What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

We're continuing in our series.

We're looking at questions.

Most of them questions that Jesus asked.

And so often when Jesus was asked a question, he responded with a question.

And so I there's there's a question that I in in coming up with in deciding the questions that we were going to talk about.

There was one that stuck with me that I knew that I was going to take and yet it unfolded into Father's Day in in a way that I I wasn't expecting me to go in that direction.

And but that's where we're going to go this morning.

And I think as we move through today, you'll you'll really understand what God was talking about.

Let me launch with this.

Many of us who know different stories in the Bibles remember a blind guy by the name of Bartameus.

Some of us even Sunday school learned a song about blind blind Barttous.

It's just a very short area in Mark where Mark goes into this story, talks about it a little bit, and and I'll just pick it up and read it to you because it it kind of begins it begins us down the path that I I want to go this morning.

It it's it says this uh a a blind beggar by the name of Bartameus which means son of Tmus was sitting alongside the road when he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing and he began to cry out son of David Jesus mercy have mercy on me and many people tried to hush him up and he yelled all the louder son of David have mercy on me and Jesus stopped in his tracks and he called him over and throwing his coat on the ground, he was on his feet at once and came over to Jesus.

And Jesus said, "What can I do for you?

What do you want me to do for you?

What is it that I can do for you?" And and the obvious thing was he was blind and he wanted Jesus.

He wanted his sight.

And but the way Jesus asked this question opened a door to Barttous because Jesus healed his sight.

And and it goes on to say that he just began to follow Jesus immediately.

But but the way Jesus phrased what do you want for me to do took Baremus beyond just talking about his physical sight because he said son of David which was a a messianic phrase.

It it was it was a recognizing that Jesus was more than just a healer.

It was a recognizing that Jesus can would do more in and with my life than than just just giving me my sight.

And and he was persistent because they they tried to quiet him and he he kept he kept he kept shouting out again.

He didn't let that stop him.

And he had this desire for transformation because even after Jesus healed his sight, it says he followed Jesus.

He continued following Jesus.

When Jesus asked this question, what do you want me to do for you?

He's always talking about more than what you and I see and what you and I think be because we come to him with who we are, what we are, with the baggage that we have.

And and he's looking so far beyond that.

And Baremus recognizes that Jesus had more for him as much as getting his sight was Jesus had even more for him and he became a follower of Jesus.

Here's the thing that you recognize about Jesus.

When Jesus goes after you and he goes after me and he pursues us, he pursues us.

His goal is to get all the way to our heart.

That's what happened with Bararddameus when Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" The qu the question is the same for you and for me.

It's what do you want me to do for you?

And what do you want me to do for you even at the heart level?

And that's where I want to go this morning.

And and this being Father's Day, we're going to go right all the way back to Proverbs.

We're going to go back to to chapter 4 and verse 20 through 20.

We're going to go to seven seven verses in Proverbs.

And that's what what we're going to look at this morning.

See, Solomon who wrote Proverbs was the Bible refers to him as the wisest man who ever lived.

Solomon actually gives us three books of wisdom.

We call them the books of wisdom in the Bible.

He gives us Ecclesiastes.

He gives us the Song of Solomon.

And he gives us Proverbs.

Solomon wrote 29 of the 31 Proverbs.

The book of Proverbs alone can transform your life.

Maybe you're not that bright.

May m maybe you recognize that you're not the brightest pencil in the box.

May maybe you see yourself as as as not being someone who's known for their wisdom.

Here's what I'm going to tell you.

If if you'll take the book of Proverbs and and commit to six months, just six months and read the book of Proverbs every single month.

A every day you you read one chapter and you you go through there's roughly anywhere from what 28 to 31 days in a month.

And so let's just round it all off.

But but let's let's just say you're willing to commit to going through the book of Proverbs for 6 months.

You will have God's wisdom, divine wisdom placed 45:0045 minutesinside of your brain.

It will automatically change the way you think.

And instead of making small wrong decisions as you walk through day by day, you will actually begin to make the right decisions.

And beyond that, you know what else will happen?

You'll recognize that that there are going to be times when you would come to a decision that you'd make during the day or or or even during the week and you'd come to this decision and and you wouldn't know what to do and you'd pray about it and you'd think about it and and time would go by.

Here's what you'll find.

If you will saturate your mind with God's wisdom from the wisest man who ever lived, what God will do is he will change your thinking.

And you will find that you make decisions so much faster.

You'll react and make a decision that you might have thought about all day long because it's like taking a computer and putting a whole new operating system in it. and God transforms your mind just like it's that that's not even a part of my message.

That's for free.

That's on the side.

Okay?

