Tell Em — Rich Wilkerson Jr & Denny Duron

Deuteronomy chapter six is where I want you to turn. Deuteronomy chapter six. It's good to see people in God's house. All the dads out there. Deuteronomy chapter six, if you don't have a Bible, there's gonna be a big Bible up on the screen and it's gonna help me there it is. Look at that, that's beautiful. This is Moses and he's giving his farewell speech to the Israelites before they enter into the Promised Land and he's giving some, I believe, very wise instruction. In fact, Deuteronomy chapter six is one of the most important chapters, really in all of the Bible. It's got lots of new covenant symbolism and cross references that you'll probably be able to pick up on as we read these five verses. But let me read what Moses says to the Israelite people. He says that this way starting in verse 20. In the future, when your son asks you, what is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you? Tell him, someone say, tell him. - Tell him. - We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes, the Lord sent signs and wonders, great and terrible on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors.

The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God. So that we might always, someone say always, that we might always prosper and be kept alive as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God as he commanded us, that will be our righteousness. I love this passage of scripture. And particularly, I just love the book of Deuteronomy. It's the second law. It's the giving of the commandments. It's the book of instruction. And today, just on Father's Day Sunday, I want to take a moment and I wanted to talk if I could for a few moments from the subject, tell him. Tell him. I don't know if that's much of a title, but it's up in my bones, I feel it, you know? Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, tell him. Look at a man around you and say, dads, tell him. Tell him is what I want to talk about. Let's pray God. We thank you for your word. God, we thank you that it's alive. We thank you that it's speaking to us. God, we thank you that you hear right now, Lord, moving in a powerful way. God, minister to it now to us, Lord. Whisper to our hearts, Lord.

Call our spirits. Heavenly Father, Lord, bring peace to this room, peace to storms, peace to our situations. God, we love you. We're grateful for your mercies, which are new every morning. We thank you in advance, and it's in Jesus' name. Everybody said, come on, everybody said, come on all of our locations. Why don't we clap our hands and thank God today for his presence. Nothing like the presence of God. If you don't know, I am a father. I have four what we call objects of passion. We've got some younger ones in here today, so I can't describe to you what I mean by that, but my wife is, you get it. And so, we have four kids. Our oldest is eight years of age, his name is Wyatt. Our youngest is 16 months, his name is Wolfgang. And in between that, we named one of our sons, Wild. Not sure if that was smart. We keep trying to change his name to kindness, or get over your joy, but he's not responding at all. And then my daughter, who I always make the joke, is my favorite, and all the girl dads know what I'm talking about. Her name is Waylon, and she's just so special. And having kids has honestly been the greatest gift outside of my salvation, of course, my wife. Being a dad is my favorite title. I'm not saying that 'cause it's Father's Day,

and you're supposed to say that. It's like, I really, really mean that. Like, I think it's the greatest privilege in the world of being a dad. And I think on Father's Day, this is not a day that we wanna beat up dads. This is a day we wanna build up dads. And we don't wanna tell you all the things you're doing wrong, we wanna remind you that you've got what it takes to do all the right things. 'Cause let's just be honest, being a dad ain't easy. Like, we got lots of weight on us. All the fathers in 2026, it's heavy out here in these streets. How many of y'all know, kids come to you with everything. Like, you gotta have an answer for everything. But my son, Wild, who is just so much fun to tell stories about, like, he's just, he is wild. Like, we named him that. That's what we got. He can't be yesterday. And he said, Dan, I wanna hack a computer. (audience laughing) And he's got his hand going, "I want to use this." And he opens up his hand, "It's a USB drive." I'm like, "What are you actually talking about?" You know? Wild will ask me the funniest questions. We walked by a guy the other day, and the guy was bald, and Wild says to me, he goes, "Dad, why don't bald people just grow their hair?"

