Rock Star Dad: How the Church Answers Joseph’s Call

You see some insurance. It is great to be back with you. My name is Trevor Atwood, the pastor of city church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

My wife and I adopted our oldest son Micah from Russia in 2004, and then in 2006. The three of us moved here to the triangle to go to seminary and I thank God often that we found the summit church because the next five years of our lives were going to be some of the hardest that we ever faced.

We adopted in that time. Our second son from Ethiopia and you all the summit church you were with us through that journey.

Then when our marriage fell apart in the middle of that five years you didn't let us down the grace and challenge that we received from this church and this church is leadership was a huge part of the way that the Lord put us in our family back together again, and when our next son Kai was born and died the next day the people of the psalmist loved us well and then you kicked us out to go plant city church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. Five years ago 30 people landed in middle Tennessee. And it would take way too long for me to tell you all of the beautiful, wonderful things that have happened in middle Tennessee. Since that time, but I do want you to know that was only ever possible because of the way this church love my broken and hurting family and then confidently sent us out with more confidence and we have in ourselves.

You sent us out with people sin is out with a prayer you sent us out with money you never quit on me. So the half of my family on behalf of my church family at city church worship in this morning in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I want to personally say to you all.

Thank you. Summit church you were listening to new music in the 90s, Stone Temple pilots about 10,000 times in one of the most influential bands of the alternative rock movement. Whatever that means.

If you don't know who they are. Maybe this will jog your memory sounds always to go where you go Syrian when I saw I was not in a drug band, but I wanted to be the stone Temple pilots lead singer Scott Weiland led the stereotypical life of a rock star. It was full of sex and drugs and alcohol addiction.

But as long as Scott is going to be pilots Producing good music. His fans didn't really care about that. They also didn't care about his responsibilities as a father and apparently neither did he. Last year, December 3 Scott Weiland died and his ex-wife Mary wrote a letter to Scott's fans that was published in Rolling Stone magazine and I like to share what she said about Scott's relationship to his son Noah and his daughter Lucy who were 15 and 13, at the time that he died some of the readability of this letter to you today. She says the outpouring of condolences and prayers offered for children, Noah, and Lucy has been overwhelming, appreciated, and even comforting. But the truth is like so many other kids they lost their father years ago what they truly lost. On December 3 was hope. I knew no one. Lucy would one day see and feel everything that I've been trying to shield them from and that they'd eventually be brave enough to say that mass was our father. We loved him, but a deep rooted mix of love and disappointment made up the majority of our relationship with him.

They never set foot in his house, and they can't remember the last time they saw him on a Father's Day.

I don't share this with you to cast judgment. I do so because you most likely know at least one child in the same shoes. If you do please acknowledge them in their experience offered to accompany them to the father daughter dance or teach them to throw a football know this is the final step in our long goodbye to Scott and I won't say he can rest now for that is in a better place. He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard waiting for football game, we are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated. He chose to give up no and Lucy never sought perfection from their data that is Hoping for little effort. If you're a parent not giving your best effort. All anyone ask is that you try just a little harder and don't give up progress not perfection is what your children are praying for our hope for.

Scott has died, but there is still hope for others to skip the depressing T-shirt that glorifies Scott's life and use the money to take a kid to a ballgame around.

I cried when I read that letter I cried because in it. I could feel the longing of his kids for dad see they didn't need their dad to be a celebrity.

They didn't need him to win over the crowds.

They needed barbecue.

They wanted him sober at their school play. I cried because I realize that my kids don't care how many people listen to me preach.

They just want to know that I'm ready to listen to them and I cried because in this letter I knew everywhere that Scott Weiland failed his kids that God was ready to fill in the gap cried because I heard from Mary while in the call of God to care for the orphan and the widow to take a fatherless child to a daddy daughter dance to take a kid without a dad out for ice cream or to a ballgame and I felt that compassion lacking in my own life and so I mourned it the table going today.

