January 21, 2025 • 34 mins
We explore how a father’s true power begins with receiving the Father’s love, why belief shapes behavior, and how the principle “more is caught than taught” changes home life. Stories of loss, hope, and a prophetic call for prodigals to return point us toward simple, daily steps of presence.
• Mission to equip men to be fathers who make a difference
• What the Father thinks about us shapes how we live
• Zephaniah 3:17 and the Father’s joyful song over you
• Modeling faith through crisis and loss
• Hope for prodigals and a renewed vision for 2025
• Prayer for families, cities, and restoration
• Invitation to join and support the Fatherhood Academy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 (01:15):
Hey, well, welcome.
Good to uh see you in a newyear.
Boy, there's a lot of stuffgoing on in the world.
Uh, not only do we have a newpresident in our country and all
of that, and we've we're uhstill uh dealing with the fires
here in Los Angeles and peoplethat have had tremendous loss.
(01:38):
And so there's just there's justa lot, a lot of things.
It's an emotional time for somany people.
And we're we're uh gonna we'regonna talk today about just
about learning how to receivefor yourself as a man.
(02:00):
If you're a gal listening in,but what are some things that
you can do that will in 2025draw you into not only a more
loving and powerful relationshipwith God the Father and His Son,
but it'll give you the thingsthat you need to receive so that
(02:23):
you can teach your children todo the same.
Because here's the principleright from the beginning, and
you've heard me say this before,and it's it's really true that
with your children and being afather who makes a difference,
more is caught than taught.
The more time you spendreceiving from the father
(02:48):
yourself, the more impact you'regonna have.
Well, welcome to my friends.
I have one of my daughters, uhJenny Bell from Ireland.
She's my one of my spiritualdaughters over there.
She is uh just absolutely thebell of the ball.
Just uh incredible person andpersonality, number of the
(03:11):
different friends.
Make sure you log on and let meknow.
Instagram, rumble, tick tock,which I guess TikTok has been
turned back on.
It was off for a while, and uhnow it's back on.
And and and so anyway, it's goodto be with you.
And so, what how do you uhnavigate the the season that
(03:33):
you're in and have the biggestimpact that you can make?
Well, we're actually goingthrough a book of mine called
The Father You've Always Wanted.
And we've been doing little bitseach week.
And this week, the the title ofthe chapter is What Does the
Father Think About Me?
(03:54):
So if you were to you were tothink about that question
tonight, and you were to say,What does the God the Father
think about me?
It's easy to one of the thingsthat's easy to do is say, Oh,
well, God loves me, of course,for God so loved the world.
He gave his only son thatwhoever believed in him would
(04:16):
not perish, but have everlastinglife.
And one of the things that thatI found, you know, in this whole
relationship with building yourlife around the love and and the
presence of Jesus and his fatherin your life, is that what you
believe will determine youractions.
(04:36):
And what I mean is that if youreally believed in the deepest
part of who you are as a mantonight, or maybe you're a gal
watching tonight, then your lifethat should shape what you do in
your life by who loves you andwhen you know it.
(04:57):
And what I found most often, youknow, in our coaching and even
in myself, is that I know thatGod loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loved me, this I know, forthe Bible tells me so.
Then why don't we spend moretime with him?
(05:21):
Why do we keep him at bay?
Why do we spend so much timetrying to prove ourselves so
that somehow we're going to getreconnected with a God by the
actions that we do or how holywe become?
How do we connect to the Lord inthe midst of a great tragedy in
(05:47):
our life, like many in LA areexperiencing right now?
How do we measure that?
How do we deal with that in ourlife?
Because if you if you take us asurvey just over your last week,
if you just think about thislast week of your life, and you
(06:08):
were and you were to you knowkind of give me a report of, or
you know, just be honest withyourself and kind of report on
how you spent your time, whatare you doing?
Because if you really believethat God really truly loves you,
(06:30):
then wouldn't you want to hangout with him all day long?
When you want to pursue him andfind out what's going on, or do
we spend most of our timefeeling as though we're not
quite in the place we need tobe?
So I need to change some things,make my life right, or fulfill
(06:53):
my New Year's resolutions sothat somehow in the midst of all
that, I'm gonna have more favorwith the Lord.
Instead of understanding thatwhen Jesus died on the cross, he
died so completely in all thebrokenness that you've ever done
and would ever do.
So that when we come to him, notonly are we forgiven, when we
(07:17):
come to him, we realize thatwe've always had this incredible
access to him by just saying, MyFather who art in heaven, holy
is your name.
And so part of part of you knownavigating crazy times in your
(07:37):
life, and we all have those, isreally learning about how much
God really loves you.
And to do that, I want to tellyou a little story, kind of
around a verse that I love somuch in the Bible.
And let me kind of set thisstory up.