(audience laughing) All their dads are going, "I would if I could." (audience laughing) How about this? This is a good way to do it. Do fish ever get thirsty? Chachi P.T. Do fish ever get thirsty? (audience laughing) I have no idea, but great question. Questions start coming in. While some of the questions are really, really kind of funny and silly, at some point in life, the questions start getting heavier. - Right. - Three weeks ago this day, a dear friend of ours, 30 years of age, his name's Dylan. He went home to be with Jesus. He had a heart attack, and to my boys, they know him as Uncle Dylan. And nobody gives you a class to dads about when your eight-year-old or your six-year-old comes to you and says, "Dad, why did Dylan die?" It's like I don't have a three-point message to my child on that. I have to deal with that in real time. Dad, how do we know that God is real? Dad, why do bad things happen to good people? Dad, how do you know Jesus Christ really is the savior of the world?

What I'm learning about being a dad and what I'm learning about really being a father when it comes to God's word is that these moments in our kids' lives are our greatest opportunity to lead. Here's what I know about kids. Kids, they don't need a class on how to believe. Kids just believe. In fact, that's why Jesus over and over again says that we're gonna have child-like faith. Let me just cross-reference that. He doesn't say we're supposed to be childish. Remember Paul said when I was a child, I felt like a child, I felt like a child, but when I became a man, man alive, I put childish ways behind me. But there's the difference between being childish versus being child-like. Because when you're child-like, it means that you trust, you believe. Kids, they learn how to doubt on the journey. In fact, adults somehow, we use doubt and we think that's a form of maturity. I'm just using critical thinking. Are you kidding me? I wanna get back to being child-like that I believe that I trust, that I hope that if God said it, he's gonna do it. If God claims it over my life

and promises that I can receive it. I wanna be child-like. In fact, what research would tell us is that people who follow Jesus, 85% of them met Jesus before the age of 18. So I'm trying to go somewhere here with this, dads. The greatest thing you can do for your child is not merely pay the bills. The greatest thing you can do for your child is not merely put a roof over their head. The greatest thing you do for a child is not get them into the right school or open up the right doors. The greatest thing you can do for your child is be a faithful witness. The best thing you can give your child is a testimony. The best thing you can do as a dad is tell your family the story of God that God is good, that God is faithful. Someone say, "Tell 'em." - Tell 'em. - You gotta tell 'em. I love this passage here in Deuteronomy chapter six 'cause a lot is taking place. They are getting ready to go into the promised land and here's Moses giving instruction. And as he's giving the instruction, he's telling the parents, he's telling the fathers that you have to learn how to tell the story of God.

In fact, Deuteronomy chapter six, it's so important because in Deuteronomy chapter six, this is where we get Jesus. When they come to Jesus in the New Testament, they say, "Jesus, what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus doesn't make up one. He quotes Deuteronomy chapter six. For Jesus says, "The greatest commandment is the love of all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." He's quoting Deuteronomy six. So you see the new covenant is hinging on Deuteronomy chapter six that if you wanna sum up all the law, it's that right there to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Moses takes it even further and he gives all the parents. He gives all the dads out there practical advice of how you do that. He says that you should take that and if you really, really wanna help your kids, if you wanna teach them to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you need to impress this upon your kids. He says, "Talk about it when you wake up. Talk about it when you're on the road. When you're going to bed at night, talk about it again. When you wake up in the morning, let it be the first thing on your mouth. Put it on your hands. Put it on your forehead. He says, "Put it above your door post.

Put it on your gates." What's he saying? Teach your kids. Tell them to love God with everything that they have on the inside of them. Well, why? It's because we have a tendency to forget. My dad did a lot of great things for us growing up. I love my dad. I wrote him this morning. You're the best dad to ever do it, man. I love my dad. My dad's my hero. But my dad, every Saturday morning, he was the chief reminding officer of our house. He gave us chores every Saturday morning and the chores didn't change. They were the same chores. He just wanted to make sure that we knew the chores. Clean the garage, wash the car, mow the lawn, clean your room. It was a list every Saturday. And the point that he was teaching us was, I'm going to write it down for you every week because you're going to have to learn, Rich, how to take responsibility before you can receive a privilege. This is important because this is what dads do. Dad's teacher generation had to take responsibility so you can receive the privilege.

