January 7, 2025 • 47 mins
Pastor Ed explores the transformative power fathers have in shaping their children's identity, faith, and future through intentional presence and blessing.
• Your words as a father have extraordinary power to shape your children's souls and future
• The sincere faith you demonstrate becomes the anchor your children return to throughout life
• Speaking specific blessings over your children cements their identity and purpose
• Teaching your children to forgive quickly prevents bitterness from destroying relationships
• The physical act of laying hands on your children creates powerful moments of blessing
• Your legacy isn't found in career achievements but in the character you transfer to your children
• Modern culture often diminishes the father's role, while God designed fathers to provide essential blessings
• Being present and engaged as a father creates ripple effects across generations
• The story of Jacob renaming Benjamin demonstrates how a father's words can rewrite destiny
• Forgiveness frees both the forgiver and the forgiven from emotional prisons
Visit thefatherdifference.com to learn more about our Fatherhood Academy and receive coaching to become the father God has called you to be.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
What kind of father do you want to be?
What kind of man do you want tobecome for your family and for
yourself?
If you've ever wondered how tostep into the fullness of your
role as a father, husband, andman of God, then you're in the
right place.
Here at the Father Difference,our mission is to inspire and
equip men to be the best fathersthey can be.
(00:23):
It's a powerful mission.
And today, we're going toexplore exactly how you can take
steps toward that calling.
Whether you're a father, a son,a husband, grandfather, single
dad, stepfather, or just lookingto grow, I believe God has
something powerful for you intoday's message.
(00:43):
Whether you're tuning in live orwatching this later, we are so
excited to have you here.
If this is what you're lookingfor, then subscribe so you can
tune in each week to the FatherDifference Live.
You can sign up below.
And now your host, a husband,father, grandfather, author, and
(01:04):
former NFL player, Pastor EdMcGlass.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
Hey, welcome.
So good to be with you.
Happy New Year.
I haven't seen you since lastyear.
I'm sure there's some of youthat have tired of hearing that.
But welcome, welcome, myInstagram friends.
Twitter friends are there,Facebook friends, and Facebook's
actually, I think, got bornagain over the weekend.
(01:39):
You can hear about that news.
They're going to remove thepolitical stuff and make it like
Twitter, they say.
Wow, that could be incredible.
If you're joining me fromRumble, welcome, my Rumble
friends, ex-friend Rumble,Instagram, YouTubers.
Hey, welcome, YouTubers.
Good to see my friend, one ofthe more famous uh military
(02:02):
heroes in my life, JustinCarlton in the house.
So uh welcome, good to be withyou.
And we're gonna talk about 2025and the real difference that you
can make as a husband, as afather.
But I I wanted to share, kind ofstarting out five things that
(02:28):
that would make an incredibledifference in the life of your
children and this next year.
Maybe you're a single guywatching, going, oh man, it's
about married people and andkids.
Well, guess what?
If you're single, you might be adad one day.
These would be great things tokind of learn in your life as
well.
And so welcome.
(02:50):
It's good to see you.
Ray, Bo.
Connie's there with us today.
Maybe her husband's using heraccount.
Welcome, Connie.
So grateful that you're here atthe Father Difference in 2025.
A lot is happening.
There's a lot of news going onin the world.
And yes, yours truly, we live inSouthern California.
(03:11):
And right near my son's home upin Santa Monica, they got a
major fire.
So be praying for that.
We're just uh tuning in to thatwhole thing.
As a matter of fact, my sonEdward got to be there at the
stock exchange, and because ofhis acumen, got to be there when
(03:33):
they rang the bell.
And uh so proud of him and hisbeautiful bride Kate in New York
City tonight.
While we got fires on the WestCoast, they got icy cold streets
on the East Coast.
And it's playoff times.
I'm still praying for my Giants.
(03:54):
Rams are still in it.
So if you're a fan, you can joinwith me.
So let's let's talk about forthe next uh 20 minutes the the
some of the five things that youcan really do to make a huge
difference.
You got a question, throw it inthe comment.
Would love to hear from you.
But we're gonna talk about that.
(04:15):
So we're let's just get rightinto what we're gonna talk
about.
So five powerful ways to be agreat father and grandfather in
2025.
Well, number one, teach them tolive by faith.
The most powerful voice in thefamily that's most of the many
(04:38):
times too silent is the voice ofthe dad.
My wife is in the game.
She's just amazing.
She's an amazing mother.
But something happens in myfamily when I started getting
engaged into teaching mychildren how to live by faith.
(05:00):
And so a man's belief is hisanchor.
You know, my my grandfather, hespoke words of faith into me.
And matter of fact, your ownwords will shape the souls of
your children.
And and a careless word can evenignite a fire.
(05:22):
So we need to speak wisely.
So let me let me explain.
Let me tell you a story.
I was after my first year in theNational Football League, I was
at my grandfather's house.
He was a retired admiral in theNavy, first chief exec of the
CIA, and an amazing militarycareer.
(05:44):
And he would sit on his portionand read the Washington Post,
which at the time was aconservative newspaper.
That's how long ago it was.
And he'd be reading abouttoday's news.
And I walked out and sat withhim, and we talked about things
in life.
(06:05):
Matter of fact, when my after mydad was killed in action, my
grandfather was there.
Maybe you've had an amazinggrandfather in your life.
So we're sitting on the porch,and I I just asked him, I said,
What grandpa, what do you thinkabout me?
And he closed his paper and helooks at me and he says, You
(06:29):
remind me of someone.
And my ears perked up.
He said, you know, when I was aa commandant at the Naval
Academy, a a young man came intomy office and said, Admiral
(06:50):
Ford, and he wasn't a midshipmanto the Naval Academy.
He was a visitor on campus thatday.
Admiral Ford, if you will makean order and call all of the
midshipmen to the chapel for aspecial service today, I would
love the opportunity to preachthe gospel of Jesus Christ to
(07:11):
them and lead as many of thoseyoung men to Christ that I can.
And my grandfather looks at meand he says, He was Billy
Graham.
And that day, hundreds andhundreds of midshipmen came
forward.
He made an order, and all themidshipmen on campus went to a
(07:33):
chapel there with the statue ofTecumseh, which is right outside
the chapel at the Naval Academy.
And he looks at me and he says,You remind me of him.
You're just like him.
Those words just kind of went inme.
(07:57):
That's what the words of agrandfather can do.
That's what the words of afather can do.
When you speak a blessing withyour words of something you see
in your children that'spowerful, that gives them hope
and it changes them.
It went into me.
(08:17):
And I mean, it it gave mepermission in that moment to
live out the story that God hadcalled me to, even with more
faith and vigor in my life,because the most important
father figure in my life at thetime, because my dad was killed
(08:41):
in action, was my grandfather.
And when he said that to me, itjust cemented something in me.
That's how powerful those kindof words can have.
And then he did something that Ididn't expect.
He said, and upon my death, Iwill write an order today and
(09:07):
put it in my will that you areto preach my memorial service
from the same pulpit that BillyGraham did many years ago.
Not only did he say, Bless mewith his words, he made an
(09:29):
opportunity for me to have totrust God to step into that
calling that God had called himto.
That's part of being a greatfather.
It's not just saying, I lovethis about you.
It's also about helping positionyour children in places where
they can use those gifts.
We're going to talk about that alittle bit later.
(09:51):
And so upon his death many yearsago, and I got a call from the
chaplain of the United StatesNaval Academy at the time, and
he said, just Ed McGlassen.
I said it is.
He said, Your uh yourgrandfather uh wanted you to be
(10:13):
a part of our memorial servicetoday.
We're gonna have you come up andshare for a couple of minutes,
you know, and a nice story andyour memories of him.
I think this was the Lord,because my grandfather, when he
said to do something, it wasyes, sir, you know, he earned
that right.
And he had tremendous authority.