I'm gonna share the verse withyou, and we're gonna talk about
it for a few minutes.
(07:58):
We have a shorter show tonightbecause I'm gonna spend time on
kind of one thing that you cantake away that would really help
you in a maximum way tonight.
As a man, as a husband, is afather.
And uh, and so here is here'sthe story.
(08:20):
I was in my office, you know,just thinking about my son
Edward, my oldest son Edward.
I had wasn't able to make a tripto a country club back east.
He was in a golf tournament,wanted to be there, wanted to be
with him.
(08:43):
And I just I came upon thisverse in the Bible that was just
so powerful.
And and I'm just thinking aboutmy son, how much I loved him.
And uh that that moment when youthink about your kids and when
you when you're able to justpush away all their foibles and
(09:04):
things in their life and thingsthat they deal with, and you're
just able to be present withthem and just it just be in this
place where you can becompletely present loving them.
And you know, I started thinkingabout them, and I started
thinking about you know how muchI loved him.
(09:26):
And I was in my reading thatday, I read this verse in
Zephaniah 3, verse 17, and it'sa picture of what God the Father
thinks about you in your lifewhen he thinks about you in
Zephaniah 3:17.
It says that he will rejoiceover you with gladness, he will
(09:51):
quiet you with his love, and hewill exalt over you with loud
singing.
And that that word uh loudsinging can actually mean that
he gets so overwhelmed with hislove for you as he displays that
(10:12):
love and affection towards you.
He gave his the his only son todie in your place, that it
causes him to sing like anopera, and to another version
says, and he will dance over youwith loud singing.
You imagine in heaven, Zephaniahgets a picture of God's response
(10:38):
over those that he loves, thathis love is so great that it
causes him to dance.
And so I was thinking about thisverse, and and really, you know,
you know, calling out to theLord to capture more of my
heart.
(10:58):
At the same time, show me how tobe a loving, present father with
my son Edward, who was away in agolf tournament and I couldn't
be there.
And so I started watching hisscores online, and he was
playing a great tournament andwas so excited for him.
And and so I got out of my deskand I started to dance around in
(11:26):
my office, kind of imagining howGod would dance over me with his
love and sing over me andstarted singing and dancing and
jumping around.
And we're on a second, my officein my church is on the second
story of our building, and thefloors, you know, that were were
(11:50):
creaking, and I didn't realize Iwas shaking the building, kind
of a picture of like a dancinghippo.
And I was dancing and spinningand just just having the time of
my life singing loudly, and myuh secretary at the time comes
(12:10):
into my office wondering whatthe heck's going on, because
evidently I was jumping up anddown and was making such loud
racket, you know, on the floorthat she thought maybe it was an
earthquake.
And it was me dancing around andjust, you know, just was just so
(12:35):
overwhelmed by this moment andand had just in reckless kind of
abandon, just dancing over mychildren with love and uh
thinking about them and justconnecting to the truth that
that's was the heart of thefather when he sent his son to
die for you and me.
(12:57):
And I looked at her and sheopened the door and sees me
dancing, and she goes, I thoughtit was an earthquake.
And I started laughing overmyself and went back to my
office and sat down.
And and the Lord spoke to me inin that moment.
(13:19):
He said, As much as you loveyour sons and your daughters in
your life, you should hear thesong I'm singing over you right
now.
Think about that.
(13:40):
That's something that is such agift from God when you
understand and connect to thefact that He absolutely adores
you and wants to be the Fatherthat many of you never got to
(14:01):
have.
Which, by the way, is is one ofthe reasons that Jesus came, not
only to die for our sins, but tocreate a moment for you and I to
be completely captured by hislove for us.
For God so loved the world, heso loved you, he loved me, that
(14:25):
he gave his the ultimatesacrifice of his love was the
life of his son Jesus.
And so he he didn't have likeJesus wasn't like the second
son, he was the only son.
And he poured out all of thewrath and the penalty that we
(14:46):
deserved in that moment.
Matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians5, it says that he who knew no
sin, talking about Jesus, becamesin so that we could become the
righteousness of God.
In other words, Jesus didn'ttake on a sin nature, he took on
(15:07):
the penalty of everything thatwe would deserve that we
deserve, and he took it into hisbody hanging on the cross and
died with the weight of all ofour sin on him, so that we could
be free from that the moment wereceive that from ourselves from
(15:33):
trying to win his favor by beingreligious, or trying to do
anything that we think helps addto what God's done for us.
And when you get that completelyas a man and realize that your
(15:58):
ability to be a great father, orsay you're a single gal that's
watching, is not dependent uponyour ability to make things
happen so that God will bepleased for you.
Because once we receive Christin our life and he forgives us,
(16:21):
he exchanges the righteousnessof his son Jesus, who lived a
perfect life right into depositsit right into our account so
that when we pray, he doesn'tsee an old sinner praying and
asking for favor.
