Speaker 1: 0:00

Happy Father's Day to everyone out there today. I'm glad that I was voluntold to do the scripture today. I'm trying to bring that to you today.

Speaker 2: 0:13

Yeah, I gotcha, I gotcha, gotcha. Here you go. We got a real Bible on the stage today. This is serious. I'll bring my hard copy.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Today's scripture is coming from Deuteronomy, deuteronomy 17, verses 14 through 20. The principles of governing kings. When you enter the land the Lord, your God, has given you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, you say let us set a king over us. Like all nations around us, be sure to appoint over you a king. The Lord, your God, chooses. He must be among you, among your fellow Israelites.

Speaker 1: 1:02

Do not place a foreigner over you who is not an Israelite.

Speaker 1: 1:06

The king, moreover, must not acquire a great number of horses for himself or make people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you you are not to go back that way again. He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of wealth, large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself a scroll, a copy of this law taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him and he is to read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere the Lord, his God, and follow carefully all the words of this law and the decrees, and not to consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left, then he and his descendants will reign a long time over the kingdom of Israel. This is the word of God. May a blessing be added to the reading of the word.

Speaker 2: 2:11

Awesome. Thanks, dad. Everyone give it up for my dad. Yeah, all right, I love it. That is the word of the Lord today.

Speaker 2: 2:22

Now, I got to say one of my favorite parts about being a dad is that I get to be a kid again. I think I might be a bigger kid than my kids, okay. So, for example, my last birthday, all I wanted for my birthday was a treasure box filled with costumes. You may be like Jacob, why? Here you go. So my wife and my kids got me a treasure box that had Star Wars characters, lightsabers, pirate costumes, all these different things, because what I love to do with my kids is go into our backyard and create a whole different world. So we use, with an imaginative play, our swing set. A lot of times it's a pirate ship. Our trampoline is a place where the fire people live and they're always bouncing around, and then the shed is typically the orphanage where we always have to defend from the evil long beard. Okay, I love to play with my kids. It's one of those fun things. Now, here you go.

Speaker 2: 3:29

What I learned through play, especially this kind of imaginative play, is it's actually a way of forming something deeper within my kids. Yeah, it's fun and we have a good time, but it's actually a way to form character. To form character, for example, our play, our stories. We have fun, but we act out values. We learn about courage, about working together, about saving the day. Lawrence Cohen and his book Playful Parenting, which is my favorite book on parenting. I recommend you to read it. He says this he says all play is more profoundly meaningful than we usually think. Play is a way to try on adult roles and skills and as children discover what they're able to do in the world, they develop confidence, mastery and what Character Character.

Speaker 2: 4:20

Here's the thing. We live in a world that is obsessed with achievement. We live in a world that is obsessed with it Be a great athlete, make money, go to college, get student loan, debt, do big things, build something big. But we rarely talk about character. We rarely talk about character Now and then we act surprised when successful people fall, when their achievements outpace their integrity. And we've seen it from celebrities to CEOs, from Diddy to Harvey Weinstein and even from pastors that we dearly love. And we see this happen all the time. And it's not just a sin problem, it's bad character, it's a character problem.

Speaker 2: 5:16

So this Father's Day I want to talk to the men. I want to talk to all the men, not just the dads, the men. And I want to talk to the ladies too, come on. But I really want to highlight to the men, not just the dads, the men. And I want to talk to the ladies too, come on. But I really want to highlight to the men. I want to highlight, because I believe, with everything inside of me, when men of God step up, get healed up and live with godly character, it changes everything. It changes family dynamics, churches, generations, and so I'm calling today's message how to Become a King. How to Become a King.

