So, the title of the message that I want to bring to you today is called ‘On Our Way to the Father.’ On our way to the Father, is there anybody ready to be on their way somewhere today, amen!

I just want to say Happy Father's Day to those fathers that I haven't gotten to say it to formally. Happy Father's Day to all of you and it's funny because every time, you know whether it's Father's Day or any holiday, one of the first things that comes to my mind of what's happening in that day, is everybody’s gonna be traveling, right? I already started to see the traffic yesterday. Some people are going far some people are going short, but a lot of people are gonna be on their way. To what? To go see their father's, right? To go travel to have that family time and to spend that time together. But today I want to talk about something even bigger. See some of you, might have some plans today. Some of you might not, but I want to say that if you are a Christian we are going somewhere. That if we are those who belong to God - you see Christianity isn't just about a quick touch from God and kinda just go home and be the same, Christianity is not just about a quick simple little prayer and then call it a day, it is about a journey. We are on a journey to the Father. We are going somewhere today, and I want to say today church, it is a wonderful journey. It is a powerful journey - there is no other journey for me and my household and my family that we would ever choose, and we are on our way today to the Father.

And so I ask you today, are you ready to move? Are you ready to get going? Are you ready to pack up the bags? I love how – and we’re gonna be reading from this chapter today 1 Peter chapter 1. And we’re gonna break down some more verses later but - it’s so interesting in verse one, a lot of your translations Peter’s addressing the church and he's calling them exiles. In some he says strangers. But I love the New King James, he actually says, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims…” - to the pilgrims. You know what a pilgrim does? You know, the pilgrims are always on the move. When you're on a pilgrimage when you are a pilgrim you are not a person that sits still - you are not somebody that is okay with just kind of going about a normal day - you’ve got a place to be, you’ve got somewhere to go. Hallelujah church we are called to be pilgrims on a pilgrimage. We are to be on our way every day, our children have to come with us, our family has to come with us to meet with our Father.

Sadly, much of the church in America has lost this sense of movement. Has lost their identity of what God has called us - He's called us to be pilgrims on a journey after God. And sadly many messages are preached today just saying, ‘Listen relax. Be you! It's all well, you know you can just do you, take it easy,’ and what it's produced so much in our nation has been Christians who are self absorbed. Christians who are not on the move but Christians that are still and not moving - no urging to be following after God. There's no urging to be seeking Him, but to have an attitude of just, ‘Listen, be satisfied right where you are. Even if it's for the next 10 to 20 years for your life, you may sit in the same chair, not only physically but even spiritually you’ll never make a move of God - it's all good, all is well,’ and it's the very same thing that has led many off the path of God. But God is calling us today church, He is calling us to be on our way to God.

See true Christianity, stems from men and women - and you can open up the Scriptures - it stems from men and women of movement. I think of Abraham, right? When God called out Abraham, what was the first thing? He said ‘Get going,’ He said, ‘Move,’ and Abraham was on his way to the promised land - he was on his way to God! To the place of God to the presence of God. I think of Moses as Pastor Kris was preaching last week. The very day that Moses was called out by God, he was on the move. He was gonna go to Egypt, and then he was gonna get the people of God and take them out. Is somebody ready to leave Egypt today? Is somebody ready to be on the way to God - to let the old be gone, to let the old snares be broken off, the old way of living the old mindset the things that have just been so wicked before God. Who is ready to leave ‘em behind and come into Christ!

"Church of God, are you serious about being on the way to the Father today?"

See the same message is still for the church of God today. God is saying, ‘Move, be on your way to the Father.’ Where you're thinking every single day, ‘You know what, I don't want to just be satisfied with normal living. I don't want to go to church anymore, and go home and be the same. No, I want to come closer to God. I want to know God. I want to know how He thinks, I want to know what He cares about. I want to know the Father.’ That my friends, the church - that is what we are called to do. We are called to be after the Father. To come to know Him - to not be okay with being on the sideline. To not be okay with just burning up and wallowing up in the world. To not be okay for our children to be perishing, but to rise up in God. To seek the Father to come after Him to make a change, to be transformed!