And so as Moses, Moses and there is a promised land in store for you. But if you're going to step into that promise, you're going to have to obey the condition. You're going to actually have to take responsibility as well. Do not forget God. You've got to be reminded of who your God is. I don't know if you noticed, but we are forgetful people. And forgetfulness is expensive because what happens to a lot of people is a lot of people keep looking for more proof, but you don't need more proof. You just need a better memory. This was the Israelite people over and over again. It's like, if you're not careful, yesterday's miracle becomes today's minimum requirement. So what do you mean by that? Well, go back to the story. God parted the Red Sea, and I've never seen this before, but he parted the Red Sea. That's pretty awesome. But a day later, they're complaining about what's on the menu. Like in one moment, God parts the Red Sea. Now they're afraid, is God going to feed us in the wilderness? And we go, these guys, man, they're nuts, bro. That's crazy. We do the same thing.

God pays your bill. Now you're worried about the next bill. God brought you a relationship. Now you're wondering, hey, is this thing going to continue? God heals your body. Now you're already afraid of what's lying for you in the future. I want to encourage some people that there is a God who has blessed you. There is a God who has worked in your life. There is a God who has saved you, redeemed you. And if he was faithful back then he'll be faithful again. We're really good at remembering what hurt us, but we forget what held us. And I wonder how much more does God have to do for you before you can trust him with your future? How many more things does he have to bring you out of that you can actually trust? Whatever it is you're facing right now, he's going to bring you through it once and for all. I'm telling you about a God that we're singing about from age to age, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He does not change. He's a faithful God. He's a merciful God. He's a God who makes a way where there is nowhere. You don't need more proof. You just need a better memory. We just need a better memory. Dad's help us remember.

And here comes Moses. And he says it this way. He says, when your kids ask you, not if your kids ask you, but when your sons come and ask you. You better have an answer. And notice what the answer is. The answer is not like, well, let me explain to you legally all of God's rules. He doesn't say tell them all about the stipulations and tell them all about the obedience and tell them all about exactly every tea that's been crossed and every eye that's been dotted. He doesn't say that at all. Moses says, tell them the story. And I want to encourage some dads in this room because maybe you're a new believer or maybe you're a first generation Christian and sometimes you come to church and you get overwhelmed. I don't know all the Bible verses. I don't know how to pray up on a stage. Moses doesn't give you any of that kind of instruction whatsoever. All Moses says is all you got to do is get good at telling a story. How many, oh no, dads know how to tell the best stories. Every time I get ready to put my kids down, dad, tell us a story. I've made up all sorts of stories. I got good bedtime stories.

Someone should be paying me for the stories I've told. But in this case, I don't have to make up the story. All I got to do is look back and remember what God has done for me and my house. Moses says, when your kids ask you why on earth are we loving God with all of our hearts? So mind and strength, you simply tell them once we were slaves in Egypt, once we were under the hand. and now we're walking in freedom anybody free in the house of god today go ahead and give him praise friend that's not just their story that's your story this is the new covenant and if you want to be a good dad all you got to do is tell them don't start with rules start with god's rescue don't start with obedience start with the grace of god that when i was lost in sin when i was crippled in addiction the grace of god came and found me and with his right hand he laid down his life shed his blood and now i'm saved tell him tell him your story tell him how he healed you tell him how he saved you tell him how he kept you tell him how he gave you a purpose tell him how he gave you a future tell him how he brought your marriage together tell him how you paid your bills tell him everything that he's done all you got to do is tell him tell him tell him what god did tell him the story you want to know what it means to be a godly father it's not about being perfect it's about being able to tell the story right god has been faithful god has been good he brought us up out of each other you have a story the best thing you do for your family is you tell them that story you want to know what inheritance is it's when you tell them the story of fate my dad who's who's my hero he just over and over again told us the story how god saved us how god freed us how god redeemed us he didn't make every perfect decision but he always pointed us to jesus and i believe every man in this room can do that every man in this room can remind the generation coming up behind them of who god is and his faithfulness today i'm really encouraged because i'm not just preaching i want to make this practical and today i have my biological father and then i have my father in law which we don't even use the word in law in our house father in love and he's not really a stranger to a food church but he pastors at Shreveport community church he's also a football coach he's got national championship high school football teams he was a professional football player himself he loves