That's not even where I'm going this morning.

But I guarantee you he will do it.

By the time you get to the third month, you will begin to recognize it and it'll encourage you to keep on going farther.

Solomon, wisest man.

He's the third king of Israel.

Solomon and David, without question, the two best kings Israel ever had.

And whoever is number three is so far down compared to these two.

Chapter 4, verse 20.

Solomon's writing a letter.

He's writing a letter to his son.

He's he's imparting something in a special way.

Let's look at it together.

He he begins, "My son, pay attention to what I say." This is a letter from a dad to his 47:0047 minutesson.

And as dads, we we want this.

We want to pass on wisdom to our kids.

We don't want our kids to make some of the dumb mistakes that we made.

We we we want them to miss those and we want them to make great decisions.

Solomon's saying, "Son, if you remember anything, this is not in there.

This is this is my paraphrasing.

Son, if you remember anything that I taught you, remember this.

Remember this." And dads, we're all different in our teaching.

Some of us uh some of us are like like coaches when when we're teaching our kids, you know.

God bless those of you who coach little league and sports teams.

I'm not sure how you do it.

It it when we watched Oakley just start out with uh with uh T-ball, it's like uh the ball every once in a while gets hit out there and the whole team goes to the ball.

There's no such thing as first base, second, but they're just all going for the ball.

It's just I don't I don't know how coaches can deal with this stuff.

But and some of us are like on the job dads.

We we're teaching as as we go along.

And some of us are are are dads who we wait for something to go wrong and then we step in and we teach.

And we we all have different styles, but we're in this process of learning.

And and some of us could end up being don't do what I did that.

The goal this morning is not to become a do what I did that.

It's the goal.

The goal is to become do what I did because of what I did and not don't do what I did.

Solomon says pay attention.

Turn your ear.

He says to my words and my my goal this morning is guys especially all of us really but guys especially that we would take this moment and we would turn our ear to what it is God has to say through Solomon.

Pay attention.

He says not casual words.

Turn your ear to my words and don't let them out of your sight.

And he says, "Keep them within your heart." Keep them within your heart.

We don't understand that.

And let me explain why we don't understand that.

Because here in the United States of America, when we say the word heart, we're thinking of one or two things.

We're either thinking about this this muscle inside of our chest, which I've gotten more familiar with this year than I ever thought I would. that we're thinking of of that as our heart or we're thinking of our our emotions and our feelings.

That that's what this word heart means to us.

It's our emotions and our and our feelings.

And that's not what neither one of those are what Solomon is talking about.

And when Jesus talks about the heart and Solomon talks about the heart and Paul in his writings or all of the writers in scripture talk about the heart that especially the Old Testament they're working from the Hebrew and the Hebrew word for heart I is le and I I I want to look at the definition.

I I want us all to really understand this because it's it's not what what we're thinking.

This word le means the heart.

It means the inner person.

It includes the mind.

It includes the will.

It includes understanding.

It includes the soul.

And and that word mind, it even expands on that when when when he's saying this word heart, he he says, go on to the next slide there if you would.

That's there you go.

He's talking about knowledge.

He's talking about the way this is all heart.

He he's talking about the way you think and and and and your memory and reflecting back on your memory and weaving all that together and your your inclination and your determination determination and your will and your courage and your conscience when he says heart this is all what he's talking about and it goes beyond that even to your moral character and by appetite we're not talking about food we're talking about desires and and we're we're talking about our passions.

See, when Solomon says heart, when he says guard your heart, guard all of this innermost, your brain and and the way you everything all wrapped together because because that's what steers the soul. everything inside of you and all of those things put together, they they steer where you go.

And as as the heart goes, so goes everything else.

So, so when he says heart, he's not talking about just your feelings and your emotions.

He's talking about everything together inside of you that that you walk through life making your decisions and everything about you.

Not not just your physical, but your heart and your soul.

All of it together.

God, we need that more today than we have ever needed it before.

And I'll tell you, God God in his word has so much hope and so much goodness for you and for me.

That is who he is.

We We get our eyes off that on the world around us.

And the reality is God himself has dads especially as you're walking through this life leading your family.

God has so much for you.

Solomon goes on.

He says, "Turn your ear to my words.

For they are life to those who find them and health to one's body." the way you think and feel and operate.

When you do it properly, it will make you healthier.

It's life to one's body.

Solomon sets us up.

He says, "This is so important above everything else.

The most important thing is that you guard your heart.

You you guard that whole group of things that really are who you are.

Pay attention to it ab above all else.

Guard your heart.

Now, it's important to know what's important.

Let me give you a little test.

Okay?

We can We're allowed to have a little bit of fun in church.

