Believe What God Said: Fathers, Step Into Purpose

Father’s Day opens with honor for fathers and gratitude for a good, good Father who keeps showing mercy even when His children have not been good to Him. The blessing over fathers asks the Lord to keep them, shine His face on them, be gracious to them, and give them peace.

The month of encouragement for men reaches back to Samson, Adam, Zacharias, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Samson shows how a strong man can end up weak, blind, and grinding wheat in the enemy’s camp when mother wounds, wife wounds, shame, lust, and perversion go unhealed. Adam shows how sin and shame make men hide from the presence of God, and the question still stands: Adam, where are you? The call to men says that God is not building a judgmental house, but a house that helps men get free.

Luke 1 brings Zacharias face to face with Gabriel and with the word God had already spoken. The angel tells Zacharias that his prayer has been heard, that Elizabeth will bear a son, and that the child will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. Zacharias asks how it can happen because he is old and Elizabeth is well advanced in years. Unbelief mutes Zacharias until the child is born, because a father who does not believe God can speak unbelief into the very child God is raising up.

A father’s voice carries weight in a child’s life. The most important voice in a man’s life is the voice of God, and the most important voice in a child’s life is the father. Unbelief can stifle a man’s influence, and the absence of fathers leaves homes, churches, and communities out of order. Zacharias has to line up with God’s plan and name the child John, not Zacharias, because God has a bigger plan for children than parents can draw with straight lines.

Jesus’ baptism shows heaven opening, the Spirit descending, and the Father affirming the Son. The Father’s voice says He is pleased, and that affirmation matters more than any man’s approval. The call to men says to stop hiding behind trauma, fear, condemnation, and shame, and to walk. Mountains of fear, doubt, worry, and condemnation are not meant to be climbed forever. They are meant to be spoken to in faith.

Forgiveness becomes the doorway to breakthrough. The altar becomes a place where people forgive God, forgive the offender, and forgive themselves. The image of the rugby maul shows men surrounding one another in prayer and protection, because no man should stand alone while the enemy attacks. Cross Men is birthed as a call for men to step up, step in, return to the Father, and take their rightful place so the family vision is not erased.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Unbelief can mute fatherly influence Zacharias did not lose his voice because God was cruel. Zacharias lost his voice because unbelief would have spoken against the destiny God had placed in John. A father’s words can water purpose or choke it, and God takes that influence seriously. [35:40]
• 2. God’s plan outruns parental control Zacharias had to accept that his son would not simply carry the family name. John belonged to God’s purpose before he belonged to his father’s expectations. Faithful parenting does not draw straight lines for children, but believes God can save and use them even when they wander into the wild. [41:38]
• 3. Trauma must not lead forever Childhood wounds can keep a man circling the same mountain and hiding behind the past. God’s call to walk is not denial of pain, but a command that pain no longer gets to name the future. The man who rises from shame becomes able to feed sons, daughters, families, and communities. [48:35]
• 4. The Father’s affirmation is enough Jesus received the Father’s delight before public ministry, before miracles, and before the cross. Divine affirmation comes before performance, and that truth breaks the slavery of trying to be lifted by people. A man who knows the Father is pleased can stop running from shame and start walking in obedience. [50:38]
• 5. Forgiveness opens blocked places Unforgiveness toward an earthly father can distort how the heavenly Father is seen. Forgiveness does not pretend the wound was small, but it refuses to let the wound control the soul’s picture of God. The altar becomes a place where freedom begins by releasing God, others, and self from accusation.
  
  ## [59:26]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [09:40] - Father’s Day Greetings and Men’s Breakfast
• [17:20] - Honoring Fathers Through Video
• [19:09] - Prayer of Blessing for Fathers
• [28:29] - God the Good Father
• [29:16] - Samson, Wounds, and Perversion
• [31:52] - Adam, Shame, and Hiding
• [33:11] - Believe What God Said
• [35:40] - Zacharias Muted by Unbelief
• [41:15] - John’s Name and God’s Plan
• [44:26] - Praying for Wandering Children
• [50:23] - Jesus Baptized and Affirmed
• [54:08] - Walk Beyond Fear and Condemnation
• [59:05] - Repentance, Forgiveness, and Breakthrough
• [75:30] - Cross Men Is Birthed

Bible Reading

Luke 1:13-20
“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.’ And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ And the angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.’” [35:40]

Luke 3:21-22
“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” [50:23]

Genesis 3:9
“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

Judges 16:21
“And the Philistines seized him and goued out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.”

Observation questions

1. In Luke 1:13-20, what specific things did Gabriel say about John’s life, calling, and purpose before he was even born? [35:40]
2. What was Zechariah’s response to Gabriel, and what consequence followed because of that response? [35:40]
3. In Luke 3:21-22, what happened when Jesus was baptized, and what exactly did the Father say over Him? [50:23]
4. In the pictures of Adam and Samson, what conditions are described about each man: where Adam was in relation to God, and what had happened to Samson in the hands of the Philistines? [31:52]

Interpretation questions

1. Zechariah’s silence came after he doubted a word that had come from God. What does that suggest about how seriously God takes unbelief, especially in someone whose words carry influence in a family? [35:40]
2. John was to be called John, not simply carry on his father’s name. What does that show about the difference between parental expectations and God’s purpose for a child? [41:15]
3. God asked Adam, “Where are you?” How does that question expose what shame often causes people to do in their relationship with God? [31:52]
4. Jesus received the Father’s delight before public ministry became visible. What does that reveal about the order of affirmation and performance in the life of a believer? [50:23]

Application questions

1. God’s question, “Where are you?” still reaches people who are hiding. Where has hiding shown up lately—in prayer, in relationships, in church life, or in honest obedience to God? [31:52]
2. A father’s words can water purpose or choke it. If there are children, younger believers, or others under one’s influence, what kind of words have been spoken over them lately: fear-filled words, controlling words, absent words, or life-giving words? [35:40]
3. Trauma is real, but it was never meant to lead forever. What old wound, shame, or fear has been naming the future for too long, and what would it look like to stop circling that mountain and begin to walk in faith? [54:08]
4. The Father’s affirmation came over Jesus before visible accomplishment. Whose approval has been carrying too much weight lately, and what might change if the heart truly rested in the Father’s words, “You are my beloved”? [50:38]
5. Unforgiveness toward an earthly father can distort the way the heavenly Father is seen. Is there any resentment toward a father, mother, spouse, leader, or even toward God that needs to be honestly brought into the light and released? [59:05]
6. Forgiveness also includes forgiving oneself. Is there a place where self-accusation has kept the soul stuck, and what would it mean to receive mercy there instead of rehearsing failure again and again? [59:26]
7. No man is meant to stand alone under attack. What would it look like to let trusted brothers or sisters come close in prayer, honesty, and protection instead of trying to carry everything alone? [01:15:30]