Now if you’re anything like my family, it's hilarious when we go on a day trip. Even if we’re going away just for two hours we are packing up. God forbid we leave the house, and we’re gonna be on our way somewhere - we’re gona have fresh fruit, we’re gonna have the food made, we’re gonna have sandwiches. Brenda texts me and calls me at least 2 to 3 times before the trip to say ‘Jeff, do you have everything? Do you have the waters? My parents aren’t gonna remember this, can you make sure you got that too, but they're bringing this so make sure…’ And it iss this culmination of preparation for us because we are not gonna leave unless we’re ready. When we’re gonna go somewhere we take it serious. Church of God, are you serious about being on the way to the Father today? Are you ready to pack up?

Listen, we may not be literally packing our bags but we are on a spiritual move. There is a spiritual journey that God is calling us to move on. We are to be on our way toward God, where our thinking begins to change. Where the way that we speak begins to change. All the ways that we used to live and just kind of going our own way and doing our own thing - it is time to now come into God's thing. It is time to now hear what God is saying and not just hear it but to move with it, to step into something new with the Father. We need to be on our way. Are you ready today church?

And so, I’m speaking from 1 Peter, we’ll have the Scriptures up. I love this chapter again because Peter’s calling us pilgrims and he’s talking about the great call of God, the hope that God has given, and to really be on the way to the Father. And I pray today, that from this word we would be equipped by God to have exactly what we need to be on our way to the Father. So I want to share with you three things that we need to have that we need to check our bags - we need to check everything we’re carrying with us to make sure we have it in order to be on the way to the Father.

And so the first thing is that we must have readiness. Readiness! Let's look at verse 13 in chapter 1. It says, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming.” And so Peter, right off the bat is saying, ‘Listen, be ready. Jesus is coming and we’re going, we’re gonna meet up with Him. Something big is about to happen - right now God is calling for movement.’ So he is saying, ‘Be alert! Have an alert mind, a sober mind. Don't be dead, be found alive and ready to go,’ And therefore - you know I love this, he says to have an alert mind.

Now the KJV, the King James Version, I’ve been reading that a little bit more this week - I love how it also says not only to have an alert mind, but it says to “gird up the loins of your mind.” Now what does that look like? Some of you are thinking, ‘What does that mean - I mean I've heard of pork loin you know I’ve heard of all sorts of other things.’ But back in the day they would wear their tunics, and it was a matter of girding their loins - they would roll them. And when you were rolling up your tunic it's kinda like today we’re rolling up our sleeves – it meant you were about to go somewhere. It meant, ‘Get out of my way, I’ve got some place to be I’ve got something to do.’ It meant, ‘I have some business to take care of.’ Church of God, are you ready to take care of business with God? He says be alert in your mind gird up the loins of your mind.

I'm reminded of the Passover, you know? When the Israelites were about to leave Egypt, they were gonna eat the Passover and what did God say? He said to tuck in your cloak, be ready. And it's the same idea. See, they were getting ready to walk out of Egypt - at any moment God was gonna call them. Is God gonna call you today and are you gonna be ready? Is your cloak tucked in, is your mind set or is your mind still set on, ‘I’m going to take it easy God, maybe we can do this later.’ No, God is saying, ‘Now! Be ready for what I'm about to do.’

You see Egypt, that was a place of carnality. It's a place of deadness where you just remain the same. You come to church you even can sing praises out loud maybe know some voices, but never experience the presence of God. The victory over sin, the victory over that snare that's just seemed to hold you down for years, the victory over that darkness that seems to just cloud you and your generation. God is saying, ‘Wake up! Become alert - gird up your loins because it is time to leave Egypt!’ It is time to get out of Pharaoh’s land and be on our way to the Lord.