(10:36):
I mean, he he hung out withAdmiral Halsey and was, you
know, at Pearl Harbor at thesigning of the surrender of
Japan.
He was on the Missouri there.
He, you know, there was athree-star admiral in the war.
And I said, um, excuse me, withall due respect, uh, chaplain,
(11:00):
that was not my father's order.
I actually read it.
And the order states that he isordering me to do his service,
his memorial service.
And he was quiet on the otherend of the phone.
And I said, Isn't that not true?
He goes, Well, that's notgenerally the way we do things.
(11:21):
And I said, I understand that,but the Navy way is to follow
orders.
And he said, Yes, sir.
And so to his chagrin, I walkedup in that pulpit that that he
preached in each Sunday, butthat Billy Graham preached at
one time.
And in front of my family andthe remaining midshipmen there
(11:45):
at the Naval Academy, there werea few hundred midshipmen there.
It was during the summer, andshared Christ and had an altar
call.
And about 200 to 250 midshipmenstood up, raised their hands,
and gave their life to Christ.
(12:07):
It was an incredible moment.
Well, let me tell you that thatmoment happened for me because
my grandfather spoke somethinginto my life.
Now, let me show you a scripturethat just this talks about this.
And it's in 2 Timothy, and itsays that, you know, he's
(12:28):
writing to Timothy, who'sstruggling, you know, as a
pastor, has a gigantic church,he's got a lot of problems.
And so he writes these wordsfrom prison.
He couldn't be there with him,and he says, I'm reminded of
your sincere faith.
And then he describes it, afaith that first dwelt, dwelt
(12:50):
first in your grandmother Lois,and in your mother Eunice, and
now I'm sure it dwells in you aswell.
See, God's way that He changesthe world through families is
that your life, and I'm going tosay something to you as a
father, your life is way moreimportant in the lives of your
(13:15):
children than sometimes youpossibly know.
And I'm not talking about justyou feeding them.
I'm not talking about, you know,you just trying to be a good
dad, but you carry somethingwith your voice.
You carry an authority.
Matter of fact, the fifthcommand from God, you know,
calls on our children and us aschildren to honor our father and
(13:38):
mother that it might go wellwith us in the land, and you
might find favor.
Matter of fact, the favor ofyour children is connected to
their ability to honor you as afather and honor your wife as a
mother.
There's something incrediblypowerful with that.
(14:00):
And we have lived in a culturetoday that is really fractured
and disjointed.
And there's all kinds of cancel,you know, parents are being
canceled by their children asthough they have no place to
play.
But I got to tell you, you havethis incredible gift in you as a
dad.
(14:20):
When you understand that, whenyou when you embrace that and
you live out of that in yourlife, your family is different
because of it.
Right here, what does Paul say?
I'm reminded of this, faith,because I I saw it.
I mean, imagine what what thatmeans to you when people come up
(14:44):
to you and they said, you know,I met your son or I met your
daughter, and they're reallyextraordinary people.
They remind me a lot of of you.
It's probably one of thegreatest compliments I could
ever get as a dad, is that I'vemade a difference.
(15:07):
Because I didn't start out thatway.
If you've been following methrough the years, you know I
really started out as a brokendad, and God began to refather
me and teach me about how Icould change.
And so that very first pointthat we're we're talking about
(15:29):
is that the way you live yourlife out in front of your
children is absolutely vital forhow they learn to follow God
themselves.
So something practical this yearis even with your grandkids and
with your own children, howoften do you uh share uh
(15:53):
scriptures or things you'regoing through in your story with
them that's not an attempt totry to get them to read the
Bible, where you're just beinggrandpa and say, I've learned I
learned this the other day whenI read this in the Bible.
You want to hear about it?
(16:14):
And they realize that you're nottrying to preach a little sermon
to get them to go back to churchmore, but you're actually
sharing out of the wealth ofyour relationship with Jesus.
That's incredibly powerful whenyou do that.
And the more you do that, themore impact you have.
Here's a second thing I wantedto uh uh share with you.
(16:38):
And uh and then and that is yourwords of blessing have great
power in your children's life.
You could be uh a deadbeat dad,someone might call you.
You might be somebody who's uhwent to prison, got separated
from your children, or in anaddiction recovery program,
which is an awesome thing.
(17:01):
Takes a lot of courage to dothat.
A lot of men won't ever do thosekind of things.
But you still have a voice thatmatters to your kids.
That's why they're so put offwith you, so angry, and how they
the reactions may times are overthe top is because you really
matter to them.
(17:22):
And so your words have greatpower and great blessing.
And not only that, you know,James says in in chapter three,
a word out of your mouth mayseem of no account, but it can
accomplish nearly anything ordestroy it.
Our words can start a forestfire.
(17:43):
So it only takes a little spark.
I mean, that's happening rightaround me in Southern California
with these high winds, that itonly takes a spark to set off a
forest fire.
A careless or wrongly placedword out of your mouth can do
that too.
Interesting how Paul kind oftalks, you know, brings that
(18:06):
together to teach us about, oractually James is teaching us
about our voice and how powerfulthat is.
Teach them to fan their giftsinto a flame.
That verse goes on there.
And what it means is how do youstart a fire, by the way?
(18:32):
All the spark, if there's aspark there, all it needs is
air.
And you know, in part of what Iwrote here is you encourage
them, help them see theirpotential that lies dormant,
waiting kind of for a breath oflife.
Have you ever started a fire outat a campfire and and you find
dry wood and you could use aspark thing, or if you want to
(18:55):
use the old Indian way, you youput a log and put it between
your hands and or a string.
There's a lot of different waysto heat it up, which takes a
long time.
As soon as there is a spark andit begins to catch on fire, what
do you do?
You you blow on it, you fan itinto a flame.
(19:19):
Then you start adding more fuelto that fire, and it grows and
grows and grows.
And part of what happens is thatthere's a gift that was given to
you.
These gifts that are given fromGod, you can just not use them
and let them kind of lay around,or you can fan it into a flame.
(19:42):
And and part of the spiritualgifts that we have is you know,
so many times people think thespiritual gifts is, well, what's
my gift?
That's my identity, well, mygift is this, or my gift is
that.
Well, if you think about all thespiritual gifts that are listed,
it's interesting that they'reall directed to come through you
(20:07):
for the sake of another person.
For instance, the gift ofhealing, who's that for?
You so that you can lay hands onpeople and go, I'm a healer?
That's the that's the wrongheart.
He's the ultimate healer.
But it's for the person that'ssick.
Uh, a word of prophecy is forsomebody who needs to be
(20:29):
exhorted.
Somebody teaches God's word.
You know, the hearing of it andthe teaching of it gives them
breakthrough in their life asthey learn to hear God for
themselves.
But it's when we make the giftsabout ourselves that we get kind
of out of balance, as though,you know, you know, you know,
(20:51):
these are my things to do in theworld, not understanding that
ultimately every spiritual giftthat God gives you is for
somebody else.
Every sermon that I write is forsomebody else, though I learn
from it.
It's not so people can say, oh,you're a great preacher or
you're a great teacher.
(21:12):
And those compliments are great,but what I care about more than
anything is that you'll grabsomething tonight as a nugget in
your life, and it will changeyour family.
And then you'll you'll get ahold of me and say, Ed, I just I
did what you said, and it'schanged my family.
And that's a touchdown to me.
I'll you get the game ball forthose kind of things.
(21:36):
And so part of, you know, partof the spiritual gifts are for
other people.
And so he says to what fan usinto a flame.
And so the way you fan into aflame is that you use it.
You use it and you get out thereand you bless people with it,
and you pay attention to whatGod's doing all around you.
(22:00):
For this reason, I'm I'mreminded, I remind you to fan
into the flame, which which isin you through the laying out of
my hands.