He sees a son or he sees adaughter.
(16:45):
See, God set this whole thing upto get his family back that he
lost in the Garden of Eden.
And that's one of the mostprofound things.
If you just think about the planof God to redeem the world, is
that his plan was to love us socompletely through offering his
(17:09):
son as a sacrifice, such thatyou and I, as we learn to
receive that every day, canbecome the righteousness of God
to our friends and our familyand to people around us.
And by the way, that's a secret.
Learning how to receive that foryourself is a secret of you
(17:30):
being a great father or a greatmom or a great friend or a great
man to make a difference.
And it's not so much about allthe stuff you know, it's about
at the end of the day, who isthat one who loves you so
(17:53):
completely that it completelytakes away your fear to go for
your life.
You know, the Bible says inCorinthians that perfect love
casts out fear, it drives itout.
The only way, the only personthat has perfect love is God.
(18:14):
So the more we receive that forourselves, the more impact that
we can have.
So, and all that to say tonight,wherever you're calling from,
whether you're calling fromIreland or Sweden or other
places around the around theglobe, how good are you at
(18:34):
receiving God's love for youtoday?
What is your waking thought inthe morning?
Is it the I want more of you,Lord?
Or Lord, I want to give you moreof me so I can prove myself.
(18:55):
And it's about that first thingbecause here's the here's the
secret, and we'll kind of tiethis together, of really walking
with the Lord and and reallybecoming a father that really
has impact with his children.
And that is to the level thatyou learn to receive from God as
(19:19):
a son yourself, or if you're agal, as a woman yourself, as a
daughter, all those things thatyou receive now become the grace
you need in your life to loveyour children, even when it
seems impossible, and theystruggle.
(19:40):
Because our kids are going tostruggle because they're in a
battle, you know, a spiritualbattle against their own lives.
And the tension many times thatwe have as dads when our kids
are struggling, is gosh, what doI need to do to break through
for them?
(20:01):
And that's just that's a nobledesire.
But a better, a better questionwould be what do I need to
become in you?
So that when my children see mylife, they see you, and it draws
them to Jesus.
(20:22):
And that's the secret of being agreat dad and having great
impact.
It's not that you have perfecttechnique or you do everything
just right.
I want to tell you the thesecret is living that life in
front of your children.
(20:43):
And I'm gonna share a littlesomething that just happened.
Many of you know that my uholdest son Edward and and my
daughter-in-love Katie, theirtheir home burned down in the
Palisades, like so many others,and they weren't able to be
home, they lost everything thatwas there, they were on a trip
(21:06):
in New York City, had to getback, and we got our grandkids
out of there, went up and theywere staying with the nanny, and
and we had them, and and so I asI was talking to my sons, he was
processing this.
And he was processing it, youknow, looking through satellite
(21:29):
images of his home there, rightdown the street from Merwan uh
shopping center there, thePalisade shopping center, and
and the satellite images werecoming in, and and people were
trying to see, you know, findpictures of their home.
(21:53):
And uh and so it was anincredibly emotional time.
And so you there what you can'tpossibly say anything to bring
any kind of peace or hope intothat circumstance, because it
would be just shallow comparedto what he said to me.
And he was on a walk, actuallyon a run, and he he said, Dad,
(22:18):
let me tell you.
I I watched you for years go toGod and go to Jesus when you
were went through hard timeswhen you never had a house
burned down, but you had allthese different things.
(22:40):
I watched you and all the attackyou had to go through, and being
a pastor, and all the things youhad to try to to manage.
And I learned from you, Dad, youtaught me that I can really
trust God even when my house ison fire and that he's gonna see
(23:02):
see me through because he did itwith you.
And I gotta tell you, thosewords just hit me in my core.
He didn't need a sermon from me.
He he got it by watching me livemy life, and I'm so grateful
(23:25):
that he learned that, and thatlesson didn't come because I was
such a great dad.
There's something that you gottahave inside of you.
I mean, I I wear this jersey,though my Rams jumped offside in
the final drive, one of theguards did, and and they lost
(23:45):
the game.
It wasn't in my ability in thefootball field.
I I wear this jersey as areminder that even on my best
day, in my biggest victories inmy life, they're not big enough
to set my children up for thelife that God wants them.
But what it is, is them watchingyou go through the worst times
(24:12):
and connect to the Lord, and youwaking up and spending time
praying for them, and you putyou know being that example and
following.
And when they see that you trustmore in God than in your
ability, it gives them greathope.
And that's what your childrenneed right now.
(24:35):
You might have children that arefar away from God who've walked
away, who are trying to redesignwho they are as human beings,
because they hurt.
Maybe your relationship's not sogood with them.