I'm here today to highlight what I know is a major part of the vision of this church seven years ago I was privileged to play a small part in the beginning of a movement for orphan care among the summit church that I know this video is testimony to that is exploding to the families of this congregation and it is a beautiful thing to watch. The need is still great.

The need is still great. So today I want to give you vision for loving this city by loving her precious children to gotcha that we can open up to Matthew chapter 1 will be a Matthew chapter 1 Matthew chapter 2 as well and then wilderness to converse. Also, from the prophet Isaiah.

In Isaiah chapter 9 Matthew chapter 1 starting in verse 18 now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way when his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolve to divorce her quietly but that is about as he considered these things will hold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David to not clear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord is spoken by the prophet, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from the sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus in Matthew chapter 2 verse 13 to hold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream again and sunrise take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and remained there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him and he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord is spoken by the prophet out of Egypt I called my son then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men became furious and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem down verse 19 but when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying rides take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead. And he rose and took the child and his mother and he went to the land of Israel and then from the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 9 for to us a child is born, to us, son is given his name shall be called everlasting father.

That's the word Lord from Matthew from Isaiah today I want you to see what it means that Jesus is called everlasting father, I want you to know that in all the ways that your parents have failed you and parents in all the ways that we had failed our children that Jesus is ready to step in and make it right and is using his church to do that and church listen, I want you to walk away knowing that every act of protecting and caring for the weakest and most vulnerable in our society. Specifically, fatherless children, is a cosmic announcement of how God's saving together God's placeholders. When you think about the story of Joseph Jesus's birth.

Joseph probably in your mind plays one of the smallest most overlooked roles in the wholesale right. In fact, most of us emphasize who Joseph wasn't, rather than who Joseph actually was biweekly emphasize that he was in Jesus's biological dad to preserve the virgin birth instead of talking about who Joseph actually was Jesus with Matt which Matthew spends a lot of time on the verse ejector may look Joseph, this is no rockstar right, he's a celebrity is a blue-collar carpenter from Nazareth.

You just kinda stands in the background of our Christmas cantatas pageants with Mary and you know virgin child up front and Joseph just got a kick in another background being quiet with the staff.

But Joseph plays a crucial role in Jesus's life, both in the world. And as Jesus rose up as a preteen, as you notice that when we read Matthew's account of Jesus's birth.

How many times Joseph's simple obedience to God's clear commands is what God used to bring about his will, spoken by the prophet so long ago.

First, Joseph sticks around in Mary's life to care for her and protect her when she gets pregnant and Joseph knows that he's not the father and then instead of the traditional to be to name the baby Joseph firstborn son, he goes off chart which again is a humiliating thing for father and he obeys the angel any night the baby Jesus and that fulfill Scripture. Then when he's told to flee Israel for Egypt, he doesn't and that fulfills Scripture to save the whole world. Joseph and his simple obedience is making it happen. And then when he is told to go back to Israel after Herod's dad.

He obeys again fulfills Scripture and the only thing that caused Joseph to stick with Mary when she became pregnant was the call of God in his life. He could've gone on with his life right no one would have blamed Joseph for breaking off his engagement with Mary.

In fact, they would've considered him a very kind man, just for not having her stoned writing to maintain his reputation married a virtuous Jewish woman who didn't come with the baggage of a child when Joseph could've had his so-called own kids is no easy thing to pick up and move to Egypt you get out of you know this or not but Southwest didn't have $49 fares one way and this time, and then move back to Nazareth. You know what this meant. This meant twice likely losing a neighborhood business in the first one that had probably been passed down for generations, and the second one that he tried to scrap together while they were in Egypt, he had to leave it all behind and let's not forget that in all this. Suddenly Joseph and his family becomes an enemy of the state. Herod is looking for them. So, for what why take all the risk because he got an unmistakable call from God that he loved and he saw this call to fatherhood is more important than his own self-interested plans so we humbly stepped into the role of protecting and providing for the son of God. Now some news for you Joseph in a thousand ways was Jesus's real father. He may have not shared a strand of DNA with him, but he adopted Jesus and in so doing. Somehow in the crazy nutty mind blowing way that God works in God put no one through the entire unit was created into the splinter written hands of a backwoods carpenter. He chose to use Joseph to protect Jesus from a murderous King Herod he didn't surround Jesus with an army with swords and shields to carpenter beatnik down and gave him to carpenter to put food on his table to teach him a trade and to train up Jesus in the Scriptures to learn and understand who his father was and what his mission was Joseph in a thousand ways with Jesus is real bad. Joseph didn't have many fans and still doesn't today but he did have a family and that's a million times better. Just as Scott Weiland's kids. That's listen up, you may not be called the father the son of God, but you better believe God has given you a clear call to father his children. Ephesians 6.