Speaker 2: 5:50

Now, let's be honest, though Most guys aren't trying to be kings, we're just trying to survive Mondays. Most guys are thinking about their Sunday afternoon nap. Come on, that sounds good. Right about now, most guys want to not burn the burgers on the grill. But, deep down, every man was made to rule.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Now, here you go, not in an ego-driven way, but in a stewardship way. In a stewardship way, you were created to carry weight, to influence, to lead something. Whether you're a dad, a husband or a boss, or just a guy trying to live right, you've been given your kingdom, your sphere of influence what God has entrusted to you, to steward to steward. Well, and Moses, in this passage that my dad just read, lays out the blueprint for kingship. You don't need a throne to lead like a king. You don't need a title, you don't need a crown. But what you need and what Moses makes clear to us is what you need to lead is good character. It's good character, it's good character.

Speaker 2: 6:58

So we're going to look at that today. What does it mean to have good character? Because in God's kingdom, it's not about how high you sit, it's not about how well you serve. You're not called to rule over people. You're called to be faithful with who God has placed under your care. And you don't have to be impressive to be impactful, but you have to be available. And so real kings don't rule with ego. Real kings rule with integrity.

Speaker 2: 7:27

So the question today is what does it look like to have good, godly character? And Moses again writes to Deuteronomy as Israel was transitioning from a nomadic people to a settled nation, and as they're getting their things going, they're trying to figure out what does it look like to be a kingdom? They're getting their things going. They're trying to figure out what does it look like to be a kingdom. So they are surrounded by kingdoms and kings that do not rule the way that the God of Israel wants to rule. They are surrounded by kings that rule with absolute power, wealth and military strength. Even in that day, ancient kings were seen as divine, accumulating wives and riches and armies to expand their control. It sounds like a lot of people still today.

Speaker 2: 8:08

Moses presents this radical vision for character. It would separate Israel and Israel's God from all the other nations and, unlike the other nations, israel's God would be different Not a ruler of self-interest, but a servant under God. No excessive wealth, military power or political marriages. Required to write and obey God's law daily. A leader shaped by humility and obedience. And why? Why does this matter? So what? Why does it matter to us?

Speaker 2: 8:39

Deuteronomy 17 contrasts worldly character versus godly character, one built on pride and the other built on a full-on surrender to God. Then kings sought power and status. Now culture pressures us to chase success and self-promotion. But God's call back then and God's call today is that we stand out by living differently, humbly, obediently and devoted, and surrendered to our true king. And so now you might be thinking okay, this is a cool history lesson, jacob. But what does this have to do with me? Well, it has everything to do with you. It has everything because this isn't about ancient kings, it's about you. It's about how you live your life in a world that is constantly pressuring you to conform.

Speaker 2: 9:27

The Apostle Paul, he even puts it like this to us he says do not conform to the patterns of this world. I mean, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean you got to do it. Just because they're promoting these people on social media doesn't mean you got to do the things that they're doing. Just because they're doing this path, just because they're on this path, because their path leads to influence or achieve it, that doesn't mean that's the path that God has for you. He, that doesn't mean that's the path that God has for you. He says don't conform to the patterns of this world. But. But he gives a big old. But you got to listen to those big buts but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then then, and only then, I think you can add there you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will for your life.

Speaker 2: 10:13

A Jesus follower stands out. When their character stands out. The world doesn't need more men who only want to dominate, who are too prideful to say when they need help to love others. Well, the world needs men of godly character. Know this, everything I'm saying here today. This godly character comes from a place that your loving Father wants to know you and be known by you. That he looks at you and says you are His beloved, that he desires intimacy with you and union with you, that our God is Abba Father, that he is intimate and close. And so this is what the Father is calling out for us. Deep cries, out to deep. And so how do we stand out? Like kings, our queens? Come on, my ladies in the house, here you go. I want to give us three ways. Kings walk in humility. Kings walk in humility. They walk in humility. Humility starts with letting God choose who leads. See, here you go.

Speaker 2: 11:18

We all struggle with the pressure to prove ourselves. Every one of us. We all struggle with the pressure to prove ourselves. Let me ask you this have you ever felt like you had to prove yourself, like you had to make sure everyone knows how good you are, how smart you are, how successful you are? Good you are, how smart you are how successful you are. But let me tell you something God didn't put you on this earth to impress. He put you here to serve. He put you here to serve.