But I'm gonna tell you, they'restill watching you.
(24:57):
And that's why, you know, lovingthem, praying for them, and them
watching you deal with thingswhen you go through a hard time
is such a powerful thing.
And and here's here's a caveattoo, just to throw in there.
Even when you do it badly, andyou confess to them that you're
(25:20):
doing it badly, and you ask forforgiveness, and you connect to
the Lord anyway, it's the one ofthe most powerful sermons you
can preach.
Because they're gonna do itbadly, and they're gonna
remember.
I watched my dad get on hisknees and repent.
(25:44):
That's my way home.
So you can trust those thingsthat you've sewn in that way.
Those are powerful things, and Isay all that is that one of the
promises that God gave me for2025.
I really do think it's gonna bea year where God makes fathers
(26:04):
great again.
Stealing some of the line of theMAGA movement.
I think it's a much bigger linebecause so goes fathers, so goes
the world, so goes family, sogoes children and grandchildren.
I believe that God this year, inwhat he's shown me, is that he
(26:25):
we're gonna see lost childrenreturn home in record numbers
because he loves them more thanwe could as moms and dads, and
he's heard your prayers, andhe's gonna do things in you
throughout this year that'sgonna open your heart for more
(26:49):
to position you for yourprodigal children to come home.
And if you've got a prodigalchild or maybe a child that's
canceled you uh this year, I'mhere to tell you is that God the
Father is preparing them to comehome, and you're gonna see it
(27:16):
this year.
And we're already seeing signsof this with some families that
we're coaching.
It's exciting watching whatGod's done.
Sometimes it takes a long time,but maybe you're in that place,
and I'd like to kind of closeand pray for you if you're in
that place and you've got somekids that are suffering right
now.
(27:36):
And and just uh your takeaway ifyou came in a little later, as I
saw a few of you come in, isthat uh your your technique for
really finding that healing thatyou need as a man or as a woman
tonight is found in Christ.
(27:59):
And the more you open your lifeand pursue Him to receive more
of that in your life, the biggermodel that is for your children.
And the way home, you are you'repaving this way home for your
children by how you return whenyou've had a broken season, and
(28:24):
that's such good news.
God uses our foibles and ourbrokenness as a pathway home to
Him.
And that's such good news.
So let me pray for you.
So, Father, I thank you for myfriends that are watching.
I thank you for them coming.
(28:45):
Then we have a whole new yearand many things we're gonna talk
about and and be together.
Uh, Father, I remember all thosein LA who've lost everything in
their minds.
But for those that are in you,they've not lost you, Jesus.
You're the only one who can turnaround and begin healing and
(29:08):
give them the foundation to beyour people, to love those
friends of theirs who've losteverything because that's all
they have is their stuff.
And they don't have you.
So, Lord, pour out your spiritin a mighty way throughout LA
and all those places in NorthCarolina with all the
(29:29):
devastation in Florida and thehurricanes and all those places
where people are suffering.
Use your church, use yourpeople, Lord, to be the light
and the love that theircommunity needs.
And Father, I pray that youwould bring their children home,
you would heal them and theirfamilies, you would restore
(29:52):
marriages that are unrestorable,and you would have your way.
And we give you all thesethings.
Lord, and we pray this all inthe matchless name of Jesus.
And all God's people said, Amen.
Hey, thank you for being withme.
I'm really excited.
There's some new shows comingup.
(30:13):
We're gonna let you know aboutand some special guests that
we're gonna have live.
And so I'm praying for you.
And uh before you get out ofhere, we got a little kind of
ending video.
If you've not seen this, it kindof shares about what we're doing
with the Fatherhood Academy.
And I'm just so grateful to behere.
(30:34):
And if you're just tuning in,just out of the blue, I'm Ed
Tanya McGlassen, and I am sograteful that you're here,
you're watching, you'relearning, you're listening,
maybe you're replaying this, andwe're here to help you and serve
you to become the best fatherand dad and husband you can
(30:58):
possibly become.
And if you're a gal, don'tforget Thursday at noontime, we
have our show for the differencereally a mom makes or a mother
makes or a grandma makes, oryeah, you can be there, and so
grateful that they're they'rethere, you can be there on
Thursdays, and next month we'rewe have an exciting guest that's
(31:23):
coming, and I can't wait for youto meet her.
She's she's just off the charts,amazing.
All that to say, and I'm sograteful to be here tonight,
looking forward to 2025 and allthe things that God's gonna do.
Remember, it's never too latefor God to do a new beginning.
Well, here's that video clip I'mtalking about.
SPEAKER_00 (31:47):
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 (32:02):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put 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 through bitterness and
with parents and grandparentseven being canceled.
(32:25):
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 as a sacred calling
rooted in the teachings ofChrist.