The apostle Paul introduces instructed children to pay their parents in the Lord and then told fathers to bring kids up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord to not provoke them to anger. Dad you, that means that means that you are holding God's place for your kids right you are like training wheels on a bicycle that are eventually supposed to fall off as they learn to follow Jesus your kids are going to learn loving obedience to authority that loves them an alert not from you as you protect and provide for your kids emotionally, spiritually and physically as you do that you are teaching your kids to love and obey God, to listen parents. This means this means and I know this is important to some church. This means that when your kids grow up and say I want to go spend two years overseas to take the gospel to the nations that you don't freak out you rejoice. That is the fruit of your investment. Do not fear this father loves and protects don't hold him back. Send them. Ephesians 6 Paul tells us father to not provoke their children to anger, you know what that means. Just read no and Lucy Weiland's letter dad that's exactly what Stephen Scott stepped out of the role of caring for his kids. They ended up in their own words with the deep rooted disappointment. This mix of love for their father, but at the same time and utter sadness provoke in your kids anger is to remove yourself as a placeholder for God and redefine what a father is an insert your own interpretation and that is to reject your role as a protector and a provider and abandon your kids to protect and provide for themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. Look, I know that many of you feel like you could have written a letter to you that I know many of you had dads that didn't help. You see God more clearly, but instead they distorted his image like a circus hall of mirrors. So maybe one of these descriptions fits your dad that he had an absent father who abandoned your family or you had a passive father never really engaged with you and said, came home from work and chilled out in front of the TV that he had a demanding father expected you to be perfect. I got angry when you didn't live up to his expectations letter you had any enabling father, who simply gave you everything that you ever asked for. Always balance you out of trouble and now you realize that it rulings you because you never felt the consequences of living in the real world and you never learn to take care yourself or anybody else maybe had an abusive when angry father who was always hurting you screaming at you, coming up with creative ways that he could communicate. He once again that you are worthless, and maybe you come in here on Father's Day and you hear this idea that God is our father and it makes your stomach turn this and maybe you are rejecting God as father because the one who was supposed to be a placeholder for him left that place in the overfilled it was something ugly, understand, listen, I have good news.

I have gospel for you and that changes everything. She dads are made to be replaced. When you go to a concert right is always an opening act at a concert in the opening act that comes out before the headliner. They are a placeholder. They go out may occupy the stage before the bandit you came to see comes out now. Sometimes a really good experience with nobody that you find a new band you download the music to share with their friends excited about it. But sometimes the opening act stinks their terrible what you don't walk out of the concert until you have heard the headliner that came for dads. We are just an opening act for the headliner. God himself, so you're like me, I often feel like I'm not a very good opening act and that makes me really thankful that Jesus is going to come out rock the show in my kids life after I blown you had a bad experience with your dad, you need to remember that headliner is still taking the stage. Leave the building because your opening act was awful is coming in the passage we read in Isaiah that Jesus is referred to as the everlasting father that means Jesus is the protector and the provider that we've all long for.

Not only that the prophet Malachi says that he came to heal the relationships between fathers and their children.

You know why you why healing the relationship between fathers and the children US important to Jesus because Jesus was born.