Here's another incredible thingabout spiritual gifts, and what
Paul is talking about here isthat Paul laid hands on Timothy
(22:22):
and blessed him.
And the gift of God that thatmany of the things that Paul
carried in his own life becamethose things that Timothy now
carried.
See, your words over yourchildren and your grandchildren
have great power, but when youlay hands on them and bless
(22:42):
them, that's a whole differentlevel.
Because when somebody lays theirhands on you, it grows your
capacity to do whatever God hascalled you to do.
And I and I've had someincredible mentors and men of
God in my life and my story layhands on me, and everything
(23:05):
changed.
Not I wasn't like instantlygreat at anything, but the spark
of the gift that that that Paultalks to Timothy about started
in their life.
So think about your grandsonsand your own sons and daughters,
and the things that you'refrustrated in their life about.
(23:29):
Could it be that they're needingyou to lay hands on them and
bless them?
And the things that you loveabout them and things you think
God is doing in their life.
It's a very powerful, tendertime.
It's one of the most profoundthings that you can do as a dad
for the sake of your kids, is tolearn how to bless them.
(23:54):
And not to say, oh, you know, Ilove you, and you're great, and
you're wonderful, and you'refine, and you're a great
athlete.
But that blessing comes out ofthis heart where you begin to
hear from God for your children,and you begin to remind them
about who God's made them to be.
(24:15):
Just like a grandpa.
That's when my grandkids listento me.
That I tell them stories andthey they're wondering if I'm
making one up or is it real?
It's a powerful time with mygrandkids, and I love it so
much.
The next thing I want to sharewith you is teach them how to
walk in courage by following youaround.
(24:39):
This next generation isincredibly isolated from fathers
and grandfathers.
You might think as a grandpa,you you finally got to the place
in life you can retire and go dothe things you want to do.
But you know, your best work isright now.
(25:02):
You can solidify the legacy ofthe things, the sincere faith
that God has put in you, and youcan begin giving that away to
your children.
Because what's more powerful,building a big company with all
the perks and the nice cars andthings, or building a great
(25:24):
grandson, who can not only dowhat you do in business or me or
something else, but does thatwith your grandchildren one day.
See, that's real legacy.
Money comes and goes, but thatblessing grows, right?
(25:45):
You you teach them because seethey're gonna follow your steps.
So you show what it means to bebrave.
Uh fear is not is a shadow,power, love, and self-control
are the light.
That's why Paul says that Godhas given us a spirit, uh, not
of fear, but of love, power,love, and self-control.
(26:11):
And who's better to teach yourchildren about those things than
you?
They can watch a million YouTubevideos, but nothing's more
powerful than get in time withtheir grandpa or with their dad,
especially when we're not tryingto preach at them because we're
(26:32):
trying to fix something.
They pick that up reallyquickly.
My children were experts at it.
Matter of fact, they'd they turninto smart asses sometimes and
give me a nickel and go, thanksfor the sermon, dad.
Oh man.
Because see, God, what God'safter is you transferring the
(26:55):
man that you really are inChrist right into them as a
foundation stone for how they'regonna learn about life.
And if we don't do that, are wegonna trust the wack-a-doodle
universities?
That's not their job.
Identity chiefly comes from theway a father blesses his son and
(27:22):
his daughter.
That cements them into who God'smade them to be.
Even when they're struggling,you're there, you're loving,
you're pursuing.
It's a powerful thing.
And so not only that that God'snot, but he's given us this
(27:43):
incredible gift of power, love,and self-control.
He's those things when yourgrandchildren see that in your
life worked out, and you sharethat with them.
That means the world to them.
Means the world.
Number four, and got two morehere.
Teach them to forgive quickly.
(28:05):
So important.
Hold no grudges, bitterness eatsaway at the heart.
One man wrote, myself included.
When you forgive, you show themthe way.
(28:29):
Boy, it's incrediblydestructive.
And you know, I have somebusiness friends that uh I get
to be in a Bible study with, andone of them I'm gonna brag on.
He he had a competitor that theywere in a lawsuit and they was
trying to steal his brand andand his re and what he did was
(28:59):
you know, he just was soincensed over that this guy who
who he introduced to thebusiness is now coming and
stolen from him.
So he went to the Lord about it,and God said, We need to forgive
him.
(29:19):
Even had a pastor friend of minewho's uh John Blue, who's just
an amazing pastor in SouthernCalifornia here, and uh talked
to him about this.
And so he writes this guy aletter and sends it to him.
And and you know, years later,he's at a a marketing convention
(29:46):
with people in the in thegarment industry, and this guy
walks up to him and he goes, Igotta tell you that letter you
wrote me changed my life.
I have it on my desk.
And I read it every week.
And with all the things I did toyou, and I was so wrong.
(30:09):
You know, please forgive me.
And he he looked at him andsaid, already did.
That's those are legacy momentsin our life where we do good to
people who steal from us, whopersecute us.
And so we recruit we forgivequickly.
It's a powerful thing.
(30:31):
And that's why you know thescripture teaches us to be kind
to one another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another as God in
Christ has forgave you.
That's the way of being a man ofGod.
That's a way of followingChrist.
(30:52):
And that's the way of modelingto your children.
I mean, when your kids dothings, do you sort of get angry
at them for a while?
I mean, I, you know, I I hadpeople that I've hurt, and and
uh and I go to them and they go,Well, I'm praying about
(31:13):
forgiving you.
And I said, What do you meanyou're praying about it?
Well, I just don't want to.
I just don't like you right now.
And so, because I don't likeyou, I'm just not gonna forgive
you.
I said, So you want to live inbitterness and have God not
bless you in your life becauseyou're mad at me?
I'm so sorry for what I did.
And they just, it's like, uh,I'm trying to forgive, but I I
(31:35):
have I'd have to let go of theheat.
And I go, well, that's the thepoint.
How are you doing with yourfamily?
How are you modelingforgiveness?
Do you forgive quickly?
Or do you hold on to us?
See, what when you teach themabout forgiveness, look, it'll
(31:55):
teach your kids that there'snothing God can't forgive.
When you model that, I mean,it's it's even when you've had
people offend you and hurt youand you choose to forgive them.
We just had something thathappened on Christmas Day.
And a neighbor picked up a blacksedan and a car that looked like
(32:17):
it had an Uber sign in thewindow.
And my grandkids were on theinside of my house, and we were
having Jessica's amazingpancakes and Christmas morning
breakfast.
And while we're having ourbreakfast, this guy jumps out of
the car and steals all of mygrandchildren's presents that
(32:43):
they got from their other uhnanny, uh grandma and grandpa.
And so when they found out aboutit, uh we didn't realize it
until after everything hadhappened, and then they found
out about it.
I watched my daughter get themin a circle and uh helped them
(33:08):
forgive, and they were cryingbecause they lost other
presence, but they forgave them,and once they forgave him and
they prayed, their prayer wassomething like we choose to
forgive that bad man forstealing our presence.
And Jesus, we we pray that youyou know you would deal with
(33:29):
them.
And then it was over, and theycould it's like they never lost
anything, they were just so fullof joy.
They forgave quickly.
Powerful thing that we can do.
The other thing that happenswhen you forgive quickly stops
bitterness from destroying yourfamily.
(33:50):
I mean, it almost every familythat I coach and are part of,
they end up having uh thefamilies that they have
bitterness that runs for years.
Well, I just say let the biggerperson go first.
And number three, and watch Iforgive quickly, it gives your
(34:10):
children a way to forgive youand those who hurt them.
Boy, when you're modeling thisto your children, you're not
gonna have something betweenthem and you because when you
do, that can grow, and the nextthing you know, months have gone
by and you've not talked.
(34:32):
Boy, isn't it isn't it time?
My sense this next year is thatthat's one of the things that
God is gonna do all over ourcountry, and maybe in the world,
is that He is gonna reunitefamilies and bring kids back and
(34:53):
get rid of all the thiscanceling that's happening,
where children have canceledtheir parents and their
grandparents.