(32:45):
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
(33:09):
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 here's avision in the unwavering love
and guidance of a devoted dad.
(33:32):
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.
Remember, my friend, the Fatherloves you, and he sent his son
(33:57):
to let you know.
Pray it for you, Pastor Ed.
SPEAKER_00 (34:01):
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 (01:15):
Hey, well, welcome.
Good to uh see you in a newyear.
Boy, there's a lot of stuffgoing on in the world.
Uh, not only do we have a newpresident in our country and all
of that, and we've we're uhstill uh dealing with the fires
here in Los Angeles and peoplethat have had tremendous loss.
(01:38):
And so there's just there's justa lot, a lot of things.
It's an emotional time for somany people.
And we're we're uh gonna we'regonna talk today about just
about learning how to receivefor yourself as a man.
(02:00):
If you're a gal listening in,but what are some things that
you can do that will in 2025draw you into not only a more
loving and powerful relationshipwith God the Father and His Son,
but it'll give you the thingsthat you need to receive so that
(02:23):
you can teach your children todo the same.
Because here's the principleright from the beginning, and
you've heard me say this before,and it's it's really true that
with your children and being afather who makes a difference,
more is caught than taught.
The more time you spendreceiving from the father
(02:48):
yourself, the more impact you'regonna have.
Well, welcome to my friends.
I have one of my daughters, uhJenny Bell from Ireland.
She's my one of my spiritualdaughters over there.
She is uh just absolutely thebell of the ball.
Just uh incredible person andpersonality, number of the
(03:11):
different friends.
Make sure you log on and let meknow.
Instagram, rumble, tick tock,which I guess TikTok has been
turned back on.
It was off for a while, and uhnow it's back on.
And and and so anyway, it's goodto be with you.
And so, what how do you uhnavigate the the season that
(03:33):
you're in and have the biggestimpact that you can make?
Well, we're actually goingthrough a book of mine called
The Father You've Always Wanted.
And we've been doing little bitseach week.
And this week, the the title ofthe chapter is What Does the
Father Think About Me?
(03:54):
So if you were to you were tothink about that question
tonight, and you were to say,What does the God the Father
think about me?
It's easy to one of the thingsthat's easy to do is say, Oh,
well, God loves me, of course,for God so loved the world.
He gave his only son thatwhoever believed in him would
(04:16):
not perish, but have everlastinglife.
And one of the things that thatI found, you know, in this whole
relationship with building yourlife around the love and and the
presence of Jesus and his fatherin your life, is that what you
believe will determine youractions.
(04:36):
And what I mean is that if youreally believed in the deepest
part of who you are as a mantonight, or maybe you're a gal
watching tonight, then your lifethat should shape what you do in
your life by who loves you andwhen you know it.
(04:57):
And what I found most often, youknow, in our coaching and even
in myself, is that I know thatGod loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loved me, this I know, forthe Bible tells me so.
Then why don't we spend moretime with him?
(05:21):
Why do we keep him at bay?
Why do we spend so much timetrying to prove ourselves so
that somehow we're going to getreconnected with a God by the
actions that we do or how holywe become?
How do we connect to the Lord inthe midst of a great tragedy in
(05:47):
our life, like many in LA areexperiencing right now?
How do we measure that?
How do we deal with that in ourlife?
Because if you if you take us asurvey just over your last week,
if you just think about thislast week of your life, and you
(06:08):
were and you were to you knowkind of give me a report of, or
you know, just be honest withyourself and kind of report on
how you spent your time, whatare you doing?
Because if you really believethat God really truly loves you,
(06:30):
then wouldn't you want to hangout with him all day long?
When you want to pursue him andfind out what's going on, or do
we spend most of our timefeeling as though we're not
quite in the place we need tobe?
So I need to change some things,make my life right, or fulfill
(06:53):
my New Year's resolutions sothat somehow in the midst of all
that, I'm gonna have more favorwith the Lord.
Instead of understanding thatwhen Jesus died on the cross, he
died so completely in all thebrokenness that you've ever done
and would ever do.
So that when we come to him, notonly are we forgiven, when we
(07:17):
come to him, we realize thatwe've always had this incredible
access to him by just saying, MyFather who art in heaven, holy
is your name.
And so part of part of you knownavigating crazy times in your
(07:37):
life, and we all have those, isreally learning about how much
God really loves you.
And to do that, I want to tellyou a little story, kind of
around a verse that I love somuch in the Bible.
And let me kind of set thisstory up.
I'm gonna share the verse withyou, and we're gonna talk about
it for a few minutes.
(07:58):
We have a shorter show tonightbecause I'm gonna spend time on
kind of one thing that you cantake away that would really help
you in a maximum way tonight.
As a man, as a husband, is afather.
And uh, and so here is here'sthe story.