the lord he's raised seven amazing children and today he's at vu church i advise him to come and tell us how to do it can y'all get up on your feet make some noise for my father-in-law pastor daddy taro as he comes up here today to preach i love you i love you more hallelujah how are you feeling i feel great i like it when you wear a white blazer like that well thank you thank you i sense the holy ghost walking up here hallelujah i need all the help i can get i'll tell you it's just good to be in this house i'm looking at this beautiful crowd of family all gathered here on this father's day it's amazing the energy and life in this place y'all do know that this ain't happening everywhere and you do know that not everybody here's preaching like that every sunday i just i just want to make sure that we don't ever just get used to it that we're always grateful for what god is doing in this house amen we're so honored that you with us today dad and today as we're opening up gods where we're looking at dudoronomy chapter six which you and i were kind of talking about in the last service as well as just in the back just how important this chapter is across the landscape of scripture but even thinking about you and your home because i want to make sure that we're giving people handles today i think sometimes we can come on father's day and it's like we can kind of walk out sort of inspired but maybe not enough instruction right talk a little bit about the importance in your home raising your kids about some of the deliberate decisions you made kind of like a dudoronomy chapter six moment of going how i'm impressing faith and the things of god into my family well i think i think life is about values and i think that those values have to be established very early in the home and they need to be established by the father problem is so many men do not feel equipped to be able to establish Christian values. joy and privilege of life. You don't have to be a super spiritual person. You don't have to be the guy that knows the most scripture. You don't have to have been raised in church. I've had a lot of men say to me, well, I was never raised like that. My father never talked to us about God. I never heard my dad pray. Well, that's why you have the great honor and privilege of reversing that curse and being able to be a dad who can genuinely leave. Now, the first choice I made that helped me to be a dad who could lead my family spiritually was the wife that I married. What I will tell you is this, marrying Deansa gave me a tremendous edge. I get credit for a lot of things that I didn't do because that girl is the one who

many times led to charge for our family. She was writing songs for them to sing. She was making sure that she was stuffing scripture down their throat while she was stuffing fried eggs down their throat in the morning. She was doing everything within her power to take time and make that time more valuable than ever by making sure that it was full of the Word of God and the principles of scripture. What I will tell you is sometimes we men can just give the opportunity to disciple the kids to the wife. But we have got to do our part too. There is no voice of authority in the home like the voice of the father. And every one of us have an opportunity to do our part. You know, in the first service we were talking just a little bit about this idea of Joseph and Jacob, his father. You know, Joseph was of course the type of Christ in the Old Testament suffering servant. One who was penalized, put in prison for doing the right things. One who went through all kinds of trials and tribulations in order to establish a remnant of the people of God in the earth. And I believe the sustaining influences. I read the story over and over throughout my life. I believe the sustaining influence and power in his life was the love of his dead. I believe honestly, that Jacob was the strength of Joseph's life. And there is that story of course of Jacob loving him more than the other brothers. It was a thing that was known. I mean, you know, expecting those brothers not to rough him up a little bit after, you know, that dad makes that clear. I mean, it's really, Jacob's fault. He probably got in trouble right at the beginning. But Jacob just loved him and he gave him a coat of many colors. Now, that's part of the story that fits really well in the children's Bible, the code of many colors. But what you got to understand about the Hebrew mind in ancient times was that everything was symbolic. I'm talking about everything, everything in the sky, everything in the earth, everything was symbolic and color was symbolic. God put a rainbow in the sky as a covenant promise to know of. Color was significant. Red was a color of passion and war and victory. Green was the color of growth and becoming. And then there was the color white, which is often not the first color that you would choose, but it was the color of the simple and the sacred, the simple and the sacred. Sometimes fathers feel less than in the challenge to really disciple their families and to be the spiritual head. But what you got to understand is that if you can just master the simple and the sacred as a color and a hue of your devotion to Christ, you don't have to be doing