The Scripture says to fight the shadow Jesus was born to fight back the deep darkness this child is born, to go to war with sin and brokenness in the world and nothing is a better predictor of darkness in a person's life and the role the child's father played Uno. You're a good experiment understand how much true look at her prison system.

See Jesus cares about the presence of the father because he cares about shining light into darkness, but even when dad is gone, even when he's not at the barbecue or the baseball game or the father daughter dance even when Father's Day is painful. Jesus brings the presence and the protection and the provision of an everlasting father because every dad even got dads like Joseph, or just placeholder just opening acts to the headliner's let me show you how Jesus stepped in as an everlasting father, let me show you how he steps in everywhere that your dad may have felt you first. In Jesus God is better than your demanding father see this Messiah salvation, it said. Isaiah says it comes as a gift, unto us a son is given child is been given what the gospel is the announcement of a gift is not a demand for you to prove yourself to a heavenly father is tapping his toes waiting to see if you live up is the news that Jesus cries has lived the life that you were supposed to live that you failed at and died the death of condemnation in your place on the cross so that you can immediately by the father be forgiven and fully accepted by God. Jesus does not say to you, like your demanding father. You prove you're worthy of my love and then I love you know. He says I love you. I forgive you out that certainty of my love, you will change and become exactly who I've called you today son of kids in our counsel, especially men who grew up no matter what they did on sports teams in the classroom on the stage that always came back to them with.

Here's the six things you did well not this everlasting father. He says you come to me with your worst and you will leave with my best. Jesus is also better than your angry father, consider walking on eggshells around them, praying that he's not going to slip out and hurt you. You can come close to him and trust and look at the Psalms from Psalm 103.

Jesus is not an easily offended alpha male, ready to throw his fist that anyone that gets in his way. He is slow to anger, he is full of compassion and grace and mercy. He is abounding in love that doesn't quit the Jesus is also better than your enabling underpass of that look at Hebrews 1210, 11, and Hebrews were told that God is disciplining us out of anger but out of a desire for peace. Here's the way this protector and provider. This everlasting father worked is always thinking about your good always thinking about what's best for you. He doesn't just sit back uninvolved and watch things happen to you. Listen, neither does he slew band and send angels to rescue you from all sins consequences. He is actually really thinking about how to bring the right things into your life at the right time with the right people listen. Sometimes the hard things I'm not here that I haven't been all of fall apart for me seven years ago. It was here before the Lord know how to bring the right discipline into my life to grow me and change me to tell you this right now when that's happening, you are not for a minute. See, unlike the absent father or the passive father who was a emotionally check out your life. The everlasting father is carelessly engaged with you. Romans eight Jesus's death and resurrection. We not only get forgiveness we get another gift we get the gift of the Holy Spirit third person of the Trinity. And what a Holy Spirit certainly moves us outward to love people outside. He is also constantly at work on the inside renewing day by day and he is the voice of the father in your life and then it is all crashing and burning around you and you are tempted to doubt the goodness of the father. The spirit comes to us in our weakness in heart pain in the brokenness of creation and says he is you. You are child. You are not leaving because it often don't you believe you're alone to the Holy Spirit. The everlasting father is emotionally engaged with your heart see he's not just putting food on the table. He's not just protecting you he's pulling you close into them sit you on his lap and he's whispering to you I love you to the cross and back.

In fact on the cross. Jesus Christ felt the absence of his father so we could forever have his presence. This father is emotionally involved. If you are father that was distant from you or abused you.

I was always angry was emotionally checked out.

I want you to know something today. Listen very close this everlasting father is not that dad that was just a lousy opening act.

This daddy doesn't just love you from a distance.

He is minute by minute deeply intimately involved with you always thinking about your good.

Listen to me.

I know some you you hear this today your little bit angry with me right now. That's okay. I know some you don't feel this today how emotionally charged up. I get up here you'll feel this today. Listen, I know from personal experience I know that years of abuse and neglect are not overcome a sermon in the not overcome you open up your Bible and read a few verses and I'm not suggesting that to you today my wife grew up in a broken home with an absent dad and alcoholic mom.