(08:20):
I was in my office, you know,just thinking about my son
Edward, my oldest son Edward.
I had wasn't able to make a tripto a country club back east.
He was in a golf tournament,wanted to be there, wanted to be
with him.
(08:43):
And I just I came upon thisverse in the Bible that was just
so powerful.
And and I'm just thinking aboutmy son, how much I loved him.
And uh that that moment when youthink about your kids and when
you when you're able to justpush away all their foibles and
(09:04):
things in their life and thingsthat they deal with, and you're
just able to be present withthem and just it just be in this
place where you can becompletely present loving them.
And you know, I started thinkingabout them, and I started
thinking about you know how muchI loved him.
(09:26):
And I was in my reading thatday, I read this verse in
Zephaniah 3, verse 17, and it'sa picture of what God the Father
thinks about you in your lifewhen he thinks about you in
Zephaniah 3:17.
It says that he will rejoiceover you with gladness, he will
(09:51):
quiet you with his love, and hewill exalt over you with loud
singing.
And that that word uh loudsinging can actually mean that
he gets so overwhelmed with hislove for you as he displays that
(10:12):
love and affection towards you.
He gave his the his only son todie in your place, that it
causes him to sing like anopera, and to another version
says, and he will dance over youwith loud singing.
You imagine in heaven, Zephaniahgets a picture of God's response
(10:38):
over those that he loves, thathis love is so great that it
causes him to dance.
And so I was thinking about thisverse, and and really, you know,
you know, calling out to theLord to capture more of my
heart.
(10:58):
At the same time, show me how tobe a loving, present father with
my son Edward, who was away in agolf tournament and I couldn't
be there.
And so I started watching hisscores online, and he was
playing a great tournament andwas so excited for him.
And and so I got out of my deskand I started to dance around in
(11:26):
my office, kind of imagining howGod would dance over me with his
love and sing over me andstarted singing and dancing and
jumping around.
And we're on a second, my officein my church is on the second
story of our building, and thefloors, you know, that were were
(11:50):
creaking, and I didn't realize Iwas shaking the building, kind
of a picture of like a dancinghippo.
And I was dancing and spinningand just just having the time of
my life singing loudly, and myuh secretary at the time comes
(12:10):
into my office wondering whatthe heck's going on, because
evidently I was jumping up anddown and was making such loud
racket, you know, on the floorthat she thought maybe it was an
earthquake.
And it was me dancing around andjust, you know, just was just so
(12:35):
overwhelmed by this moment andand had just in reckless kind of
abandon, just dancing over mychildren with love and uh
thinking about them and justconnecting to the truth that
that's was the heart of thefather when he sent his son to
die for you and me.
(12:57):
And I looked at her and sheopened the door and sees me
dancing, and she goes, I thoughtit was an earthquake.
And I started laughing overmyself and went back to my
office and sat down.
And and the Lord spoke to me inin that moment.
(13:19):
He said, As much as you loveyour sons and your daughters in
your life, you should hear thesong I'm singing over you right
now.
Think about that.
(13:40):
That's something that is such agift from God when you
understand and connect to thefact that He absolutely adores
you and wants to be the Fatherthat many of you never got to
(14:01):
have.
Which, by the way, is is one ofthe reasons that Jesus came, not
only to die for our sins, but tocreate a moment for you and I to
be completely captured by hislove for us.
For God so loved the world, heso loved you, he loved me, that
(14:25):
he gave his the ultimatesacrifice of his love was the
life of his son Jesus.
And so he he didn't have likeJesus wasn't like the second
son, he was the only son.
And he poured out all of thewrath and the penalty that we
(14:46):
deserved in that moment.
Matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians5, it says that he who knew no
sin, talking about Jesus, becamesin so that we could become the
righteousness of God.
In other words, Jesus didn'ttake on a sin nature, he took on
(15:07):
the penalty of everything thatwe would deserve that we
deserve, and he took it into hisbody hanging on the cross and
died with the weight of all ofour sin on him, so that we could
be free from that the moment wereceive that from ourselves from
(15:33):
trying to win his favor by beingreligious, or trying to do
anything that we think helps addto what God's done for us.
And when you get that completelyas a man and realize that your
(15:58):
ability to be a great father, orsay you're a single gal that's
watching, is not dependent uponyour ability to make things
happen so that God will bepleased for you.
Because once we receive Christin our life and he forgives us,
(16:21):
he exchanges the righteousnessof his son Jesus, who lived a
perfect life right into depositsit right into our account so
that when we pray, he doesn'tsee an old sinner praying and
asking for favor.
He sees a son or he sees adaughter.
(16:45):
See, God set this whole thing upto get his family back that he
lost in the Garden of Eden.
And that's one of the mostprofound things.