Because modern psychology saysif you feel bad, it's somebody
else's fault.
Separate yourself from them andmake a boundary because they're
unsafe.
The next thing you do, thosechildren cut themselves off from
(35:14):
blessing and family.
Incredibly powerful.
It's a big thing in our country,unfortunately.
Around the election, all thatcrazy stuff.
You know, uh just the thebitterness and all that, but
forgiving quickly protects yourchildren.
And finally, just to share thiswith you as well teach them
(35:36):
about God's power with yourblessings.
See your hands on them can liftthem up.
When's the last time you laidyour hands on your children to
bless them with things that yousee that could really help them
in their life?
I mean, your legacy of faiththat as you bless them, they're
(36:00):
gonna carry that with them.
They're gonna carry that holycapacity of this with them in
their life.
And that's a powerful thing.
And so part of it may maybe youneed some time with your your
kids and your grandkids whenthey're little.
I know dads right now that arein our coaching or our
(36:22):
fatherhood academy that you knowthey get with their kids every
night and pray with them and layhands on them and bless them.
There's nothing more powerfulthan that.
Nothing more powerful because itcan change a whole story.
And so, you know, and just kindof conclude with this story, is
(36:43):
you know, Jacob get comes uponthe the wagon train where his
wife is just given birth to herson, and without him being there
to name that son as she wasdying, Rachel, as her soul was
(37:03):
departing for she was dying, shenamed him Ben O'Neill.
And what's so profound aboutthat is Ben O'Nein means son of
my sorrow.
And I can't tell you how manyyoung men I meet and women that
lived a life of sorrow becausetheir fathers weren't there to
(37:24):
bless them in their life and bein their story.
You want to heal the ache in theworld and the and the the ache
in universities and thecraziness of the world?
Well, dads, when we rise up, Goddoes something profound.
Something that it's it'sunexplainably powerful.
(37:47):
When a dad is present in thelife.
And it's never too late forthat, by the way.
But it's so reporting.
But look, it says, but Jacob,whose name has been changed to
Israel, calls him Benjamin.
Which means son of my righthand.
He changes his name when heheard Ben Oni, he knew he
(38:12):
couldn't keep that name, and henamed him son of my right hand,
and the tribe of Benjamin wasborn through the words and the
blessing of a dad.
Think about how how powerfulthat is.
The Benjamites today existbecause the father was blessed
(38:35):
by God and had his name changedto Israel, Jacob to Israel.
And when he came upon his wifewho had just passed, the love of
his life, he renamed that boyfrom son of my sorrow to son of
my right hand.
Wow.
Think about that.
(38:58):
That's how much power your voicecarries.
No matter what the culture hastried to say to you in the past,
God has given us a reboot.
And I'm not just talking aboutthe political reboot.
He wants to reboot the family ofGod, the church of Jesus.
Because that ultimately is whereGod's blessing comes.
(39:22):
And that the player that's inthat group, the guy on that
team, are fathers like me andfathers like you.
And the more you are in the gameas a father like that, where
you're present, you're notmaking your life all about your
job and all the stuff you do,but you're a great dad.
(39:44):
I'm gonna tell you that there'snothing more profound than that.
And what one of the great thingsthat I get to experience in my
life is watching my sons now befathers to my grandchildren.
I mean, my son Edward has threedaughters, and they got pink
(40:09):
surfboards, they got they gotpink everything.
Got three daughters, amazing, soconfident, takes them running
every day, gets him dressed.
I mean, he just he's just agreat dad.
He's so he started out so farahead of me, but I realized, and
(40:32):
you should realize, that oursincere faith in God came from
somebody else.
That's the way God brings it.
And when we live out the lifethat God's called us to, it goes
to our children as well.
What a powerful inheritance wecan give.
My son Luke is just, he's hadnumber four, lives in Tennessee.
(40:56):
Amazing kids.
And my daughter Jessica and myand Mary, you know, in
Switzerland with Tim and Gregwith Jessica.
I just I'm just so blessed as agrandpa.
We got 14.
And uh but what blesses me morethan anything is watching my
(41:19):
children love my grandkids, playwith them, speak to them, bless
them, and do some of the samethings that I have done.
Now that my friend's a legacythat changes the world.
Why don't we pray?
(41:40):
Father, I I pray for my friendsthat are watching, I pray for
their families this year and inuh 2025.
That you would you would usethem in a profound way to be a
great father, to be a greatgranddad after granddad.
(42:01):
That you would open doors forthem to be in their life, and
they would share their verylives, the way they work, the
things they do with theirchildren in deep, profound ways.
I thank you, Lord, for this newyear or ministry and all that
we're doing.
And I'm so grateful.
(42:21):
I'm so grateful to my friendswho join us every week.
And I pray you'd bless them.
I pray that you would pour yourspirit out upon them, and that
you would give them grace andall the tools and the gifts they
need to be a great dad, ifthey're married to be a great
husband, if they're singlelooking for a wife, that they
(42:43):
would be a godly young manpreparing for a romance of a
lifetime.
And if they're hurting dad rightnow, Lord, I pray you'd bless
him and give them the prioritiesthat you want them to have this
year.
And that they would they wouldbe more about building a legacy
with their kids and all thegreat things they could
(43:06):
accomplish in business and life.
In the name of Jesus.
And all God's men and some ofthe gals said, Amen.
Thanks for being with us.
I'm so grateful.
We got a little video to showyou at the end here.
Thank you for your support.
Your end-of-the-ar support waswonderful.
(43:27):
And we're building out ouracademy right now.
We could use your help if youwant to be a part of that.
And so the Lord bless you.
And we are before we, I thinkthis is supposed to be
automatic.
Is that right, Icy?
Or I do I need to run it?
I'm not sure.
(43:47):
But if you'd like to know morethings about what we're doing,
you can go to our website at theFather, it's a Fatherhood
Academy that we're getting readyto launch here.
That'll really help you and giveyou the tools you need to be the
best man, husband, or father youcan be.
We got online courses there.
(44:09):
And so, all that to say, thanksfor joining me tonight.
I love your comments.
If you need some coaching, youcan reach out to me and my
website atthefatherdifference.com.
You'd like some time to processand deal with some private
things.
I'd love to do that with you.
Remember, it's never too latefor God to completely change
(44:32):
your story.
Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER_00 (44:38):
Dear friends, imagine a world where every
father feels equipped to leadwith faith, love, and purpose.
A world where families thriveand communities grow stronger
because of devoted,Christ-centered fathers.
SPEAKER_01 (44:53):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put in my heart for every singlefamily.
You know, he is on the move, Ibelieve.
He promises in Malachi thatbefore the great and coming day
of the Lord, he's gonna dosomething profound.
He's gonna turn the hearts offathers back towards their
(45:15):
children.
So the hearts of their childrenwill turn back to their father.
That's what God is doing.
I meet dads daily who want tolearn to be better fathers.
Yet many have never been shownhow.
Too many families are beingfractured to bitterness and with
parents and grandparents evenbeing canceled.
(45:38):
That's why we're launching anonline community to quit men to
be the fathers that God hascalled them to be.
It's more than a program, it's apart of a movement that God is
already doing to reshapefatherhood.
It's a sacred calling rooted inthe teachings of Christ.
(45:58):
And we're calling this theFatherhood Academy, where men
will embark on a journey ofhealing and spiritual
restoration that helps themtransform their family
relationship.
And to make this vision areality, would you consider
partnering with us financiallyas we continue to reach and
(46:22):
disciple every man, dad, andgrandpa that comes our way?
Your donation will help create aripple across the neighborhoods,
communities, you know, andultimately our nation, anchoring
each child, your division andthe unwavering love and guidance
of a devoted dad.