So, I'll I'll uh Moms and dads, especially moms, you know this better than dads.

When you're sending your kids to play out in the sun, what's the most important thing?

What?

Sunscreen.

Well, that's because you grew up in Arizona.

But if you didn't grow up in Arizona, but most people clearly would say sunscreen.

The most important thing if you go fishing, what's the most important thing?

Fishing pole.

I know bait you think is important, but you can catch a fish without bait if if you really they tell me know what you're doing.

I don't.

So, a fishing pole.

And I say that to say uh uh I have a good friend who actually he's not in service today because he's not feeling well, but he he lives in my neighborhood and and down the street down just the street that we live on.

There's a lake there and sometimes when I'm driving by I'll see him sitting under a tree fishing.

I pulled up because I saw him there one time and he he was almost laughing beside himself and and and and he he turned to me and he said, "You will not believe what just happened." He had bought a brand new fishing pole, telescopic thing so he could keep it in his truck.

He had bought a brand new fishing pole, cast it out and put it down uh leaning up against his chair, leaned over to his cooler to get his water and he grabbed his water, pulled it out, and before he could even grab it, the fish had taken the bait and taken the hook and taken the pole into the water and it was gone. on and out of his sight before he could even sleep.

By the true story, by the end of the day, he had lost two fishing poles in one day by not paying attention to his pole.

Most important thing when you're fishing is the fishing pole.

What about when you go to go to get a pet?

What's the most important thing?

Ah, the most important thing is that you get a dog.

Cats are not even an option.

Most important thing is that you get a dog.

The most important thing when you're jumping out of an airplane.

Parachute.

I mean, you you've got to know the most important thing.

What's the most important thing in a marriage? 56:0056 minutesThe Lord.

Jesus is always the answer.

I I get I I happen to think it's a thermostat.

Now, I I don't know what monsoon season.

What's the most important thing?

Your roof.

You got to make sure your roof is not leaking in the monsoon season.

And and our team, we're not afraid to do all kinds of stuff here.

Pastor Danny, myself, uh, Pastor Wes, and Nick, uh, we all we were up on the roof Thursday, most of the day making sure that we were ready here for monsoon season.

It's important to know what the mo when he says above all else he means the most important thing as believers the most important thing is God sent his son for us.

What is most important?

He says how is your heart?

How how is this this group of things that make up the inner you?

Solomon says, "Don't ever let your guard down on that." God is at work in our hearts and in our lives.

He says, "Guard your heart because everything flows from your heart." Every reaction that you will have to every situation that comes at you, your reaction will come right out of your heart.

And you want that to be what do what do you want the response to be?

You want it to be a good response.

So how do we guard our heart?

Solomon's writing to his son.

He's so intentional.

And he's writing to us, too.

But he's so intentional above all this.

Above all else, there are two things that we need to do.

We need to guard our heart and we need to monitor our heart.

We need to be doing both.

We we need to be paying attention to to to this thing that he calls our heart.

I I have a I have an Apple Watch that I I wear most of the time.

I typically don't wear it on Sundays because sometimes I forget to hit that theater to move and somebody would call during the service and that would not be a fun thing to go through.

And so so but the only reason honestly that it was given to me for my birthday by I'm not even sure my probably was Karen.

And uh and so we so I've worn it ever since and I and I'm used to it and I I don't even uh I don't use it as a watch because I use my phone as my watch.

So I kind of use this for when I two things.

When I can't find my phone, then I use this to find my phone.

And I do that a lot.

But but when I go to the east coast and and I'm with my brother-in-law Cameron, we we often if we're in Virginia, we we'll go for a walk out in the country or if we're in Florida, it'll we'll just get in the sauna and we won't do the walk.

And but every time I go in, I I set my watch for a workout because because so then I can pay attention to exactly what this heart is doing and I know everything about it just by looking at this. and and I'm we I monitor my heart.

You see, we need to monitor our spiritual heart.

And we need to do what Solomon says.

We we need to be intentional.

Intentional about everything that goes into it.

Solomon gives us three things.

How do you do this?

H how how do you guard your heart?

He gives us three things that that I just want us to look at quickly.

In verse 24, in these same list of seven verses, he says, "Keep your mouth free from perversity." You weren't expecting that.

Keep your mouth keep your mouth free from perversity.

Keep corrupt talk from your lips.

So, so number one, we need to watch the things that we say.

Perversity.

Perversity is the extreme.

So, in other words, keep your mouth from the extreme.

I spent years in construction.

And if if you're in construction, you you you know that guys can can come up with language that is beyond what you could ever even think.

They they can come up with language to divide situations that that are clearly out in this category of perversity.