Speaker 2: 11:40

Look at what God says about the more of them, for the Lord has told you you are not going back that way again, and I just got to tell some people today that God has set you free from some things. God has healed you of some things. God has given you a revelation that the things that you're doing right now is not the things that he wants for you. And you're moving forward and you're going forward, and sometimes, when you go forward, you get a resistance, you get a pushback, you get a. Can I really do this? And the temptation when we get pushbacks is to go back to the thing that I'm familiar with, even if the thing that I'm familiar with was the thing that I spent nights praying. God, take this away from me, and I'm going to tell you this when you get the pressure to go back, the Lord, your God, says don't go back to Egypt. Come on, I'm preaching good today. The Lord, your God, says don't go back to Egypt, don't go back to the thing that satisfies that temporary pleasure when I have for you something greater ahead. Let me get back to my text before I start preaching too much. I got my Mickey Mouse shirt on. I'm feeling all preachy. Here you go.

Speaker 2: 12:58

He must not take many wives sister wives it's a weird show. Okay, his heart will be led astray. Yeah, that sounds about right. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. Every other king was out there stacking up chariots, collecting wives like trophies, piling up gold like they were about to win Monopoly.

Speaker 2: 13:20

But God says not my king, not my king. God says you don't need all of that to prove your worth. You don't need more to be more. See, culture tells you that your value is based on what you have. But the kingdom of God tells you that your value is based on what you have. But the kingdom of God tells you that your value is based on whose you are. It's based on whose you are. Culture says get more, so people will notice you. Jesus says lay it down, so people will notice me. Culture says look important. Jesus says be faithful with what you've got. Culture says make it about you. And Jesus says make it about other people. See, let's be real.

Speaker 2: 13:52

Our world celebrates kings who build empires, but kings that do not build character. We vote for them, we elect them, we point them out, we highlight them, we say we want to be like them. Their power and their pleasure and their possessions aren't just temptations, they're expectations. But if a man is strong enough, wealthy enough or successful enough, we crown him a king. But in God's kingdom that crown doesn't fit. God flips it completely. You don't need more to be a king, you need more surrender, you need to live a life of submission. And we don't like those words now. We don't like words like surrender and submit. We don't like words like, hey, I got to come before the Lord and ask the Lord what does he want? Because we want it our way. Like usher Wow, okay, I don't want to sing usher. No, no, no. Here you go.

Speaker 2: 14:50

God gives us three specific limits. I want you to see this no horses mean in power. No, many wives mean in pleasure. No piles of silver and gold mean in possessions. And he's not trying to control the king's behavior, he's trying to shape the king's character. Because when a leader's appetites go on check, people get hurt. Let me say that one more time when a leader's, when a person's appetites go unchecked. Other people get hurt because of it, and so here you go. So no horses. In ancient Israel, horses was a military flex, like tanks are AI today. But God says don't trust the military might. Don't go back to Egypt to get what I already freed you from.

Speaker 2: 15:33

Humility says I don't need to build my own security. God is my security. What does that look like for us today? Let's get practical. That means you don't have to win every argument, meaning you don't have to prove you're the smartest person in the room, not needing to control the outcomes instead of trusting God in his timing. Know many wives.

Speaker 2: 15:56

This is about political power and unchecked desire. God wasn't being a killjoy. He was protecting the king's heart from being divided. This is about your affections. What's pulling your loyalty away from God? A humble heart doesn't chase more. It stays faithful to what he's already been given. No powers of silver and gold. This one stings a little bit, but God is not. God is saying don't hoard wealth like it's your identity. It's okay to have money. It's okay to have business, it's okay. He's not saying that, but he's saying you got to stay humble. You got to stay humble because if your identity is in your stuff, if your net worth, if your net worth that will control your self-worth. You got to be cautious.