She was abused and neglected.

You know what, 10 years into our marriage. We were still feeling the effects of that my two oldest boys that are adopted from Russia and Ethiopia were neglected and abandoned for a year and 1/2 as much as I wish it were true, we can't overcome all of that neglect and abandonment with just a hug and put dinner on the table every night. It takes time, takes a long time for some of the neglected ensembles kids in the world that hurt is not going to be fully healed until Jesus comes back and makes all things new.

See the darkness of abuse and abandonment and neglect berries itself T inside the heart and it takes long term promise keeping and sacrificial love to shine light down in that deep darkness and that's why I am so thankful that's exactly what Jesus Christ does. You also good news on Father's Day weekend. Even though Herod was a king with power seemingly unending power to command armies to kill the Christ child.

The simple tiny fatherly obedience. Joseph Jesus one and Herod lost his dad and Jesus is alive. The darkness cannot overcome the light in at the end of all things in Scripture tells us that there will be no more night because God the father and all of his light will dwell with his children as his children dwell with him forever everlasting father and that means that there is not an orphan. There is not a teenage kid about the age out of the system. In Russia there is not a little Ethiopian starving girl begging for food on the streets of Addison Barbara or a kid right now been abused in the bedroom in North Durham because of Jesus Christ because of his promise to make all things new.

There is not a single child who's been betrayed her neglected or abandoned by their father, that you and I can't with all the sincerity and shortness in the universe look into their eyes with deep conviction and say going to be okay. It's going to be better than okay. It's going to be perfect. I love you and I want to show you loving father is trust. This father trust this everlasting father because he's a better dad than the one that failed you and I promise you as you learn to walk with him. You will grow more and more sure of his love for you, as the Spirit testifies to you and his word testifies to you that he's a good father. As you see it in the church.

The people that come around you, even if it doesn't happen right now. In an instant when this church stayed with the Bible that tells you the best father in his love quit. I can promise you this charge is not adequate on you and I know this God listen to me some a church is up to you to make that message clear to every hurting family in the triangle signature should be answering the call, Joseph on some of the most climactic moments of the Bible. Here's the way the plot goes evil feels threatened by children so evil slaughters children.

Meanwhile God through his people is rescuing and preserving the children as they overcome evil and every time it's telling us about how Jesus will save us for the culture of death and destruction feels threatened. You know it does. It kills the week it happened in Egypt when Pharaoh wanted to get rid of the Hebrew children. It happened in Jesus's day with Herod and it is happening today and that's right where God steps in to provide salvation to God's adoption of us is only possible Joseph Dr. Jesus, and now church is the body of Christ. It's time for us to step into our culture of death and realize that Joseph's call is ours to that we are here to play a role in the salvation story that God is telling by answering Joseph's call to care for God's kids three ways. We need to do this first got answer Joseph's call in our homes. Dad listening if you're putting food on the table, but not having real actual conversations with your kids ones where you actually listen to them so that you hear what's going on in their heart that you can apply the truth of the gospel to it. You are provoking your kids anger if you provided a roof over your kids head and food on the table to protect them from weather and starvation, but you are washing them in the word, to protect them from the serpent's lie. You are provoking them to anger that, you know, today your failing in this area listen to me, don't despair. This is not a guilt trip. Your kids are looking for perfection just looking for little effort and because of Jesus in all the ways that your failing as a father. You are already forgiven. You just have to look at the cross, to know that. So now you can move forward in faith into being the placeholder that you're supposed to be but you need help asked somebody in your small group, you know I dad around here that you think memo that seems be doing it right asked that that is not in a small but you don't know anybody. Come see your campus pastor one of our prayer team. Afterwards, let's get that ball rolling on Father's Day. Second, we got answer Joseph's call in our neighborhoods. I know that this church is deeply committed to caring for the father was in the triangle question is are you just going to scan a church that's doing that in the city. Are you actually going to do in your neighborhood are you going to watch it.

Are you going to make it happen.