He's saying, "Keep keep your mouth from perversity.

Keep your mouth from from that extreme." As a matter of fact, what what he's saying is keep your mouth pure.

In other words, don't even lean in that direction.

Let's let's be intentional about the things that we say and keep them pure.

Now, I grew up in a home where, you know, my my my dad was a pastor.

We we've talked about this enough before.

And in our home, you there are a lot of words you couldn't say that other families who who who didn't cuss would use these words.

But we weren't allowed to use these words.

We were never allowed to say shut up in our home growing up.

My parents would not let us say shut up because it was just they felt it was just rude and just you shouldn't do it.

So we never said it.

We were not allowed to say darn it.

Here I am saying this stuff in church and my parents would not let us do this stuff.

We were not allowed to say darn it because it was because it was a nicer way of saying something else, right?

And we were not allowed to say shoot because instead of saying one word, some people would just say shoot.

And and I don't even have to be more descriptive because it's this is not this is simple.

But we were not allowed to say this.

We were not even allowed to say the word stupid.

We were not allowed to call anyone stupid.

And and and we did this with Wes and Julia.

And I can remember I think it was one time Julia came in the room saying Wesley said the sword and right away when something like that happens everybody in the room thinks your family is way worse than they ever thought it was.

So but but we were not we the sword was stupid in our we were not just didn't use that.

We we were intentional about staying in this place.

And and he says that to keep your mouth free from perversity, keep corrupt talk from your lips.

All through the Bible, it tells you and it tells me that the words that you and I say shape and build or tear down and destroy the there is power in the words we use.

Proverbs 18:21, the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

We have the power to encourage or discourage.

We have the c we have the power to build courage into the life of our kids and those around us or we have the power to dare tear down the possibility of courage happening in their life. when he talks about that, he's he's so so and we know this and we e either we or someone that we know somebody said something that absolutely devastated you or or devastated someone in who's important in your life and and what they said may have not been true or or it may have even been true but it really shouldn't have been spoken.

The power of words to build down or tear up.

Proverbs 13:3 says, "Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin." Do you want to ruin your life, or do you want your life to continue to build and be healthier and flourish?

We We hear things and we believe them.

And I I I put together a list here that dads espe this is for everybody but dads I I want you to pay attention.

I don't know what you think about yourself and I don't know what anybody may have said about you or I don't know what you believe about you but I just want to read some passages of scripture real fast.

I don't want to want to take a lot of time.

I I just I I want you to hear these because the God who knows everything about you and everything that you ever done has said this.

In Psalm 139, he says, "You are fearfully and wonderfully made." Isaiah 54, he said, "No weapon forms against you will ever prosper." Romans 8:11 says, "The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of you." Ephesians 2:10 says, "You're a masterpiece created by God himself." Jeremiah 15 says, "You're set apart.

You're chosen." Matthew 28 says, "You are never alone.

I, God, am always with you." Dads, I want you to hear this.

In in 1 Corinthians 11:3, he says, "You are a covering and a strength to your home." You are a covering and a strength to your home.

God has placed dads in families for a reason.

And it's time that we just continue as dads to do the things that God has for us.

Philippians 1:6 says, "He who began a good work in you will bring it through to completion." Are you worried that you're not good enough?

Don't worry about it because God himself is at work in your life, taking even your screw-ups and weaving them into the story.

And he is building a masterpiece in you, Dad.

And you don't have to worry about it because he's the one who doing it.

And you and I simply need to continue to learn to respond, listening to Solomon, being careful of the things that we say.

And the second thing in verse 25, he says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead.

Fix your gaze directly before you.

Care about the things that you say and choose what you see.

Solomon gives us such clear instruction.

Choose what you see.

We live in a culture I I grabbed this quote and I never could find who it was from, but but I've heard it and I I just want you to see this quote.

Never has any one culture had so much and enjoyed so little.

There is more available to you and I than any time ever in history in any way, shape or form in any category and any directions.

Way way more.

I mean the the we're approaching the point where you can get on your iPhone and there are almost we're almost at the point where there are two million apps.

If you can't figure out what to do and find an app that works for you, you you you've got a problem.

Almost two million apps available.

You can you can order anything you want on Amazon.

You can watch Netflix and hundreds of others.

Maybe it's thousands and watch whatever you want.

Pick up your phone, order Door Dash, order whatever kind of food you want.

And and and and and you can watch your Ring doorbell to see when that dude arrives. and and and I can get on my watch and talk to Savian and Sha Shaven in South Africa.

I mean, we live in this world where we have so much and and yet the reality is never has a culture had so much and enjoyed so little.

