I've told you before about my Fruit Cocktail tree. One tree is supposed to grow pears, peaches, and cherries. I've told you that I've had the tree for 8 years and it I have not produced one pear, one peach, or one cherry.

When we returned from vacation, my kids went into the backyard, and they came running out, "Dad, get back here. Your fruit cocktail tree finally has fruit on it." Hey, great.

And when I got back there, some jokester had covered my tree with these cans of fruit cocktail! The funny thing is that after being here for these many years, the list of possible culprits is pretty long.

Trees are supposed to produce fruit.

Today is Father's Day, and Dads are called upon to produce fruit. A father's role has changed over the years, and the role of the Father is an awesome responsibility. And it is a Biblical responsibility: Proverbs 23:22 says, "Listen to your father, who gave you life…" Colossians 3 says, "Children, listen to your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." (And you never get too old to obey your parents!) But with this privilege comes responsibility.

I want to share with you 2 polls that were taken, one is kind of funny, and the other is kind of sad.

First, just this week, they took a poll of college students. They asked the college students, "Who does a better job, your real dad, or the dads you see portrayed on TV shows?" A majority sad that the TV dads are much better than real dads. Did anyone explain to these college kids that TV Dads aren't real, don't exist, and the problems are all solved in 30 minutes? It's hard to compete against a dad that receives a script and told what to say and to do in order to be perfect dad. No wonder they beat us real dads out in a poll!

Second, a Gallup poll found that 79% of Americans believe that the greatest social problem facing America is the absence of the father from the home and that so many dads are not involved in the lives of their kids!

Wow! They are saying that our national well-being depends in large part upon our dads faithfully carrying out their responsibilities. The role has changed. The role is much more difficult. Much more is expected than a paycheck and some discipline.

And now dads show up for worship today and you're expecting a even more expectations, more burden, more guilt, more advice on how to carry out this role. And this may be the heaviest load, because it is based on God's Word.

Well, guess what? Today what you are going to hear is relief. Dads -- in fact all of us, no matter what role we fill in this society -- today you are free to be sinners. Today in worship, you have been invited to put aside all of the expectations for a while and just be honest, to admit to the Lord that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and strength. You heard me right! Today you are free to be sinners.

Jesus calls us in His Word not be perfect, not to have all of the answers, not to play a role. Jesus came into this world to minister to sinners. Today He says "Follow Me" to each and every one of us. He is faithful and just. He bestows forgiveness to everyone who comes to Him in repentance.

Let's look at our story. One day, Jesus was passing through the village of Capernaum. He came across a man sitting at a tax collector's booth. The man was named Matthew. Jesus looked at him and said, "Follow me."

Jesus was calling Matthew to be one of His disciples. Jesus was calling Matthew to be one of His representatives to the world. Jesus was inviting him to be a part of His inner circle of friends. And Jesus was getting ready to equip Matthew to go into all the world and make new disciples, starting at home and moving to the ends of the earth.

Back at this time, there was no Christian church at all. These disciples would start from scratch. It seemed as if all of the Christianity was resting on their shoulders. That sounds even more intimidating and challenging than the roles we fill today.

The amazing thing is that when Jesus said, "Follow me," Matthew got up and did so. And if anyone was unqualified for a position, Matthew was unqualified to be a disciple. He was a tax collector of all things!

In Jesus' day, tax collectors were thieves and extortionists. Bad guys. The Romans hired Jews to collect taxes from fellow Jews. They worked for the enemy, and they could collect any amount and keep the profits for themselves.

So Matthew the tax collector stands up, obediently, joyfully, and follows Jesus. Why did he do it? Because he was such a great, gifted person? No. Matthew was being called, first and foremost, to receive the gift of Jesus into His life. To Matthew's amazement, Jesus simply wanted to love him, forgive him, befriend him. But more importantly, Jesus wanted to DIE for him, earn forgiveness and new life for Matthew. What the Lord wanted from Matthew was …. Matthew!

And what the Lord wants from You … is You. Dads, you have been given an awesome responsibility. And sometimes what you do isn't appreciated. Sometimes you don't produce "fruit in keeping with repentance" as Jesus called for. That's true of every human being. Your calling has husband or father is a vital role, a more important role than your job.

But, what the Lord wants from you … is You. To love you, to forgive you, to strengthen you, to empower you.

They say God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. He gives the one who is called the strength and the gifts needed to accomplish the task.

When I'm looking for Dad advice, and I need it, the best place to look is in the Bible and to see the way our Heavenly Father relates with His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

And we learn something very important at both the baptism of Jesus and at the Transfiguration of Jesus. God the Father gives a wonderful blessing to His Son, His only Son, whom He loves. Every time the Father spoke from heaven, He gave His Son a wonderful blessing. And the Father says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him." I wonder if there is any relationship advice from these worlds.
Sure.

First, God Claimed Jesus. "This is my Son." He was saying, This is him. Have you met my Son? Let me introduce you to him. It's kind of like when you go to a school concert or play, and you get to know the person sitting next to you. And then when the performance starts, that person next to you says, "Do you see the one in the blue shirt? That's my boy." And then you lean over and say, "oh, yeah, mines the little girl in pink." God claimed His Son. How important that we never disown our children, no matter what, claim them as our own.

Second, God loved Jesus. "This is my Son, whom I love." The translation is, obviously, I love you. Saying those words, "I love you" is so important. After, God said them to His boy.

Third, God affirmed Jesus. "This is my Son, whom I love, in whom I am well-please." Of course, Jesus is without sin. But the idea of building up the kids rather than tearing down is crucial. Pointing out the positive is far more effective than pointing out the bad.

Fourth, God listened to Jesus. "This is my Son, whom I love, in whom I am well-please, Listen to Him." Today we say, "Tell me what happened a school…What do you want to be in when you grow up … how did your game go?"

I guess every child is waiting for such a blessing -- to be claimed, to be loved, to be affirmed, to be listened to.

And I don't do that perfectly in any relationship I have. And neither do you.

But Jesus says, "Follow me." He calls you into the relationship that begins with Forgiveness earned on the cross, and continues even to eternal life."