the voice that you hear.

Because here's what I know the Bible says. Take every thought. Someone say every thought. And make it captive and obedient to Jesus.

Sometimes I thought it was just the bad thoughts. But you know it's even the good thoughts. The good thoughts. The things that you think might be temporarily encouraging to you.

The bad and the good thoughts. And make them obedient to Jesus Christ. Every thought that comes through, we take it captive and surrender it unto Jesus. Because here's what I know.

That I know I'm talking about a fatherless generation. I'm talking about the orphan spirit. But here's what I know. There is a fathering happening.

It just depends on what kind. There is a fathering happening. There's a guiding. There's a guiding.

You walk in any high school, middle school. You'll see there's a direction that's going. And they've created it in such a way that it's getting the results that they wanted to get. This influence.

There's a fathering happening. It just depends on what kind. Let's look at our master Jesus and we're almost done here. I hope I'm not lying to you.

But I think we're almost there. Here, John 843, I got it on the screen here. And this is important. It's important that we distinguish between voices.

Jesus said this. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are, he's talking to religious folks of the day, the Pharisees. Because you are unable to hear what I say.

You belong to your father, the devil. And you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth. For there is no truth in him.

And when he lies, he's fluent in it. He speaks his native language for he is a liar. And look at that word, guys. Look at that word with me.

Jesus doesn't use words by accents by saying, oh, that's just a coincidence. No, father, the definition of a father is raising up children. He is the father of lies in essence in our culture. And even potentially in your life, he could be raising up children.

He could be building up cases that are complete and utter lies. That's right. That's true. Yet because I tell the truth and people that come and speak the word of God, you resist.

You don't even believe them. Because you have been fathered. If you're not careful, you have been being raised up, built up by a lie. That your life system, the way that your neurons work in your brain, what's triggering, even when we talk about church and what we've allowed the devil, the father of lies to influence.

We've come into agreement. We have tolerated the orphan spirit that God does not have my best interests at heart. That God does not care for my life. That God doesn't want to hear my voice.

He doesn't want me to pray to him. He doesn't want me to seek him. Oh, whatever it might be in you, if you're not careful. And that's what's happening in our culture.

The enemy is so good at it. The scheme, he said it's his native language is a lot to you. I know he doesn't like me speaking this. I know he doesn't want me to share this to you, but this is the reality of the situation.