But here's the deal.

Stuff can never fill the soul.

Two million apps, not even touching.

Uversion is a really good one.

Two million apps.

Stuff can never fill the soul.

Hebrews 12:2 says, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfector of our faith.

The one who created it and the one who is going to bring it through until full commission." I'm telling you, God has written a great story with your life.

And there's no better writer than God.

He's pretty good at writing books.

And he he's written the story of your life, including this, your decisions in that story.

You don't need to follow Facebook, Instagram, or whatever else.

And we're living in this world. 1:09:001 hour, 9 minutesAnd I have a long list.

I'll just make it short.

We're living in this world where much of the world is saying it's okay to have men competing with women in women's sports.

I'm sorry.

I don't care where you are politically.

Truth and lies, right and wrong matter.

You will always hear me step up to the plate when it's truth and say, "This is true." When I look at God's word, I don't I just I just don't see that.

We have a guy running for the Senate who's telling you and telling me that God is he and he says he's a preacher.

God is non-binary and he's telling you and telling me that there are six sexes.

I only find two in here.

I'm not sure what Bible he's preaching from.

There's only two.

We we have a number of states in our nation right now in in in their documents doing everything they can to take the word father and mother out and find two other words to replace them.

We're we're looking at a world that is saying no to what God says and yes to whatever it direction it is they want to go.

It's time dads to stand.

Do you know why?

Because all of this, you know what it's doing?

It's causing anxiety in our culture and it's dividing our culture.

And you know what the answer to that is?

The answer to that is Isaiah chapter 26 and verse three where he says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you." The antidote to the confusion in our culture is Jesus Christ.

It's the peace that God brings.

It's the peace that will guard your heart that Solomon was talking about.

Perfect peace.

And it's a who.

It's not a what.

It's Jesus.

It's Jesus.

The third thing we say is be careful.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.

Don't turn to the right.

Don't turn to the left.

Keep your foot from evil.

As you as you walk in this path, he doesn't say keep your feet.

He says, "Keep your Don't even let one foot begin to go on the wrong.

Keep your foot from evil.

Be careful where you go.

Don't turn to the right and don't turn to the left." Number three is be careful where you go.

You You don't need to go to Facebook, Instagram.

You You don't need You don't need somebody else's focus.

Somebody else's life is not even worth second place in your life.

God God's given us clear direction.

And Solomon says, "Keep my mouth pure.

Focus my eyes on what they need to be focused on, and be careful where I go." And you might be thinking, "Well, James, I'm just not quite there.

Maybe maybe you drifted on a path.

Maybe you you're just a little bit distant." You know, that and and we think that that disqualifies us or that moves us and we have to cover ground.

Then the reality is in Romans Romans 11 he says this.

He it says God's gift and his call are irrevocable.

See God gives each one of us gifts and he gives us callings and dads calling being a dad is a calling especially in today's culture more now than ever.

It's a calling and and just because we may have we have stepped off the path or or backed off in our walk with Christ, it it hasn't changed anything he's doing or anything that he has going on or anything in his relationship with us.

It it has only changed what we have done and our thinking and and Romans says, look, it's irrevocable.

It didn't go anywhere.

It doesn't go any God is right there ready to pick up where you left off and continue being the hands and feet of Jesus.

And we need to do that because our children learn by watching our path.

Our kids watch dads where we go.

They don't do what what we say.

They they do what we do.

I can remember as a kid my dad walking with boots on in the snow and everything that I did following him was to step in the same spots that he stepped because it was so much easier when you're walking through snow.

That's what our kids are doing.

They're watching our steps.

They're often doing exactly what we do.

Faith and wisdom in our lives and our families, especially dads, we need to pass it along because this is a relay race.

My dad was ahead of me.

My children are behind me.

My grandkids are already here. our our faith and our wisdom that God has built into us.

It's see it it's it's not important to to just win the race.

You you're carrying a baton and the the key is that you run your segment of the race and you successfully hand that baton on to the next generation and we do everything we can to make it successful for them.

Yeah.

Go ahead.

Because we need to do that. and and make and make that transition so successful that they are dead set on making the best time in the race and making it the best race in their life.

Our greatest legacy is in success and possessions.

It's will we pass on our wisdom and our faith to our kids.

If you're a dad and you're in this room, you're killing it.

You are doing so much more just by being here at church on Sunday morning and and and opening your heart to yes to what God is doing.

Solomon is saying to his son, life is going to offer you many roads.

Pay attention to what I'm telling you because I want to show you the road that leads to life.

Dads, your kids don't need you to be perfect.

They just need you to be intentional.

You're here.

You're intentional.

Stand with me this morning.