God is saying it's time to go. To be on our way to our Father means to gird up the loins of our minds, again roll up those sleeves. Get ready to do business with the Lord and for some of us it may be repentance. ‘Father I'm sorry for my overdue stay in Egypt. I'm sorry that I’ve loved the ways of Pharaoh. Father I'm sorry that I've loved to be in this land for far too long, God. But I'm now calling on Your Name. Father, forgive me and now begin to call me to Yourself. Father, draw me near - You said that you would draw me in. Jesus, draw me to the Father - draw me to Your presence.’ Let the old now be finished let Egypt be left behind let the old mindset be done with and may we come into the Lord.

We have to take a serious look today. You know, one of my favorite Scriptures - you know, ‘Make sure that our election is sure.’ Be sure! Is our election sure - are we on our way to the Father? If we are, are we truly ready, are we alert? And he says to have an alert and sober mind. I love this. We need to be ready with a sober mind. We’re on our way to the Father - do you have what you need - do you have a mind sober and ready?

Now when we say soberness, I'm not talking about a drunkenness from alcohol that’s not what he means here. But he’s talking about a state of mind. You see, a mind that isn’t sober in Christ is a dull mind. It's a mind that has no clue where it is with the Lord. It's a mind that kind of just comes and goes and has no clue that it's on the way perishing to hell. It's a mind that when the Spirit of God is moving - when God is doing something fresh and new - you have no clue and you can recognize many things of the world. You can recognize the new music, the new clothing, the new thing. You can recognize the money, but you can't recognize the heart and the voice of God. And he’s saying, ‘Church, today, sober up.’ Sober up! Awaken! Come out of your slumber, come out of your drunkenness and begin to awaken to the presence of God! He is here today! He is here today - will you awaken and honor the Father? Will you awaken and bless Him? Will you awaken and worship the Lord?

I remember a time in my life. I wasn't intoxicated by alcohol or by beer or anything, but I was intoxicated with myself, and with the things of the world. I remember just kind of being in a daze going from one thing to the other. From girlfriend to girlfriend from thing to thing, and I just wasn't ready for God. God would kinda call on me and I just would be kinda lost in the daze but hallelujah I declare the blessing of the Lord today. He has touched me, and He has awakened me. He has brought me into a soberness to now be able to serve the living God. Are you ready to come into Christ today? Then he says, ‘Be alert, wake up - let the Spirit of God touch your mind. Let the Spirit of God take us out of the intoxication of just being caught up in our jobs, caught up in our things, ourself and everything else, and awaken to the glory and the presence of Jesus.

How bad is it? You know, I was reading Isaiah chapter 28. And if you get a chance you can read that on your own but - it was crazy as I was reading and how the Bible is speaking about the Priest of Israel and the profits of that time. It says that they were literally drunk. Drunk on beer and wine, and they were drunk and they couldn't get clear vision, it says. It says that every decision was just stumbled and when we really think about it, it's no different than today. There’s so many preachers in America intoxicated with popularity. Intoxicated with money intoxicated with making sure I have $1,500 pairs of sneakers, and their clean and white so that I can look really good. Intoxicated with everything but the Spirit and the presence of God. Visions of self but not visions of glory of God. Things and decisions that have to do with the flesh, but not the things that have to do with God - and God is done with it and God is saying, ‘Turn, turn back!’ Turn back today Church! Turn back to what He’s called you to do - to be filled with the Spirit, to be filled with Jesus!</p.

"You cannot stop the Christian who is set on the journey!"

You see it’s one thing for the world to do its thing. The world’s gonna be the world. The world is gonna be lost in its way, but it's an issue when Christians - people who are supposed to be called by the name of God, who are intoxicated on everything else. With self, with their schooling. And listen, some things that we get involved with are not bad, but it's the heart. What is our heart filled with? What is our heart filled with this day? And God is saying, ‘Wake up!’ Come out of the stupor, come out of that drunkenness - and let Jesus come in so that we can be used for His glory - we can be ready, we can be on our way to the Father, amen!