Speaker 2: 16:36

Jesus says this in Matthew 5. He said blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Now, meek doesn't mean passive. It doesn't mean passive. It means strength under control. It's this quiet kind of strength that doesn't need to shout out to be heard. It just shows up and knows that it's a leader. It doesn't need to make a big scene to draw attention, but being faithful.

Speaker 2: 17:01

Meekness is humility wrapped in courage. It's like Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a war horse. It's the dad, come on. It's the dad who gets on the floor and plays with his kids, even after a long day of work. It's the husband who is more interested in loving his spouse rather than winning an argument. It's these different things. It's humility. That's strength. That's humility, that's kingship. It's the man who confesses instead of concealing. See, that's what we want to do. So kings live in humility, but kings live in obedience. Now, obedience again, that's one of those words like surrender, submit. What do you mean? Obedience, jacob? Obedience isn't a rule. Obedience is a rhythm. It's a rhythm to your life.

Speaker 2: 17:53

God could have said make sure the king has advisors Make sure he builds a temple, make sure he has battle plans. But this is what God says. He says when he sits on the throne as king. He must copy. I want you guys to get this. Let the word of God teach you today. Okay, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on his scroll in the presence of the Levitical priest. Check this out. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives.

Speaker 2: 18:21

And so it's like Scripture is saying if you really want good character, if you really want to achieve the purpose I have for you, if you really want to be the person that you are called and designed and destined to be, you will begin to spend daily time with God. Let me just say it one more time If you really want to achieve the person, to be the person that God has called you to be, if you're searching for purpose, purpose isn't found out there somewhere. Purpose isn't found when you finally get that degree. Purpose isn't found when you finally hit those amount of numbers on your bank account. Purpose is found when you can surrender and spend daily time with God and have a relationship and an intimacy with your creator, god.

Speaker 2: 19:00

That says God, who am I today? How have you shaped me today? What do you need for me today? Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. I give you my all today. I give you my all today Spending daily time with God. Your Christian walk will always feel a little bit empty if you don't consistently, constantly, regularly, habitually spend time with God.

Speaker 2: 19:25

And this is how people make pastors kings Because people want pastor to feed them when the Holy Spirit is inviting you to have a daily, authentic relationship with Him Himself. And any pastor that wants kingship is not a church you should be at, but you can have a daily ongoing. The Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, scripture says, lives in you, in you, and so we got to spend daily time with God. See, you must spend daily time because God knew that the most—this is so good God knew the most dangerous thing in a man's life is not the enemy out there, but it's the enemy in here, it's the pride in here. It's the enemy in here. It's the pride in here, it's the pressure in here, it's the pull to live life on his own terms. In here, worldly kings make the rules Godly kings submit to them. Come on, man. They know they can't lead well if they're not being led by God.

Speaker 2: 20:31

Obedience isn't about perfection, it's about direction. Let's clear this, god. Obedience isn't about perfection, it's about direction. Let's clear this up.

Speaker 2: 20:36

Obedience isn't legalism. It's not checking out boxes and doing spiritual homework. It's about spiritual alignment. I'm getting my heart set on the things of God, not on my own agenda, not on my own thing. But, god, what do you have for me today? See, here you go. It's saying God, I trust your wisdom more than my instincts.

Speaker 2: 20:56

When I spend daily time with God, it gets me in on God's world and gets God in on my world. And that's why God didn't just say read the law. He said write it physically, copy it. Why is that? Because you remember what you repeat. You don't obey by accident, you obey by habit. And if you're not careful, you'll start treating God's word like Ikea instructions Optional, confusing and only useful when something breaks.

Speaker 2: 21:32

What does this look like practically? I'm not talking about reading five chapters a day in the Bible and feeling guilty if you miss one. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's legalism. That's bound and set. That's bound and set. That means I have to do this in order to achieve God's love. It's not about what you do. It's about embracing the grace and love of Jesus Christ on the cross, and I'm going to keep moving my heart towards him. I'm going to keep pointing my arrow towards the well that gives me life. I'm going to keep looking towards him.