the sermon thing. You don't have to be doing the long, elaborate King James little boy at bedtime. All you have to do is to know some of your favorite scriptures and allow them to find them and underline them in their Bibles as well. All you got to do is be able to listen to their questions about God. And really the simplest and the most sacred thing that you can do is to understand the importance of gathering with the people of God on Sundays. You see, there is nothing more important than the simple and sacred opportunity and responsibility to not send your family to church, but to take your family to church. It's pretty good. Talk for a moment because I think this is helpful as well. We can see the fruit of your life. One of my favorite scriptures is Jesus says, "Wisdom will be proven right by all of our children." And so I think the great testimony of your life is not really just what you say, but it's by watching and looking at the fruit. I mean, seven amazing children who all love God, who are married, who love their families. But that doesn't come without some bumps in the road. And I don't think we only just learn from our success. I think we also learn from our failures, learn how to fail forward. When you look back and reflect on being a dad, still are a dad, but parenting, maybe young kids in the home, like there's different seasons and stages of parenting. What are some things that you're like, hey, we got those things. I'm really proud of that and got that right. Are there any blunders or things you're going, you know what? I could have done that better, or that was a mistake. Any lessons we can learn from maybe even some of the mistakes. Oh, man. Yeah. In fact, those are the things sometimes that haunt me is looking back and knowing that I really missed it in some areas at times with my kids and also understanding the power of the grace of God. Because grace not only pardons us, it empowers us. Very good. People talk about, well, I'm under grace. Well, that's not a license for you to fail. Grace also empowers. Very good. There is a grace that comes upon you to do things that you normally wouldn't be able to do, especially when it comes in a relationship to God and then how you were being used by God in the context of your home. I had a daughter, Destiny, first. She was my first child, and then the second was Don Shari. And even though I have five boys after that, I'm always a girl, dad. I'm sorry guys. That's just the way it is. And, you know, Dakota's down there, a man, because he knows exactly what I'm talking about. All I can say is those two girls,

when they came into our home, and I will never forget my heart pounding out of my chest after those babies were born. Because there's nothing like having a newborn in the house, a new member of the family. And I would come home in the evening, and, you know, I'd find my foot a little heavier on the accelerator, trying to get there quickly. And then I would jump out of the car and run into the house. And I would say to Beyonce, where is she? Well, she's in her room, and I would make a beeline to that room, because I had been looking forward to that moment all day long. Well, they grow up, and they're still your babies, toward Dakota, you know? He's the baby. So here I am talking to this guy, who, by the way, is the most amazing dad. And, you know, and he's, of course, he's older now. And I looked at him this morning, and I said, "Baby, boy," I said, "I'm so sorry." Because you're going to be 55 years old, and Mom and I are going to be sitting here and still going, isn't he wonderful? He's so sweet. He's our baby boy. That's just the way it is, you know? And, of course, I don't do that in front of anybody, except family. I mean, the man has to, He's got to have a self-respect, but I'll never... the nerve of her, and going to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, which is three hours from Shreveport. And I would call her during the time that she was there and say, hey, you got any time this week where I could drive over after class and just have something to eat with. You have some coffee at Cafe Brazil 'cause it was open all night. And she said, well, dad, yeah, you know, Wednesday, 10 o'clock, I'll be done with all my classwork. And I'd be glad to meet you, man, I was always there early. And I would find the best table. I would find a seat where I could watch the door because it was such a rush for me when she would walk through that door. And Cafe Brazil was a special place. It had all kinds of great food, great menu,