Lastly our readiness, we are to be ready with hope. The verse says again, “...[set] your hope...on the grace to come.” You see there’s a lot of joy when you're on your way somewhere - again back to my family. When we’re about to go somewhere, and it could be the simplest thing I mean to the park - we’re excited. Because we got a destination, we’re on our way somewhere - and it's exciting to get everything together. You see, the life of a pilgrim is an exciting life, because there's something driving you - you’re about to meet up with God! You're about to meet up with the Savior, you're not stopping today you’re not gonna stop tomorrow, you are on a voyage. And no matter what obstacle comes - whether it be sickness, whether you get the phone call that there's trouble, whatever things begin to get on that path get it out of the way because we are on our way - because you cannot stop a person that is driven with the hope of Christ! You cannot stop the Christian who is set on the journey!

You see people have hope in all sorts of things, right? Whatever they hope for becomes their drive it gets them going. Some people, and I talk to a lot of different people even my neighbors, you know they’re driven by getting an education, so that that education can carry their family and carry their future, right? I know a lot of people that are driven by money. I talk to people all the time that are just like, ‘I'm just trying to make this money, and it's gonna get me through it’s gonna take care of me. And listen, I'll do what I have to do,’ but it drives them to do and to get where they need to be. But I want to say today: None of it will get you to God. Your money will not lead you on the journey. Your schooling your education - praise God it's all great - but the only thing that will bring you on this path to the Father, His Name is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our hope! He is our God and He is the way!

And unless we be in Christ - unless we be born of God - we cannot take this journey and we’re left to perish. But God I believe today is calling us to be ready with the hope that is found in Jesus alone. Are you ready today church? Are you alert? Are your children sober? When we look at our entire household, what are we intoxicated with? Are we filled with the Spirit of God, or are we filled with every other clutter and mess and thing that just simply is robbing us from truly becoming the people that God has called us to be? God is saying, be ready today.

Secondly, on this journey, there’s something else we need to have and God is saying that we need holiness. Holiness. Let’s look at verse 14 through 15. It says, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” We need holiness on the way to the Father. Why do I say that? The Bible makes clear, it says that without holiness no man will see God. So we want to be on our way to the Father, but we cannot be on our way unless there is holiness. So we have to see what this truly means we have to see how important this is. This one’s not so popular today right? Holiness for the American church has become a foreign thing. It's not even expected anymore. You know, we hear a lot of messages about prosperity. You can go on YouTube you can go on the web and we hear message after message about love and prosperity and a better life, but very rarely on holiness. But how can this be church, when God clearly says “be holy as I am holy?”

What's happened? Has the message of God changed? No I tell you it has not changed. But the problem is many of the pulpits of America today have been filled with people preaching man centered messages. Rather than make an example of the holiness of God, it has become about self. ‘Jesus died so you can live a little bit better. Jesus shed His blood so that you and I can be comfortable,’ and it has birthed a people who are aimlessly on this journey for selfish gain, that in the end, will perish. God is looking for us today to realize that we need to have holiness. See at one time in my life, I didn't understand my need for holiness, and instead I pursued my own gain - I went after my own things. But I have to thank God today. I have to thank God for my parents who instructed me in the Word of the Lord, into the way of holiness, into the way of a holy life. Not because I was able to pray loud, not because I was able to read my Bible, not just because I was going to church - but hallelujah because there was life of Jesus. There was a life that I realized that was way better than this world, a life that was true, a life not chasing after my own gain, but a life now after God. And I want to say today I bless the Lord to be on my way to the Father. I bless the Lord for parents who did not hold back and said, ‘No, holiness! Holiness! It will be holiness in this house!’

What have you instilled in your children today? Have you prepared them? Are they on the way to the Father? You see true holiness some people say, ‘Oh, that’s old religious talk. That’s old stuff - we don't really get into holiness anymore. I mean you can’t expect us to be holy right? I mean that's not really what God meant.’ And this is where we truly need to understand what it is.