Speaker 2: 22:01

I'm talking about building a rhythm of daily time in God's presence, even if it's just five to ten minutes a day. But I do got to say this I highly, highly recommend the value, the principle of first things, of first things. So, when you spend daily time with God, yeah, you may have a wacky schedule and you got to find the time to do it, but if you can spend your first time with God Because just think about it If your first thing, the principle of the first thing, if your first thing is just barely waking up out of bed, grabbing your phone and reading about all the world crisis, man, that's setting your pace for that whole day, that's your pacemaker. If it's just barely making it turning on the TV, got something? Listening to Regis and Kelly, wait, ha ha ha. Regions ain't there, no more.

Speaker 2: 22:54

No, but principle of first things, god, I'm going to come to you first. I'm going to open up my Bible. I'm going to pray a simple prayer Holy Spirit, give me wisdom and understanding. Say a simple prayer. I have a principle of first things God, give me your word, even if you don't understand it. It's not about always understanding. That's the problem. We are a goal-oriented, result-driven society, and so if our daily time with God doesn't provide immediate results, we're like we must be doing it wrong.

Speaker 2: 23:26

I don't know about you, but last night but this didn't happen to you because you weren't in my house but last night my son. He woke up 2 in the morning and I was like man, get back to bed. Woke up, bust into my room Where's daddy. I'm like, I'm right here. Man Got up, picked him up, went in his bed, laid with him. I fell asleep in his bed. I'm not going to lie, it was cozy.

Speaker 2: 24:00

It's not about results of intimacy. It's about this intimacy. I'm with my boy because he woke up, he needed daddy. He found him and your heavenly father will always find you. And you run to him. You say dad, I need you. Abba, father, it's in those daily times, in those connections with the Lord, that you begin to understand that his voice for you is louder than the notifications on your phone, that his love for you is greater than the trauma that you have experienced, that His Spirit is real and breathing and active.

Speaker 2: 24:46

Let me send a challenge Because I like to be inclusive. Ladies, you're also invited to this challenge too, but I do want to challenge the men directly. What would happen if you spent 20 days getting close, getting still before God, letting Him speak, letting Him love you and form you? I'm going to do this on my own, regardless, but I want to invite all the men to do it with me. There is an app called the Pause app. I love it. You can find it on iPhones and anything. That's not that, because iPhones are the only way to go, and in there there is a devotional by a guy named John Elbridge, a pastor, that I really enjoy, and it's a 20-day challenge called Experience Jesus Really, and it's 20 days of prayer, scripture reading and guided silence, prayer and what I discovered for me, for me personally, there's so much pressure for me to perform at times, to be there, to be on all the times.

Speaker 2: 25:47

It's in the silence, without the noise and notifications that God has really wrecked my heart in the best possible ways, implications that God has really wrecked my heart in the best possible ways. So every day in the morning and at night, there's a guided prayer and I say, men, let's do it together. It's 20 days. Anyone can do anything for 20 days, but it can be a 20-day span that changes the entire trajectory of your life. So we got this QR code. I'm probably in the way of it. You can sign up for that and I'll just put you in the list and then I will shoot you an email or text message with the devotional and hey, if you can't do that, just text me, text me, text me. I'd love for you to do it and I'd love to do it with you. Okay, all right. So morning and we'll close with this.

Speaker 2: 26:39

Kings are formed by selflessness. They walk in humility, they live in obedience and they're formed by selflessness Deuteronomy 19, so that he may learn to remember the Lord and follow carefully all the words of the law and the decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites. Ain't that something? The king does not need to think himself better, john Elridge says in his book Wild at Heart. He says Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue. I like that.