(46:45):
Your end-of-the-year gift rightnow, whether it's a one-time
donation or an ongoing pledgemonthly, will make a huge
difference.
Together we can equip fathers tobuild hope-filled futures for
their children and theirgrandchildren.
(47:05):
Remember, my friend, the Fatherloves you.
And he sent his son to let youknow.
Pray it for you, Pastor Ed.
SPEAKER_00 (47:14):
Click the link to donate today.
Thank you for believing in thismission and joining us on this
transformative journey.
What kind of father do you want to be?
What kind of man do you want tobecome for your family and for
yourself?
If you've ever wondered how tostep into the fullness of your
role as a father, husband, andman of God, then you're in the
right place.
Here at the Father Difference,our mission is to inspire and
equip men to be the best fathersthey can be.
(00:23):
It's a powerful mission.
And today, we're going toexplore exactly how you can take
steps toward that calling.
Whether you're a father, a son,a husband, grandfather, single
dad, stepfather, or just lookingto grow, I believe God has
something powerful for you intoday's message.
(00:43):
Whether you're tuning in live orwatching this later, we are so
excited to have you here.
If this is what you're lookingfor, then subscribe so you can
tune in each week to the FatherDifference Live.
You can sign up below.
And now your host, a husband,father, grandfather, author, and
(01:04):
former NFL player, Pastor EdMcGlass.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
Hey, welcome.
So good to be with you.
Happy New Year.
I haven't seen you since lastyear.
I'm sure there's some of youthat have tired of hearing that.
But welcome, welcome, myInstagram friends.
Twitter friends are there,Facebook friends, and Facebook's
actually, I think, got bornagain over the weekend.
(01:39):
You can hear about that news.
They're going to remove thepolitical stuff and make it like
Twitter, they say.
Wow, that could be incredible.
If you're joining me fromRumble, welcome, my Rumble
friends, ex-friend Rumble,Instagram, YouTubers.
Hey, welcome, YouTubers.
Good to see my friend, one ofthe more famous uh military
(02:02):
heroes in my life, JustinCarlton in the house.
So uh welcome, good to be withyou.
And we're gonna talk about 2025and the real difference that you
can make as a husband, as afather.
But I I wanted to share, kind ofstarting out five things that
(02:28):
that would make an incredibledifference in the life of your
children and this next year.
Maybe you're a single guywatching, going, oh man, it's
about married people and andkids.
Well, guess what?
If you're single, you might be adad one day.
These would be great things tokind of learn in your life as
well.
And so welcome.
(02:50):
It's good to see you.
Ray, Bo.
Connie's there with us today.
Maybe her husband's using heraccount.
Welcome, Connie.
So grateful that you're here atthe Father Difference in 2025.
A lot is happening.
There's a lot of news going onin the world.
And yes, yours truly, we live inSouthern California.
(03:11):
And right near my son's home upin Santa Monica, they got a
major fire.
So be praying for that.
We're just uh tuning in to thatwhole thing.
As a matter of fact, my sonEdward got to be there at the
stock exchange, and because ofhis acumen, got to be there when
(03:33):
they rang the bell.
And uh so proud of him and hisbeautiful bride Kate in New York
City tonight.
While we got fires on the WestCoast, they got icy cold streets
on the East Coast.
And it's playoff times.
I'm still praying for my Giants.
(03:54):
Rams are still in it.
So if you're a fan, you can joinwith me.
So let's let's talk about forthe next uh 20 minutes the the
some of the five things that youcan really do to make a huge
difference.
You got a question, throw it inthe comment.
Would love to hear from you.
But we're gonna talk about that.
(04:15):
So we're let's just get rightinto what we're gonna talk
about.
So five powerful ways to be agreat father and grandfather in
2025.
Well, number one, teach them tolive by faith.
The most powerful voice in thefamily that's most of the many
(04:38):
times too silent is the voice ofthe dad.
My wife is in the game.
She's just amazing.
She's an amazing mother.
But something happens in myfamily when I started getting
engaged into teaching mychildren how to live by faith.
(05:00):
And so a man's belief is hisanchor.
You know, my my grandfather, hespoke words of faith into me.
And matter of fact, your ownwords will shape the souls of
your children.
And and a careless word can evenignite a fire.
(05:22):
So we need to speak wisely.
So let me let me explain.
Let me tell you a story.
I was after my first year in theNational Football League, I was
at my grandfather's house.
He was a retired admiral in theNavy, first chief exec of the
CIA, and an amazing militarycareer.
(05:44):
And he would sit on his portionand read the Washington Post,
which at the time was aconservative newspaper.
That's how long ago it was.
And he'd be reading abouttoday's news.
And I walked out and sat withhim, and we talked about things
in life.
(06:05):
Matter of fact, when my after mydad was killed in action, my
grandfather was there.
Maybe you've had an amazinggrandfather in your life.
So we're sitting on the porch,and I I just asked him, I said,
What grandpa, what do you thinkabout me?
And he closed his paper and helooks at me and he says, You
(06:29):
remind me of someone.
And my ears perked up.
He said, you know, when I was aa commandant at the Naval
Academy, a a young man came intomy office and said, Admiral
(06:50):
Ford, and he wasn't a midshipmanto the Naval Academy.
He was a visitor on campus thatday.
Admiral Ford, if you will makean order and call all of the
midshipmen to the chapel for aspecial service today, I would
love the opportunity to preachthe gospel of Jesus Christ to
(07:11):
them and lead as many of thoseyoung men to Christ that I can.
And my grandfather looks at meand he says, He was Billy
Graham.
And that day, hundreds andhundreds of midshipmen came
forward.
He made an order, and all themidshipmen on campus went to a
(07:33):
chapel there with the statue ofTecumseh, which is right outside
the chapel at the Naval Academy.
And he looks at me and he says,You remind me of him.
You're just like him.
Those words just kind of went inme.
(07:57):
That's what the words of agrandfather can do.
That's what the words of afather can do.
When you speak a blessing withyour words of something you see
in your children that'spowerful, that gives them hope
and it changes them.
It went into me.
(08:17):
And I mean, it it gave mepermission in that moment to
live out the story that God hadcalled me to, even with more
faith and vigor in my life,because the most important
father figure in my life at thetime, because my dad was killed
(08:41):
in action, was my grandfather.
And when he said that to me, itjust cemented something in me.
That's how powerful those kindof words can have.
And then he did something that Ididn't expect.
He said, and upon my death, Iwill write an order today and
(09:07):
put it in my will that you areto preach my memorial service
from the same pulpit that BillyGraham did many years ago.
Not only did he say, Bless mewith his words, he made an
(09:29):
opportunity for me to have totrust God to step into that
calling that God had called himto.
That's part of being a greatfather.
It's not just saying, I lovethis about you.
It's also about helping positionyour children in places where
they can use those gifts.
We're going to talk about that alittle bit later.
(09:51):
And so upon his death many yearsago, and I got a call from the
chaplain of the United StatesNaval Academy at the time, and
he said, just Ed McGlassen.
I said it is.
He said, Your uh yourgrandfather uh wanted you to be
(10:13):
a part of our memorial servicetoday.
We're gonna have you come up andshare for a couple of minutes,
you know, and a nice story andyour memories of him.
I think this was the Lord,because my grandfather, when he
said to do something, it wasyes, sir, you know, he earned
that right.
And he had tremendous authority.
(10:36):
I mean, he he hung out withAdmiral Halsey and was, you
know, at Pearl Harbor at thesigning of the surrender of
Japan.
He was on the Missouri there.
He, you know, there was athree-star admiral in the war.
And I said, um, excuse me, withall due respect, uh, chaplain,
(11:00):
that was not my father's order.
I actually read it.
And the order states that he isordering me to do his service,
his memorial service.
And he was quiet on the otherend of the phone.
And I said, Isn't that not true?