See holiness isn’t that we’re not smoking cigarettes. It’s not that we’re not the ones who don't curse within our group. You know what, as a matter of fact it doesn't even mean that we go to church. It's not about going to church, and that’s of course what God wants. But you can know all the Scriptures you can come to church every week, and be just as unholy as the rest of the world. See holiness is this: God says that it is to be set apart.

We've heard that definition before. What does it mean to be holy? It means to be set apart. Now most people hear that, they kinda read it, and it's kinda like, ‘Yeah, yeah set apart, we get it,’ but it’s deeper and God wants us to truly understand what holiness means. And you know what? Many of us really do understand it. As a matter of fact we know it very well. You see, some of us have really set apart ourselves and our lives for a lot of things.

Some of us have set ourselves apart for football, right. And what do we do? Make sure we’re getting strong we follow the strength training we eat right, we go to every practice. We don’t just wave our jersey, right? We do what needs to be done. Some of us have set ourselves apart for our school studies, right? We set ourselves apart for our bosses or job position. So we do understand what it means to be set apart. And what does that look like? You know, again, with our football playing we don't just wave our jersey and go ‘I’m part of the team,’ we get in the gym, we’re on the field, we’re playing. We’re willing to get hit and to get back up again. For our bosses what we do we do, we show up an hour early to prove something right, or we stay later at work. We want to make sure that this boss understands ‘I'm committed. I mean I’m set apart for this job.’ For school right? We want to stay after school a little bit longer so that we can get our grades up. And so the reality is, we understand what it means to be set apart and when it comes to those things, we so easily do it, and we do it so well. But who will set themselves apart for God? Who will set themselves apart to be used for His glory? Who will wake up and understand what true holiness is? True holiness is to understand that we have been bought by the blood of Jesus. True holiness is to understand I am no longer my own, but I belong to God, I am meant for God, I have been birthed for Him.

Those who set themselves apart for God realize that it's time to look past the norm, it's time to look at God's playbook. To see and learn His plays. To begin to strengthen ourselves in the ways of God - to get to know Him. Where you're spending the extra hour when nobody else is to be praying. It’s where you’re taking that time when everybody else is just eating lunch and just taking their lunch break when you stop and you say, ‘Father, I just gotta get back to where you are and hear Your voice. I’ve just gotta worship You.’

And you know if we haven't done so - if we haven't truly stepped into holiness - we cannot be on our way to the Father, but we can stop today. We can stop today, praise God, and come into the Gospel of Jesus. We can come into the power of God and come in to what He has called His people from the beginning – “be holy as I am holy.” Nothing to do with our religious acts, but having to do with coming into God. Are you looking to come into the Lord today? Are you looking to come into holiness? Are you looking to come out of religion? Are you looking to come out of all the old? Are you looking to come out of the deadness and come alive to God? True holiness, to be set apart for Him.

I'll never forget growing up with our Pastors with my parents, over and over all the time my mother saying, ‘Jeff, you are set apart for the Lord. You are to be used by God. Everything in your life I don't care if you're preaching, I don't care if you're doing physical - I don't care what you're doing. It’s about the Lord. You are set apart to bring Him glory, you are set apart to bring others to Him. You are set apart to be used by God, and to lead others on the way to the Father.’

Sadly, you know when we look at holiness, holiness is to be a guide on our way to the Father. We are to be on our way to Him and you know He says in here again, “...do not conform to the old evil desires used when you were in ignorance.” See, when you conform to something, you're bowing to that act. You're looking for a certain standard. When you conform to something or somebody or their beliefs, you take them to be the standard of living in how things should be. What do we conform to in our lives? What standard do we live by? Is it the standard that says - you know on this path to God it's okay to kinda be one foot and one foot out. ‘I can kinda do this over here. You know I can kinda govern my own life, I don't need God to really have full control and God will be alright with it.’ Or, are we on the standard of God, the standard of holiness. The standard that says all in for God. The standard that says, everything for God. ‘Father, You can have it, take it all. Here's the house, here's my car, here's my family, here's my life, God for You have called me to be set apart for You.’