Speaker 2: 27:15

Think about the king's role wasn't about him. When God gave him instructions to Israel's future king, he wasn't just saying here's how to be moral. He was saying here's how to be selfless. Don't get rich for yourself. Don't take wives for yourself. Don't build armies to protect yourself. Don't think of yourself better than your brothers. The entire structure was built to protect the people from the ego of the leader. In other words, the king's strength wasn't for himself, it was for those he was called to serve, and the same is true for us. The key to living that out isn't taking up a sword for yourself, but is laying down your life for others. And we often imagine ourselves as the hero. But true kingship, godly kingship, starts with selflessness. Not me first, but others first. Not what do I get out of this, but how can I bless others through this? That's the heart of a king.

Speaker 2: 28:08

And do you want to know why these men that I mentioned at the beginning of my message really get to us, why they really bother us? Yes, it's what they do and their actions? Like man, I can't believe someone would do that. But at the end of the day, what really gets to us is that these people use their power to use people. They use their power to use people. And godly people, godly men and godly women, we don't use people, we empower people. We empower people. Dads, your strength isn't for control, it's for covering Husbands. It's not about dominating, it's about serving Leaders. Your authority isn't to be worshipped, it's to lift others up. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 20,.

Speaker 2: 28:55

The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The greatest king, the greatest king we want this kind of crown. The world says this is what you need. Kings rule with wealth and power and influence and social media followers. I guess that's important, but our king, king Jesus, didn't rule with gold.

Speaker 2: 29:37

King Jesus didn't rule with gold. He wore a crown like this. His crown wasn't made of gold and jewels, but it was made of selflessness. His crown was made of I will bear your pain so that you can have life to the fullest. His crown separated him and friends. If we want to be like Jesus, our crown that we must wear must be a crown of selflessness. How can we put others first? How can we love our spouses, how can we be there for our kids, how can we think of ourself a little bit less, because so many of us are wounded.

Speaker 2: 30:33

But come Holy Spirit, a wounded, come Holy Spirit, by a father who didn't know how to be selfless, so many of us have the opportunity to find healing and peace Because our King, king Jesus, for the joy before him, endured the cross. And that joy, that joy was you, was me, was us. So we say we're going to follow the lead of our King. He walked humbly, he lived in obedience to his Father, he served selflessly. So let it be said of us that we would do the same. God, jesus, holy Spirit, we thank you for your love. We thank you for your goodness and your favor. We thank you that you truly are our ever-present help in times of trouble. So we say come Holy Spirit, move in us, move in this place. Come Holy Spirit, we are not in a rush. Come Holy Spirit.

Speaker 2: 32:32

As for the word distracted, you grew up in a household where you would say your dad was always distracted. It was a distraction. Something always seemed to get in the way. Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit says he feels that, that he was with you back then and he's still with you now. That's what the Holy Spirit is saying forgiveness. Just say forgive and release yourself of that burden, that anger, that bitterness. Everybody feel the Holy Spirit saying release yourself of the what ifs, what if that happened? Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit.

Speaker 2: 33:26

And I actually just feel the joy of the Lord with a lot of different people, a lot of different men in this environment today. People, a lot of different men in this environment today, that God is saying he is for you and he is with you. That even when you feel weak and tired and you feel like you got nothing else to pour out, turn to him, spend time with him. He will refresh you and fill up your cup. Man, I just I don't know this is for a lot of people, maybe someone specific, I don't know. But I just get this image of God in the bleachers with a big old sign he's a proud father cheering you on. That's my girl, that's my girl, that's my boy Cheering you on, watching you. Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit.

Speaker 2: 34:30

And where the enemy has tried to rob us of intimacy with you, god, we rebuke that in Jesus' name. Open us up to deeper levels of intimacy with you, god. We rebuke that in Jesus' name. Open us up to deeper levels of intimacy with you. God, teach us how to pray like Jesus prayed. Our Father in heaven, our Father intimate, abba, daddy, thank you God. Thank you God. So, jesus, we say we love you, we say more of you, we say thank you for the cross, thank you that you bridged the gap from us to God so that we can be in union with our Father God. We love you in this place today, in Jesus' name. Amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.