He goes, Well, that's notgenerally the way we do things.
(11:21):
And I said, I understand that,but the Navy way is to follow
orders.
And he said, Yes, sir.
And so to his chagrin, I walkedup in that pulpit that that he
preached in each Sunday, butthat Billy Graham preached at
one time.
And in front of my family andthe remaining midshipmen there
(11:45):
at the Naval Academy, there werea few hundred midshipmen there.
It was during the summer, andshared Christ and had an altar
call.
And about 200 to 250 midshipmenstood up, raised their hands,
and gave their life to Christ.
(12:07):
It was an incredible moment.
Well, let me tell you that thatmoment happened for me because
my grandfather spoke somethinginto my life.
Now, let me show you a scripturethat just this talks about this.
And it's in 2 Timothy, and itsays that, you know, he's
(12:28):
writing to Timothy, who'sstruggling, you know, as a
pastor, has a gigantic church,he's got a lot of problems.
And so he writes these wordsfrom prison.
He couldn't be there with him,and he says, I'm reminded of
your sincere faith.
And then he describes it, afaith that first dwelt, dwelt
(12:50):
first in your grandmother Lois,and in your mother Eunice, and
now I'm sure it dwells in you aswell.
See, God's way that He changesthe world through families is
that your life, and I'm going tosay something to you as a
father, your life is way moreimportant in the lives of your
(13:15):
children than sometimes youpossibly know.
And I'm not talking about justyou feeding them.
I'm not talking about, you know,you just trying to be a good
dad, but you carry somethingwith your voice.
You carry an authority.
Matter of fact, the fifthcommand from God, you know,
calls on our children and us aschildren to honor our father and
(13:38):
mother that it might go wellwith us in the land, and you
might find favor.
Matter of fact, the favor ofyour children is connected to
their ability to honor you as afather and honor your wife as a
mother.
There's something incrediblypowerful with that.
(14:00):
And we have lived in a culturetoday that is really fractured
and disjointed.
And there's all kinds of cancel,you know, parents are being
canceled by their children asthough they have no place to
play.
But I got to tell you, you havethis incredible gift in you as a
dad.
(14:20):
When you understand that, whenyou when you embrace that and
you live out of that in yourlife, your family is different
because of it.
Right here, what does Paul say?
I'm reminded of this, faith,because I I saw it.
I mean, imagine what what thatmeans to you when people come up
(14:44):
to you and they said, you know,I met your son or I met your
daughter, and they're reallyextraordinary people.
They remind me a lot of of you.
It's probably one of thegreatest compliments I could
ever get as a dad, is that I'vemade a difference.
(15:07):
Because I didn't start out thatway.
If you've been following methrough the years, you know I
really started out as a brokendad, and God began to refather
me and teach me about how Icould change.
And so that very first pointthat we're we're talking about
(15:29):
is that the way you live yourlife out in front of your
children is absolutely vital forhow they learn to follow God
themselves.
So something practical this yearis even with your grandkids and
with your own children, howoften do you uh share uh
(15:53):
scriptures or things you'regoing through in your story with
them that's not an attempt totry to get them to read the
Bible, where you're just beinggrandpa and say, I've learned I
learned this the other day whenI read this in the Bible.
You want to hear about it?
(16:14):
And they realize that you're nottrying to preach a little sermon
to get them to go back to churchmore, but you're actually
sharing out of the wealth ofyour relationship with Jesus.
That's incredibly powerful whenyou do that.
And the more you do that, themore impact you have.
Here's a second thing I wantedto uh uh share with you.
(16:38):
And uh and then and that is yourwords of blessing have great
power in your children's life.
You could be uh a deadbeat dad,someone might call you.
You might be somebody who's uhwent to prison, got separated
from your children, or in anaddiction recovery program,
which is an awesome thing.
(17:01):
Takes a lot of courage to dothat.
A lot of men won't ever do thosekind of things.
But you still have a voice thatmatters to your kids.
That's why they're so put offwith you, so angry, and how they
the reactions may times are overthe top is because you really
matter to them.
(17:22):
And so your words have greatpower and great blessing.
And not only that, you know,James says in in chapter three,
a word out of your mouth mayseem of no account, but it can
accomplish nearly anything ordestroy it.
Our words can start a forestfire.
(17:43):
So it only takes a little spark.
I mean, that's happening rightaround me in Southern California
with these high winds, that itonly takes a spark to set off a
forest fire.
A careless or wrongly placedword out of your mouth can do
that too.
Interesting how Paul kind oftalks, you know, brings that
(18:06):
together to teach us about, oractually James is teaching us
about our voice and how powerfulthat is.
Teach them to fan their giftsinto a flame.
That verse goes on there.
And what it means is how do youstart a fire, by the way?
(18:32):
All the spark, if there's aspark there, all it needs is
air.
And you know, in part of what Iwrote here is you encourage
them, help them see theirpotential that lies dormant,
waiting kind of for a breath oflife.
Have you ever started a fire outat a campfire and and you find
dry wood and you could use aspark thing, or if you want to
(18:55):
use the old Indian way, you youput a log and put it between
your hands and or a string.
There's a lot of different waysto heat it up, which takes a
long time.
As soon as there is a spark andit begins to catch on fire, what
do you do?
You you blow on it, you fan itinto a flame.
(19:19):
Then you start adding more fuelto that fire, and it grows and
grows and grows.
And part of what happens is thatthere's a gift that was given to
you.
These gifts that are given fromGod, you can just not use them
and let them kind of lay around,or you can fan it into a flame.
(19:42):
And and part of the spiritualgifts that we have is you know,
so many times people think thespiritual gifts is, well, what's
my gift?
That's my identity, well, mygift is this, or my gift is
that.
Well, if you think about all thespiritual gifts that are listed,
it's interesting that they'reall directed to come through you
(20:07):
for the sake of another person.
For instance, the gift ofhealing, who's that for?
You so that you can lay hands onpeople and go, I'm a healer?
That's the that's the wrongheart.
He's the ultimate healer.
But it's for the person that'ssick.
Uh, a word of prophecy is forsomebody who needs to be
(20:29):
exhorted.
Somebody teaches God's word.
You know, the hearing of it andthe teaching of it gives them
breakthrough in their life asthey learn to hear God for
themselves.
But it's when we make the giftsabout ourselves that we get kind
of out of balance, as though,you know, you know, you know,
(20:51):
these are my things to do in theworld, not understanding that
ultimately every spiritual giftthat God gives you is for
somebody else.
Every sermon that I write is forsomebody else, though I learn
from it.
It's not so people can say, oh,you're a great preacher or
you're a great teacher.
(21:12):
And those compliments are great,but what I care about more than
anything is that you'll grabsomething tonight as a nugget in
your life, and it will changeyour family.
And then you'll you'll get ahold of me and say, Ed, I just I
did what you said, and it'schanged my family.
And that's a touchdown to me.
I'll you get the game ball forthose kind of things.
(21:36):
And so part of, you know, partof the spiritual gifts are for
other people.
And so he says to what fan usinto a flame.
And so the way you fan into aflame is that you use it.
You use it and you get out thereand you bless people with it,
and you pay attention to whatGod's doing all around you.
(22:00):
For this reason, I'm I'mreminded, I remind you to fan
into the flame, which which isin you through the laying out of
my hands.
Here's another incredible thingabout spiritual gifts, and what
Paul is talking about here isthat Paul laid hands on Timothy
(22:22):
and blessed him.
And the gift of God that thatmany of the things that Paul
carried in his own life becamethose things that Timothy now
carried.
See, your words over yourchildren and your grandchildren
have great power, but when youlay hands on them and bless
(22:42):
them, that's a whole differentlevel.
Because when somebody lays theirhands on you, it grows your
capacity to do whatever God hascalled you to do.