Sadly we see, the standard of much of the church today - the standard that says, ‘let's make church very convenient. Let's not make church too long because people have to quickly get going and they have to make sure they get to the beach. I mean, we want to make sure this is convenient for people, they have other places to be. I mean, it's a holiday! Don’t they have things to cook? I mean don't they have traveling to do? We don't want to really leave room for the Spirit.’ A standard that doesn't speak about the importance of obedience - doesn't talk about holiness and being set apart for God. And it's a standard that has set many off the course of the Lord.

But I believe there's somebody today, if you are hearing me, that is not ready to settle for the old standard of the world anymore. Somebody that is looking to raise the bar. Somebody that is looking to raise the standard and come into the holiness of God. Somebody ready to take a different path where yes, you’re gonna be working. You'll be doing different things, but everything in your life is held to a standard of the goodness of God. Where you may be working and you get the raise and the boss was thinking that he’s just giving you money but you’re thinking, ‘No, I’m set apart for God, and I'm about to advance the Kingdom. I'm about to give more to the Kingdom.’ It’s where you're playing your sport, and everybody’s thinking, you know he's just got out there playing like everybody else, but no you’re carrying the holiness of God. You are set apart. Every time you grab that football you're praising the Lord. Every time you move in that job, you’re worshiping the King.

I don't know any other way for my life. I wouldn’t choose any other way - to be set apart for the King. True holiness! Not about the good things that we do, not about a halo around our head, but simply about a heart that says ‘Father, You purchased me for Yourself, and I'm on my way. I am on my way to the Father. I am on my way to the place that You have called me,’ amen.

And so on our way to the Father, we need a readiness. We need holiness for without holiness we will not see God. And lastly, we need the fear of the Lord. And I love this Scripture let's read verses 17 through 19. It says, “Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Jesus, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

"The fear of the Lord is not something that just kinda makes you weak and wobbly, the fear of the Lord makes you strong."

You see he says live in reverent fear - look at what God has done, look at the way that He has made, and live out this time. Walk in this journey in reverent fear of the Lord. Peter urges us to do so because we know God isn’t partial. See God, His judgments are just - He's perfect. Very different from the world right? The world which says, everybody kinda wins. Judge for yourself. You know, no need to really have a set standard no real reason to fear God, just kinda do your own thing. Pastor Kris was preaching a couple weeks ago, and he was saying you know today for children even, one plus one can equal five for all we care as long as you're okay with it. As long as you can kinda give an idea of why you did that, it's all good and when we look at this, everybody's headed in their own direction, going their own route, going their own way. How can we judge right or wrong if everybody decides what right and wrong is wrong or right for themselves and this is the evil that surrounds us.

Now we can quickly look at this and go, ‘Man this is terrible.’ And think how crazy the world is right now. But we have to ask ourselves, how many times are we partial with our walk before God? How often are we okay with just these little compromises here and there? How often are we okay to kinda just go about our day and hope that we can be touched by God later on, and maybe later on just really come closer to the Lord? Where maybe even we should have opened our mouth for something but we decided, ‘Ah, I don't want to do that today.’ Where maybe we are about to make a decision that we know God does not want to accept but still we just go ahead and do it. See the fear the Lord will change it all. The fear of the Lord will lead us on the right track. The fear of the Lord is not something that just kinda makes you weak and wobbly, the fear of the Lord makes you strong. See those who fear the Lord are decisive, those who fear the Lord are immovable. For the Lord says, ‘Blessed is the man or woman who fears Me, for I will guide them. I will hold them and I will bless them.’

There is power in the fear of God. It will keep us on the way to the Father, how? See the fear of God is to know that God is God. To fear God is to know that He didn't purchase our lives with something cheap, He purchased us with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t purchase us with something invaluable, He purchased us with His very own sacrifice. And He is not partial, He is just. And if we find that we have not feared God - if we find in our lives over and over that we have not feared the Lord then today is the day to repent, today is the day to come back to God. See those who fear Him, it makes you unstoppable. You know you just have to be with God you know that He has called you to Himself, and no matter what gets in the way, no matter what tries to stop, you are on your way to God because the fear of the Lord is our strength!