If you just think about the planof God to redeem the world, is
that his plan was to love us socompletely through offering his
(17:09):
son as a sacrifice, such thatyou and I, as we learn to
receive that every day, canbecome the righteousness of God
to our friends and our familyand to people around us.
And by the way, that's a secret.
Learning how to receive that foryourself is a secret of you
(17:30):
being a great father or a greatmom or a great friend or a great
man to make a difference.
And it's not so much about allthe stuff you know, it's about
at the end of the day, who isthat one who loves you so
(17:53):
completely that it completelytakes away your fear to go for
your life.
You know, the Bible says inCorinthians that perfect love
casts out fear, it drives itout.
The only way, the only personthat has perfect love is God.
(18:14):
So the more we receive that forourselves, the more impact that
we can have.
So, and all that to say tonight,wherever you're calling from,
whether you're calling fromIreland or Sweden or other
places around the around theglobe, how good are you at
(18:34):
receiving God's love for youtoday?
What is your waking thought inthe morning?
Is it the I want more of you,Lord?
Or Lord, I want to give you moreof me so I can prove myself.
(18:55):
And it's about that first thingbecause here's the here's the
secret, and we'll kind of tiethis together, of really walking
with the Lord and and reallybecoming a father that really
has impact with his children.
And that is to the level thatyou learn to receive from God as
(19:19):
a son yourself, or if you're agal, as a woman yourself, as a
daughter, all those things thatyou receive now become the grace
you need in your life to loveyour children, even when it
seems impossible, and theystruggle.
(19:40):
Because our kids are going tostruggle because they're in a
battle, you know, a spiritualbattle against their own lives.
And the tension many times thatwe have as dads when our kids
are struggling, is gosh, what doI need to do to break through
for them?
(20:01):
And that's just that's a nobledesire.
But a better, a better questionwould be what do I need to
become in you?
So that when my children see mylife, they see you, and it draws
them to Jesus.
(20:22):
And that's the secret of being agreat dad and having great
impact.
It's not that you have perfecttechnique or you do everything
just right.
I want to tell you the thesecret is living that life in
front of your children.
(20:43):
And I'm gonna share a littlesomething that just happened.
Many of you know that my uholdest son Edward and and my
daughter-in-love Katie, theirtheir home burned down in the
Palisades, like so many others,and they weren't able to be
home, they lost everything thatwas there, they were on a trip
(21:06):
in New York City, had to getback, and we got our grandkids
out of there, went up and theywere staying with the nanny, and
and we had them, and and so I asI was talking to my sons, he was
processing this.
And he was processing it, youknow, looking through satellite
(21:29):
images of his home there, rightdown the street from Merwan uh
shopping center there, thePalisade shopping center, and
and the satellite images werecoming in, and and people were
trying to see, you know, findpictures of their home.
(21:53):
And uh and so it was anincredibly emotional time.
And so you there what you can'tpossibly say anything to bring
any kind of peace or hope intothat circumstance, because it
would be just shallow comparedto what he said to me.
And he was on a walk, actuallyon a run, and he he said, Dad,
(22:18):
let me tell you.
I I watched you for years go toGod and go to Jesus when you
were went through hard timeswhen you never had a house
burned down, but you had allthese different things.
(22:40):
I watched you and all the attackyou had to go through, and being
a pastor, and all the things youhad to try to to manage.
And I learned from you, Dad, youtaught me that I can really
trust God even when my house ison fire and that he's gonna see
(23:02):
see me through because he did itwith you.
And I gotta tell you, thosewords just hit me in my core.
He didn't need a sermon from me.
He he got it by watching me livemy life, and I'm so grateful
(23:25):
that he learned that, and thatlesson didn't come because I was
such a great dad.
There's something that you gottahave inside of you.
I mean, I I wear this jersey,though my Rams jumped offside in
the final drive, one of theguards did, and and they lost
(23:45):
the game.
It wasn't in my ability in thefootball field.
I I wear this jersey as areminder that even on my best
day, in my biggest victories inmy life, they're not big enough
to set my children up for thelife that God wants them.
But what it is, is them watchingyou go through the worst times
(24:12):
and connect to the Lord, and youwaking up and spending time
praying for them, and you putyou know being that example and
following.
And when they see that you trustmore in God than in your
ability, it gives them greathope.
And that's what your childrenneed right now.
(24:35):
You might have children that arefar away from God who've walked
away, who are trying to redesignwho they are as human beings,
because they hurt.
Maybe your relationship's not sogood with them.
But I'm gonna tell you, they'restill watching you.
(24:57):
And that's why, you know, lovingthem, praying for them, and them
watching you deal with thingswhen you go through a hard time
is such a powerful thing.
And and here's here's a caveattoo, just to throw in there.
Even when you do it badly, andyou confess to them that you're
(25:20):
doing it badly, and you ask forforgiveness, and you connect to
the Lord anyway, it's the one ofthe most powerful sermons you
can preach.