And I and I've had someincredible mentors and men of
God in my life and my story layhands on me, and everything
(23:05):
changed.
Not I wasn't like instantlygreat at anything, but the spark
of the gift that that that Paultalks to Timothy about started
in their life.
So think about your grandsonsand your own sons and daughters,
and the things that you'refrustrated in their life about.
(23:29):
Could it be that they're needingyou to lay hands on them and
bless them?
And the things that you loveabout them and things you think
God is doing in their life.
It's a very powerful, tendertime.
It's one of the most profoundthings that you can do as a dad
for the sake of your kids, is tolearn how to bless them.
(23:54):
And not to say, oh, you know, Ilove you, and you're great, and
you're wonderful, and you'refine, and you're a great
athlete.
But that blessing comes out ofthis heart where you begin to
hear from God for your children,and you begin to remind them
about who God's made them to be.
(24:15):
Just like a grandpa.
That's when my grandkids listento me.
That I tell them stories andthey they're wondering if I'm
making one up or is it real?
It's a powerful time with mygrandkids, and I love it so
much.
The next thing I want to sharewith you is teach them how to
walk in courage by following youaround.
(24:39):
This next generation isincredibly isolated from fathers
and grandfathers.
You might think as a grandpa,you you finally got to the place
in life you can retire and go dothe things you want to do.
But you know, your best work isright now.
(25:02):
You can solidify the legacy ofthe things, the sincere faith
that God has put in you, and youcan begin giving that away to
your children.
Because what's more powerful,building a big company with all
the perks and the nice cars andthings, or building a great
(25:24):
grandson, who can not only dowhat you do in business or me or
something else, but does thatwith your grandchildren one day.
See, that's real legacy.
Money comes and goes, but thatblessing grows, right?
(25:45):
You you teach them because seethey're gonna follow your steps.
So you show what it means to bebrave.
Uh fear is not is a shadow,power, love, and self-control
are the light.
That's why Paul says that Godhas given us a spirit, uh, not
of fear, but of love, power,love, and self-control.
(26:11):
And who's better to teach yourchildren about those things than
you?
They can watch a million YouTubevideos, but nothing's more
powerful than get in time withtheir grandpa or with their dad,
especially when we're not tryingto preach at them because we're
(26:32):
trying to fix something.
They pick that up reallyquickly.
My children were experts at it.
Matter of fact, they'd they turninto smart asses sometimes and
give me a nickel and go, thanksfor the sermon, dad.
Oh man.
Because see, God, what God'safter is you transferring the
(26:55):
man that you really are inChrist right into them as a
foundation stone for how they'regonna learn about life.
And if we don't do that, are wegonna trust the wack-a-doodle
universities?
That's not their job.
Identity chiefly comes from theway a father blesses his son and
(27:22):
his daughter.
That cements them into who God'smade them to be.
Even when they're struggling,you're there, you're loving,
you're pursuing.
It's a powerful thing.
And so not only that that God'snot, but he's given us this
(27:43):
incredible gift of power, love,and self-control.
He's those things when yourgrandchildren see that in your
life worked out, and you sharethat with them.
That means the world to them.
Means the world.
Number four, and got two morehere.
Teach them to forgive quickly.
(28:05):
So important.
Hold no grudges, bitterness eatsaway at the heart.
One man wrote, myself included.
When you forgive, you show themthe way.
(28:29):
Boy, it's incrediblydestructive.
And you know, I have somebusiness friends that uh I get
to be in a Bible study with, andone of them I'm gonna brag on.
He he had a competitor that theywere in a lawsuit and they was
trying to steal his brand andand his re and what he did was
(28:59):
you know, he just was soincensed over that this guy who
who he introduced to thebusiness is now coming and
stolen from him.
So he went to the Lord about it,and God said, We need to forgive
him.
(29:19):
Even had a pastor friend of minewho's uh John Blue, who's just
an amazing pastor in SouthernCalifornia here, and uh talked
to him about this.
And so he writes this guy aletter and sends it to him.
And and you know, years later,he's at a a marketing convention
(29:46):
with people in the in thegarment industry, and this guy
walks up to him and he goes, Igotta tell you that letter you
wrote me changed my life.
I have it on my desk.
And I read it every week.
And with all the things I did toyou, and I was so wrong.
(30:09):
You know, please forgive me.
And he he looked at him andsaid, already did.
That's those are legacy momentsin our life where we do good to
people who steal from us, whopersecute us.
And so we recruit we forgivequickly.
It's a powerful thing.
(30:31):
And that's why you know thescripture teaches us to be kind
to one another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another as God in
Christ has forgave you.
That's the way of being a man ofGod.
That's a way of followingChrist.
(30:52):
And that's the way of modelingto your children.
I mean, when your kids dothings, do you sort of get angry
at them for a while?
I mean, I, you know, I I hadpeople that I've hurt, and and
uh and I go to them and they go,Well, I'm praying about
(31:13):
forgiving you.
And I said, What do you meanyou're praying about it?
Well, I just don't want to.
I just don't like you right now.
And so, because I don't likeyou, I'm just not gonna forgive
you.
I said, So you want to live inbitterness and have God not
bless you in your life becauseyou're mad at me?
I'm so sorry for what I did.
And they just, it's like, uh,I'm trying to forgive, but I I
(31:35):
have I'd have to let go of theheat.
And I go, well, that's the thepoint.
How are you doing with yourfamily?
How are you modelingforgiveness?
Do you forgive quickly?
Or do you hold on to us?
See, what when you teach themabout forgiveness, look, it'll
(31:55):
teach your kids that there'snothing God can't forgive.
When you model that, I mean,it's it's even when you've had
people offend you and hurt youand you choose to forgive them.
We just had something thathappened on Christmas Day.
And a neighbor picked up a blacksedan and a car that looked like
(32:17):
it had an Uber sign in thewindow.
And my grandkids were on theinside of my house, and we were
having Jessica's amazingpancakes and Christmas morning
breakfast.
And while we're having ourbreakfast, this guy jumps out of
the car and steals all of mygrandchildren's presents that
(32:43):
they got from their other uhnanny, uh grandma and grandpa.
And so when they found out aboutit, uh we didn't realize it
until after everything hadhappened, and then they found
out about it.
I watched my daughter get themin a circle and uh helped them
(33:08):
forgive, and they were cryingbecause they lost other
presence, but they forgave them,and once they forgave him and
they prayed, their prayer wassomething like we choose to
forgive that bad man forstealing our presence.
And Jesus, we we pray that youyou know you would deal with
(33:29):
them.
And then it was over, and theycould it's like they never lost
anything, they were just so fullof joy.
They forgave quickly.
Powerful thing that we can do.
The other thing that happenswhen you forgive quickly stops
bitterness from destroying yourfamily.
(33:50):
I mean, it almost every familythat I coach and are part of,
they end up having uh thefamilies that they have
bitterness that runs for years.
Well, I just say let the biggerperson go first.
And number three, and watch Iforgive quickly, it gives your
(34:10):
children a way to forgive youand those who hurt them.
Boy, when you're modeling thisto your children, you're not
gonna have something betweenthem and you because when you
do, that can grow, and the nextthing you know, months have gone
by and you've not talked.
(34:32):
Boy, isn't it isn't it time?
My sense this next year is thatthat's one of the things that
God is gonna do all over ourcountry, and maybe in the world,
is that He is gonna reunitefamilies and bring kids back and
(34:53):
get rid of all the thiscanceling that's happening,
where children have canceledtheir parents and their
grandparents.
Because modern psychology saysif you feel bad, it's somebody
else's fault.
Separate yourself from them andmake a boundary because they're
unsafe.
The next thing you do, thosechildren cut themselves off from
(35:14):
blessing and family.
Incredibly powerful.
It's a big thing in our country,unfortunately.
Around the election, all thatcrazy stuff.