Now many people might not realize this today but the Lord really spoke to my heart on this. As I was reading this and I kept thinking, you know the Lord calls us to fear on Him. I realized that the fear of the Lord is freedom. How freeing is the fear of the Lord? And the moment God spoke that, my heart just began to leap and rejoice, because blessed are the ones who fear the Lord. Remember what the Scripture says here, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors…”

So I thought about this and how God was speaking freedom. I thought about Abraham, before he left his father. His father was an idolater. He was in a place of bondage, bondage to money. His father, you can imagine like many today probably just loved the green grass. Probably just loved the brand-new car that's nice and shiny, probably just kinda liked all the gadgets and the things that he had, and so Abraham was not in a good place. But hallelujah, God showed up on the scene and said, ‘Abraham, go, for I am calling you to a better place.’ And because he feared the Lord - see, he didn't fear what he was gonna leave behind. When God called him he didn't fear what he was gonna lose, he didn’t fear what they were gonna say, he didn’t even fear what his own father would say. He said, ‘I have a place to go, for God is God and He has called me to Himself.’ See when you fear the Lord, there is nothing that can stop you from getting where God is calling you to go. When you fear the Lord, no demon, no devil, no darkness can stop what has called you to do in His kingdom.

And so He calls us today church - just as Abraham - leave your father's house. Get out of the old. Get out of the old spiritual way. Break off and come into the Spirit of the Lord. Get out of the emptiness that was handed down to us, out of the bondage that was handed down to us from our mother our brother our sister our friend - whatever it may be, God is saying, ‘Come to Me. Fear the Lord and see what I do. Come into the fear of God and see the freedom that is brought forward.’

It's time to leave the old familiar ways behind. It's time to leave the old ways that we used to speak - the old way of doing things - and come into the Lord Jesus Christ. Into the Lord Jesus, who carries the Spirit of the fear of the Lord - the Spirit that brings freedom. Freedom to not do our own thing, freedom to not remain in the old, but freedom to serve the living God. Freedom to come out of ourselves. Freedom to come out of our father's house, and come into our Father's house, to our heavenly Father's house, amen!

See the fear of the Lord is to say, ‘I’m gone. I’m done. I'm on my way to the Father's house.’ That is the fear of the Lord.

Maybe some of us have not feared God. Today is the day to come into Christ to find freedom. Freedom in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the fear of the Lord will come in and make you strong. The fear of the Lord will come in and -

You know, I think of some of the kids I talk to and how indecisive of a generation we have coming up. Why is that? An indecisive generation I talk to kids even on my street all the time, and you ask ‘em - you know when we were kids, granted we were still a little crazy right? But you could ask us some of the things we thought we would do and we would say, I mean, ‘Maybe a fireman,’ right? Or, ‘I’m gonna do this,’ or, ‘I’m gonna work on computers.’ You talk to many kids today - they have no clue what they even want for themselves. Indecisive. Weakened. And it’s sad. But God has called the children within His family, the children in this church, our children, the people who are here - He has called us, church, not to be broken and lost and weak and like the rest of the world, but to be strong in the Lord. To be decisive, to know where we are going. Not to just be lost in our direction, but to say, ‘I am on my way to the Father. There is no other way for me, there is no other thing for me, there is no other thing for my job, there is no other thing for my family. I am on my way to the Father for He is to be honored.’

"The blood of Jesus does not lose its value - it's just as powerful today as it was 2,000 years ago. It’s just as powerful today as it was when He was on the cross!"