but it had like 19 different kinds of coffee. And that made it my special place. So I would have already tanked up on two or three cups of coffee by the time she came. And she would hit that door and she would come, you know, in that door with all this energy and just full of joy in life, come over and kiss me and sit down and man, it was on. We would talk for an hour or so before she had to go back and, you know, get some rest for the next day. And I'll never forget those late nights. They were special, but I remember one time in particular in reference to the question you asked about 10 minutes ago. (audience laughing) - Take your time. - Yeah. - We're good. - You know, the subject is tell 'em. (audience laughing) - Double. Double. (audience cheering) - We could add a phrase when you get around to it. - Yeah. - So be great. - So anyway, I had been thinking all the way over. I said, you know what? I would just like for our conversations to be really honest and I want her to be able to really share on a new level with me.

And so when she sat down, I was ready. I said, I said, Destiny, maybe, you know, we talk and enjoy each other, I know. And we have a wonderful relationship, but I wanna ask you this, or as you look back on the way you were raised on my influence in your life and where I raised you, are there any things that you wish I had done differently? And I honestly expect her to say, oh, no, Dad. (audience laughing) You were amazing. (audience laughing) That's not what she said. She looked at me, big smile on her face and tears spilling out under her cheeks. And she said, oh, Dad, you don't have enough time. (audience laughing) Yeah. It was the most important conversation up until that time I'd ever had with her. Because she was not unfair. She was not vindictive. Wasn't a trace of regret or bitterness, but she had some information for me that I needed to hear as a dad. And it changed so many things in my heart because I had prided myself in being a good father and I had prided myself in trying to do everything right. But this is what I discovered. It will not impact the love your child has for you

if you are an imperfect dad. What can impact them, however, is that you are not a forthright and honest dad. The fact is you're not gonna do everything right and that's okay because none of us do. We have this thing called a walkthrough for my football team every Thursday and Friday. You know what a walkthrough is? A walkthrough is where you literally walk through everything you're going to do on that Friday night. You don't get those as a father. You don't get walkthroughs. Every moment that you are the parent, every moment that you are the father, it's game time. It's full on. It's now and it's very real. So you're going to make some mistakes. Here's the good thing. We are called to be righteous. Which means when we take on when we take on the nature of Jesus, when we say Jesus, I'm a sinner. And there's absolutely no way that I can keep all of your rules well enough to merit heaven. Or to even merit your help on the earth. So I ask you to come into my life. People have asked, what's the difference between Christianity and every other religion?

Well, one of the differences that is most important is our God is the only God who has expressed the desire to live inside our hearts. And when Jesus comes into our hearts, we are not going to be any more perfect. But we are going to be completely righteous because the very power and grace and enabling ability of God Himself is in us. And you have to remember that God says to us when ask how we should address Him, always call me dead. Our Father, Beautiful, who art in heaven. Every one of us in this place, every one of us are impacted by fathers. You know, one of the things that we don't probably talk a lot about on Father's Day is how adult children are doing with their dads right now. You know, there's some of you here. You don't even talk to your father anymore because they basically shut you out. Haven't seen him in years. There are others of you that hate every moment that you're in the presence of your Father because you feel that they're so demeaning and salty. Never have anything encouraging to say. Always want to make you feel like you're less than. There are others of you that are trying to reconcile the fact that your dad abandoned you, that so many scars were left,

by the way that your Father behaved. Here's the good news. You have the righteous Father inside of you. [applause] I want to say something to you that you may never heard in your life. You have the power in you to heal all of the wounds of your past. You have the power in you to bridge gaps that you thought could never be bridged, to make a way where there seems to be no way. And even if that is not the case, the Father in you will intercede for you. He will bless you. He will warm your heart. He will affirm you. Every morning, we have devotionals for our football team. The very first thing that happens is that we worship. We sing some of the songs that you guys wrote here. They love to sing these boys. They're all dressed out in their workout gear. And then they automatically get down on their face before God. It's just ritual. After they finish singing, they get on on their face before God. They get very still. I step forward, and every morning of their lives, I pray a Father's blessing over them, because most of them have never heard a Father bless them