You know, uh just the thebitterness and all that, but
forgiving quickly protects yourchildren.
And finally, just to share thiswith you as well teach them
(35:36):
about God's power with yourblessings.
See your hands on them can liftthem up.
When's the last time you laidyour hands on your children to
bless them with things that yousee that could really help them
in their life?
I mean, your legacy of faiththat as you bless them, they're
(36:00):
gonna carry that with them.
They're gonna carry that holycapacity of this with them in
their life.
And that's a powerful thing.
And so part of it may maybe youneed some time with your your
kids and your grandkids whenthey're little.
I know dads right now that arein our coaching or our
(36:22):
fatherhood academy that you knowthey get with their kids every
night and pray with them and layhands on them and bless them.
There's nothing more powerfulthan that.
Nothing more powerful because itcan change a whole story.
And so, you know, and just kindof conclude with this story, is
(36:43):
you know, Jacob get comes uponthe the wagon train where his
wife is just given birth to herson, and without him being there
to name that son as she wasdying, Rachel, as her soul was
(37:03):
departing for she was dying, shenamed him Ben O'Neill.
And what's so profound aboutthat is Ben O'Nein means son of
my sorrow.
And I can't tell you how manyyoung men I meet and women that
lived a life of sorrow becausetheir fathers weren't there to
(37:24):
bless them in their life and bein their story.
You want to heal the ache in theworld and the and the the ache
in universities and thecraziness of the world?
Well, dads, when we rise up, Goddoes something profound.
Something that it's it'sunexplainably powerful.
(37:47):
When a dad is present in thelife.
And it's never too late forthat, by the way.
But it's so reporting.
But look, it says, but Jacob,whose name has been changed to
Israel, calls him Benjamin.
Which means son of my righthand.
He changes his name when heheard Ben Oni, he knew he
(38:12):
couldn't keep that name, and henamed him son of my right hand,
and the tribe of Benjamin wasborn through the words and the
blessing of a dad.
Think about how how powerfulthat is.
The Benjamites today existbecause the father was blessed
(38:35):
by God and had his name changedto Israel, Jacob to Israel.
And when he came upon his wifewho had just passed, the love of
his life, he renamed that boyfrom son of my sorrow to son of
my right hand.
Wow.
Think about that.
(38:58):
That's how much power your voicecarries.
No matter what the culture hastried to say to you in the past,
God has given us a reboot.
And I'm not just talking aboutthe political reboot.
He wants to reboot the family ofGod, the church of Jesus.
Because that ultimately is whereGod's blessing comes.
(39:22):
And that the player that's inthat group, the guy on that
team, are fathers like me andfathers like you.
And the more you are in the gameas a father like that, where
you're present, you're notmaking your life all about your
job and all the stuff you do,but you're a great dad.
(39:44):
I'm gonna tell you that there'snothing more profound than that.
And what one of the great thingsthat I get to experience in my
life is watching my sons now befathers to my grandchildren.
I mean, my son Edward has threedaughters, and they got pink
(40:09):
surfboards, they got they gotpink everything.
Got three daughters, amazing, soconfident, takes them running
every day, gets him dressed.
I mean, he just he's just agreat dad.
He's so he started out so farahead of me, but I realized, and
(40:32):
you should realize, that oursincere faith in God came from
somebody else.
That's the way God brings it.
And when we live out the lifethat God's called us to, it goes
to our children as well.
What a powerful inheritance wecan give.
My son Luke is just, he's hadnumber four, lives in Tennessee.
(40:56):
Amazing kids.
And my daughter Jessica and myand Mary, you know, in
Switzerland with Tim and Gregwith Jessica.
I just I'm just so blessed as agrandpa.
We got 14.
And uh but what blesses me morethan anything is watching my
(41:19):
children love my grandkids, playwith them, speak to them, bless
them, and do some of the samethings that I have done.
Now that my friend's a legacythat changes the world.
Why don't we pray?
(41:40):
Father, I I pray for my friendsthat are watching, I pray for
their families this year and inuh 2025.
That you would you would usethem in a profound way to be a
great father, to be a greatgranddad after granddad.
(42:01):
That you would open doors forthem to be in their life, and
they would share their verylives, the way they work, the
things they do with theirchildren in deep, profound ways.
I thank you, Lord, for this newyear or ministry and all that
we're doing.
And I'm so grateful.
(42:21):
I'm so grateful to my friendswho join us every week.
And I pray you'd bless them.
I pray that you would pour yourspirit out upon them, and that
you would give them grace andall the tools and the gifts they
need to be a great dad, ifthey're married to be a great
husband, if they're singlelooking for a wife, that they
(42:43):
would be a godly young manpreparing for a romance of a
lifetime.
And if they're hurting dad rightnow, Lord, I pray you'd bless
him and give them the prioritiesthat you want them to have this
year.
And that they would they wouldbe more about building a legacy
with their kids and all thegreat things they could
(43:06):
accomplish in business and life.
In the name of Jesus.
And all God's men and some ofthe gals said, Amen.
Thanks for being with us.
I'm so grateful.
We got a little video to showyou at the end here.
Thank you for your support.
Your end-of-the-ar support waswonderful.
(43:27):
And we're building out ouracademy right now.
We could use your help if youwant to be a part of that.
And so the Lord bless you.
And we are before we, I thinkthis is supposed to be
automatic.
Is that right, Icy?
Or I do I need to run it?
I'm not sure.
(43:47):
But if you'd like to know morethings about what we're doing,
you can go to our website at theFather, it's a Fatherhood
Academy that we're getting readyto launch here.
That'll really help you and giveyou the tools you need to be the
best man, husband, or father youcan be.
We got online courses there.
(44:09):
And so, all that to say, thanksfor joining me tonight.
I love your comments.
If you need some coaching, youcan reach out to me and my
website atthefatherdifference.com.
You'd like some time to processand deal with some private
things.
I'd love to do that with you.
Remember, it's never too latefor God to completely change
(44:32):
your story.
Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER_00 (44:38):
Dear friends, imagine a world where every
father feels equipped to leadwith faith, love, and purpose.
A world where families thriveand communities grow stronger
because of devoted,Christ-centered fathers.
SPEAKER_01 (44:53):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put in my heart for every singlefamily.
You know, he is on the move, Ibelieve.
He promises in Malachi thatbefore the great and coming day
of the Lord, he's gonna dosomething profound.
He's gonna turn the hearts offathers back towards their
(45:15):
children.
So the hearts of their childrenwill turn back to their father.
That's what God is doing.
I meet dads daily who want tolearn to be better fathers.
Yet many have never been shownhow.
Too many families are beingfractured to bitterness and with
parents and grandparents evenbeing canceled.
(45:38):
That's why we're launching anonline community to quit men to
be the fathers that God hascalled them to be.
It's more than a program, it's apart of a movement that God is
already doing to reshapefatherhood.
It's a sacred calling rooted inthe teachings of Christ.
(45:58):
And we're calling this theFatherhood Academy, where men
will embark on a journey ofhealing and spiritual
restoration that helps themtransform their family
relationship.
And to make this vision areality, would you consider
partnering with us financiallyas we continue to reach and
(46:22):
disciple every man, dad, andgrandpa that comes our way?
Your donation will help create aripple across the neighborhoods,
communities, you know, andultimately our nation, anchoring
each child, your division andthe unwavering love and guidance
of a devoted dad.
(46:45):
Your end-of-the-year gift rightnow, whether it's a one-time
donation or an ongoing pledgemonthly, will make a huge
difference.
Together we can equip fathers tobuild hope-filled futures for
their children and theirgrandchildren.
(47:05):
Remember, my friend, the Fatherloves you.
And he sent his son to let youknow.
Pray it for you, Pastor Ed.
SPEAKER_00 (47:14):
Click the link to donate today.
Thank you for believing in thismission and joining us on this
transformative journey.
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