Out of all this - I love this Scripture. You know we are to be on our way to the Father, and He wants us to be ready He wants us to be in holiness, and He wants us to have the fear of the Lord, but how do we even begin this journey? And I had to stop and begin to thank God to say, ‘Father, I know that You brought my family and I on this wonderful journey - to be on our way to the Father. Why God, how?’ And it is so important that as we come to the end today, that we really understand this. We can be on our way with God. It has been made possible by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have to read this Scripture one more time, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Today we sing countless songs about the blood of Jesus. We talk about it, we proclaim it but do we truly get it? Do we really understand what God has done? You see, God has not redeemed us - He has not called us on this walk, He has not called us on this journey by something cheap. We weren’t bought and purchased by gold, or silver or money - you see gold will lose its value money. Money, the dollar - every time I look at the news the American dollar itself is going down every day. And people fear it. People are going crazy literally because they're so worried about losing the value of their money. But I want to say today, hallelujah church we have nothing to fear but God because we have the blood of Jesus. See the blood of Jesus does not lose its value - it's just as powerful today as it was 2,000 years ago. It’s just as powerful today as it was when He was on the cross!

It’s value has not, and will never, go down. See it’s by His blood I rejoice today that I am washed clean to be able to serve the living God. It’s by His blood that my family can be on the way to the Father. By His blood that I can rejoice in the Lord, that He has called me out of the darkness, called me out of the old, and He has called me into something new today.

See for us, I’m so thankful today. My family and I we rejoice in the blood of Jesus - because it has freed us. Freed us to raise children not just to raise children, but children who will serve the King. It has blessed us to be free to have a house, not a house just so we can enjoy our comfort, but a house that would be filled with those who love God. I praise God that by the blood, the precious blood of Jesus, He has touched us. Not so that we would just have our own lives and our own ways but that we would leave behind a generation, that when we end this journey somebody else is about to pick it up, and it’s gonna go on and on and on.

For this Father's Day, many are honoring their earthly fathers and that's wonderful, it's great, it's fine. But today, there is something bigger God is calling us to do - to be on our way to honor the Father. To be on our way to God. God who has shed His blood for us. God who has made a way of holiness - so we no longer have to just live in our own mindset. We don't have to be so intoxicated with our lives and our selfishness anymore. We don't have to just be doing our own thing, but He says for those of you who hear this Word today, ‘Come into the Lord, I have made a way to come to the Father!’ This Father's Day may be a Father's Day like no other!

But see, I truly believe - you know going back to that readiness. God wants us to sober up. To wake up! And some of us might be waking up right now I pray that the Spirit of God would touch our minds to wake up to see where we've been. Some of us have not even been on the path. We have not even been on the way that God has called us to be because we've been relaxed. We’ve been happy with where we are. ‘I'm fine with just waking up, going to work. You know at least making it to service, at least going to a Bible study. And I'm fine with just, you know, spending my money doing my thing, and that’s okay for me.’ God is saying, ‘Wake up!’ Turn back to what He has called us to do - not to live normal lives. Listen our jobs and stuff are great, and God can use those things, but there is something bigger! He is calling us to come into the Father. He is calling us to set a generation after us of people who will worship God, who will love God, who will be all about Him!

He's calling for a change of direction today. To be on our way to the Father. He's calling us to no longer, you know, play both sides. And it may not be everybody but maybe some of us when we think of holiness, being set apart, God wants it all. God wants it all. And for me that is something to rejoice in. It is a beautiful, wonderful joy to serve the King. To be set apart for my Father.

You know many today it's a day of sadness. They may have lost their father. Maybe some of you it’s a day that’s sad. Maybe they're thinking of not having such a good fatherhood - but I rejoice today because my heavenly Father has called me. Not just a bit of me, not just a part of me, but He’s saying, ‘I want all of you.’ What a wonderful God that we serve. What a wonderful God who is calling us for all. He is saying today, ‘Be holy as I am holy.’

And for some of us, we have to leave our father's house. We have to get out of the old. What I mean is that we’ve gotta let go of the old familiar ways. We’ve gotta let go of staying in the past, for still talking the way that we talked, for still, you know being so lackadaisy with following the presence of God. For being okay with norm. He’s saying, ‘Leave the old, leave your father's house...and come to the Father.’