in their lives. And this is what I share with them every time I get a chance. You may have never heard your Father bless you, but you, that the power of God will be a Father that will one day bless your children. [applause] By the way, I think you're like the best dad in the country. You're the best dad in the country. [applause] I think it would be appropriate if you're up for it, just for maybe every man in this room, every dad, of course. But maybe you would speak that blessing over them today. I feel like people walking in here today and-- some of us dealing with deep insecurity, deep fear, is that great philosopher who said that most men live quiet lives of desperation. - Yeah, that's true. - And that's not our prayer for you. That's not our hope for you. That's not what we believe Jesus came for, why he came. We don't believe that's the God who lives inside of you. And I think that when you carry things in silence and isolation, it just gets heavier and heavier. But today is a great day to remind you that if God is for you, who can be against you? That you have what it takes, that God wouldn't have brought those children into your home if you weren't fit and if you didn't have the capacity and the grace to look out for them.

And we didn't come here today to remind you of what you're not. We came here to remind you of who you are in Christ's chamber. He could do all of it. (audience applauding) And so tell him, tell him, tell him who your God is. And so Dad, why don't you just take a moment. Let's just pray for the men, amen. And then let's make an invitation there for those that are far from God. Amen. You know, I'd like to just preface this prayer with just one short story. I was at a retreat and part of the crowd was from our drug treatment center. Men that had a really tough time of eviction. Very few of these men were from our church body. And we had a session on "Love of the Father" and it was about the prodigal's son. And so then we had a proxy time. And I don't know if you know what that is, but it was where the counselors would stand in front and suddenly they become the father. And so any father wounds, these people that were there going through, these men that were there going through the retreat would be able to come and hear their dad in proxy say, "I am so sorry, I won't did you." "I'm so sorry, I hurt you." Well, these young men from the drug treatments that are came up and one of the young men stood there before the proxy

and he just threw his head back and he gave the loudest, most plaintiff just grown. And then the other men that were there from the center, it's as if they simultaneously felt the same pain. And before we knew it, we were hearing these young men whose lives had been in shambles mainly because of a dad that was absentee or abusive as they were mourning and crying out together. You know, I was so moved. And I thought some of those guys don't even know who their dad is. They were the product of a one-night stand. So I just wrote a song. I wrote a country song. I said, "I'm gonna write an anthem for those guys." And I wrote a song that said, "I just want you to know whoever you are, wherever you are, I'm on the heck of a one-night stand." (audience laughing) Because it doesn't matter how your life started. You could still reach a place where you go, "Dad, you did good. Look here." (audience applauding) Today, you've never heard a Father bless you. You will not be able to say that when you leave this room. Because I am going to bless you from your Heavenly Father. But I want every man to stand in this place, every man to stand.

I want you to bow your heads and I want you to receive this blessing from your Heavenly Father. The Father, I pray over men, some who have heard their fathers pray over them or bless them, most who have not. And I pray of Father's blessing upon them. I pray, Lord, that they will understand that they are the head and not the tail. I pray that they will understand that they are blessed going in and they are blessed wherever they are. I pray that they will understand that you desire the best for them. I ask that the blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ will be theirs. I pray that the blessing of the presence of the Holy Spirit will be upon them in their lives. I pray that the blessing of prosperity that they will have their needs met and always have enough left over to help somebody else will be theirs. I pray that the blessing of confidence, strength and dominion in their world will be theirs. And I ask O God that day by day the blessing of strength, wisdom, perspective and focus will be theirs as a man. I pray that you will guide their steps and I pray that you will make their paths sure. In the name of Jesus, I speak blessing over you from your Father. This is in Christ's name that I pray. Amen. Amen. (audience applauds) (audience clapping)