Can you imagine if Joseph looked at the angel that he saw the drain and set know Jesus needs a dad fantastic. I know some great people that we really take care marrying this baby.

I'll introduce you to: Joseph's is not get somebody else to do it.

The call of Joseph is to love the orphan and trust God to provide and protect you as you do it. He's your father.

He'll do it and I'll tell you that my main in your neighborhood that might mean getting to know your neighbors until you find a single mom and then maybe you find out that little Johnny is baseball every Tuesday mom struggle just to get dinner on the table so every Tuesday you show up jungles and might mean taking her kids out for ice cream, Father's Day, taken a girl to daddy daughter dance. It might mean this is going be scary for you. When the college kids come back in August that this this is this is unheard of that you get up and walk across the room and introduce yourself and say how you will go to lunch okay.

I guarantee you they will say okay because I'll tell you about this because his generation, I'll tell you right now.

Chances are, three out of four of them have a fatherly story and then you start to speak into that you start a ministry that you still have over your house for dinner and then I get to see what a godly family is and then you get to show them a picture because if they sought to imitate it.

Then I just because your private college kids don't think your goofy, tight right now, I'm goofy. Some of the best ministry. My wife and I've ever done, just opened up her home.

The college kids and be in our goofy terrible people cells right in front of us a call for you today where it might mean that the Lord is calling you to open your home.

The foster kid in this and it might not be a cute little six month old three-year-old might be a busted up her band and confused 15-year-old who jumped on his shoulder and is irreverent and mean and hateful having you treated your heavenly father.

That way I wanted to do for you. He took on the hurt he took all the abuse he took on the head so you could know a good father. How can suffering stoploss from obeying the God who suffered in our place. Listen to love your neighbor this way it's going to mean you stop thinking of fatherless kids or somebody else's problems in that you stopping the kids problems at all and it's time to start thinking of them as precious little people. The image of God and we begin to see them as the children that God loves Bill. Herod saw children as problem so we slaughtered them. Jesus sees children as precious so we got that's the call of the church. Some if you if you are going to do this in your neighborhood who is who are you going to push this responsibility off on as the body of Christ, we have to step into their darkness and bring light and finally got answer the call Joseph to the world.

There was nothing that is a more powerful statement of life in a culture of death and adopting a child, I was honored to be a part of the movement that started here about seven years ago.

It's beautiful to watch this happen over and over in this church now, but I'm telling you don't sit by and watch this happen get and again I realize it doesn't mean that everybody's going to adopt a child. But there are lots of ways that you can support that. Here and I'll give you one easy step.

This Thursday night, the Lord would have it, there's an orphan care meeting you show up and get started your campus pastor tell you more about that is in Jesus doesn't live past the age of two. If a backwoods North Galilean carpenter who had no obligation to raise him other than the call of God doesn't step up and say he's my child all take responsibility and God couldn't adopt you if Joseph didn't adopt Jesus to their some pretty high-stakes and caring for kids who are missing one or both parents and as the body of Christ, we are going to answer Joseph's call notes that it would take the Lord's supper today to beautiful thing about this meal is that as you take it you're always sit next to somebody new in here when you take it God's family is growing is multiply, there's always another kid at God's table. So my question is what about you, do you have room at your table. One of God's kids. We pray for you heavenly father how beautiful it is the way that you show your love and your kindness through your people to kids who have been hurt, use neglected left right now. Father want to thank you for Jesus Christ want to thank you for being the headliner. The good father, the everlasting father, I want to pray that you by your spirit work through this church to go out to Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, all over the triangle loving care for these children that you call precious and then out into the world to bring healing and relief, and most importantly the gospel of Jesus Christ that says hold on the headliners, thank you for the hope that we have, of all things, no, and every broken thing in our fathers ever did to us will be totally healed in the everlasting father, thank you for that hope. Thank you.

That darkness cannot overcome the light and that we will be healed and we will celebrate at a huge table were all God's children will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord M slain in our place. Praise God move in this church durum to the nations on behalf of the fatherless of Jesus and