Because they're gonna do itbadly, and they're gonna
remember.
I watched my dad get on hisknees and repent.
(25:44):
That's my way home.
So you can trust those thingsthat you've sewn in that way.
Those are powerful things, and Isay all that is that one of the
promises that God gave me for2025.
I really do think it's gonna bea year where God makes fathers
(26:04):
great again.
Stealing some of the line of theMAGA movement.
I think it's a much bigger linebecause so goes fathers, so goes
the world, so goes family, sogoes children and grandchildren.
I believe that God this year, inwhat he's shown me, is that he
(26:25):
we're gonna see lost childrenreturn home in record numbers
because he loves them more thanwe could as moms and dads, and
he's heard your prayers, andhe's gonna do things in you
throughout this year that'sgonna open your heart for more
(26:49):
to position you for yourprodigal children to come home.
And if you've got a prodigalchild or maybe a child that's
canceled you uh this year, I'mhere to tell you is that God the
Father is preparing them to comehome, and you're gonna see it
(27:16):
this year.
And we're already seeing signsof this with some families that
we're coaching.
It's exciting watching whatGod's done.
Sometimes it takes a long time,but maybe you're in that place,
and I'd like to kind of closeand pray for you if you're in
that place and you've got somekids that are suffering right
now.
(27:36):
And and just uh your takeaway ifyou came in a little later, as I
saw a few of you come in, isthat uh your your technique for
really finding that healing thatyou need as a man or as a woman
tonight is found in Christ.
(27:59):
And the more you open your lifeand pursue Him to receive more
of that in your life, the biggermodel that is for your children.
And the way home, you are you'repaving this way home for your
children by how you return whenyou've had a broken season, and
(28:24):
that's such good news.
God uses our foibles and ourbrokenness as a pathway home to
Him.
And that's such good news.
So let me pray for you.
So, Father, I thank you for myfriends that are watching.
I thank you for them coming.
(28:45):
Then we have a whole new yearand many things we're gonna talk
about and and be together.
Uh, Father, I remember all thosein LA who've lost everything in
their minds.
But for those that are in you,they've not lost you, Jesus.
You're the only one who can turnaround and begin healing and
(29:08):
give them the foundation to beyour people, to love those
friends of theirs who've losteverything because that's all
they have is their stuff.
And they don't have you.
So, Lord, pour out your spiritin a mighty way throughout LA
and all those places in NorthCarolina with all the
(29:29):
devastation in Florida and thehurricanes and all those places
where people are suffering.
Use your church, use yourpeople, Lord, to be the light
and the love that theircommunity needs.
And Father, I pray that youwould bring their children home,
you would heal them and theirfamilies, you would restore
(29:52):
marriages that are unrestorable,and you would have your way.
And we give you all thesethings.
Lord, and we pray this all inthe matchless name of Jesus.
And all God's people said, Amen.
Hey, thank you for being withme.
I'm really excited.
There's some new shows comingup.
(30:13):
We're gonna let you know aboutand some special guests that
we're gonna have live.
And so I'm praying for you.
And uh before you get out ofhere, we got a little kind of
ending video.
If you've not seen this, it kindof shares about what we're doing
with the Fatherhood Academy.
And I'm just so grateful to behere.
(30:34):
And if you're just tuning in,just out of the blue, I'm Ed
Tanya McGlassen, and I am sograteful that you're here,
you're watching, you'relearning, you're listening,
maybe you're replaying this, andwe're here to help you and serve
you to become the best fatherand dad and husband you can
(30:58):
possibly become.
And if you're a gal, don'tforget Thursday at noontime, we
have our show for the differencereally a mom makes or a mother
makes or a grandma makes, oryeah, you can be there, and so
grateful that they're they'rethere, you can be there on
Thursdays, and next month we'rewe have an exciting guest that's
(31:23):
coming, and I can't wait for youto meet her.
She's she's just off the charts,amazing.
All that to say, and I'm sograteful to be here tonight,
looking forward to 2025 and allthe things that God's gonna do.
Remember, it's never too latefor God to do a new beginning.
Well, here's that video clip I'mtalking about.
SPEAKER_00 (31:47):
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 (32:02):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put 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 through bitterness and
with parents and grandparentseven being canceled.
(32:25):
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 as a sacred calling
rooted in the teachings ofChrist.
(32:45):
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
(33:09):
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 here's avision in the unwavering love
and guidance of a devoted dad.
(33:32):
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.
Remember, my friend, the Fatherloves you, and he sent his son
(33:57):
to let you know.
Pray it for you, Pastor Ed.
SPEAKER_00 (34:01):
Click the link to donate today.
Thank you for believing in thismission and joining us on this
transformative journey.
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