Guard the Treasure I Jentezen Franklin

0:00 Hello, this is Jensen Franklin, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically-based teachings that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service. Record it at Free Chapel. I believe it's going to bless you today.

0:32 I'm going to go to the book of Hebrews for just a few moments. And I want to read from Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. and while you're turning there, just stay there, and I may get there. But I want today to share something, and if I don't get there, then I'll sum it all up. But I want to share something. I shared this message back in 2007 or something like that, and I preached it one other time, and it was in London, England. I was asked to speak at a conference there at the O Arena, and there were 20,000 plus people and they asked that I would speak this message and I spoke it.

1:28 And I pray today because it is Father's Day and we do honor our fathers and I want to preach today to men and to mothers and to fathers and to parents and to young people. I believe this message is extremely important. But some years ago, there was a movie that came out The book was written first, and then a few years later, the movie came out, and it was called The Monuments Men. The Monuments Men. And in this movie, and in the book particularly, The Monuments Men, it's about a group of men's true story about World War II, and a group of men of 13 different nations who came together, allies, America, of course, being included, to fight against Hitler and the Nazis as they were taking over the world.

2:22 But this particular unit, known and called and commissioned by the president himself, Eisenhower, that they would be called the Monuments Men. Why? because they were mostly volunteers who had to go through basic training, but they probably weren't the guys you wanted in the foxhole with you. They were museum directors. They were sculptors. They were people who dealt in the arts, and they knew famous paintings, and they knew all of that, and they went through basic training, but their background was one of fine arts. They were commissioned by the president to do something. The people there in Europe were concerned and all of the world leaders because in World War II they were given this commission to save as much of the culture of Europe as they could during the time of war.

3:25 During the time of combat, they had to go into the most dangerous live warfare and put their life on the line to save treasures like Michelangelo paintings or Da Vinci artwork. These men, these brave, brave men went into war zones and they understood that it was essential to find and protect their history, to keep the culture of the past alive, to save and preserve it for future generations. They knew that if they lost certain things that were related to the history of these great nations and even the human race, that they were losing something that future generations would never receive that great culture. And so most of the people who volunteered in that Monuments Men group had an expertise in areas such as museum directors and architects.

4:34 These people were commissioned to go into combat zones. There were treasures there that had been there for many years, and they were to preserve them for future generations. These treasures of art, paintings, buildings, cathedrals, they were priceless. There were things in these buildings that were significant to the past that played an important role in the foundation and the culture of those people. What is so interesting about the story, and they go into it a little bit, is Hitler, when he was just a young man, dreamed of being an artist. That was one of his dreams. He wanted to be an artist and he wanted to be a great architect.

5:28 And he put in an application to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. And to his great disappointment, Hitler was rejected and he was not accepted. And he believed that Jews controlled that board and it was Jews who rejected him. And from that came a root of bitterness. And it's amazing how something can start so small in our lives. And if we don't bring it in the check, it can end up destroying and bringing destruction and bitterness for generations to come upon millions of people. One man's bitterness. And so his dream was not only after that dream was crushed, his dream later in life when he became the German Freer, when he became the leader of the Nazi soldiers, his dream became to build an empire and develop, he called it a superhuman race. and he wanted to adopt as his hometown the city of Lenz in Italy, and I should say in Germany, and make it the art capital of the world and make it about him and about the German people.

6:54 And it would be a place, a museum there that would have all of the greatest pieces of art from every culture of the kingdoms that he had conquered. Not only was he destroying families, not only was he destroying people and nations, but he was stealing the art from those nations and taking it back to Germany for his own glory and for the glory of his nation and his people. He ordered taking paintings and art, and he established that museum, getting all things that would enable him to build that city in his own honor, robbing and stealing the treasures right out of those nations and taking them back to his nation. I want to preach today. When I read that story, saw that movie, and saw these brave Americans particularly that went into those war zones, and there was live fire and they would sometimes defend those areas the best that they could.

8:01 Many of them were killed. But I want to tell you today that there's art and there's great treasure in the church and in the home that we have to preserve for future generations. You see, your family is a great treasure. Your children are your greatest treasure. Your grandchildren are your most precious possession. Your godly family is a treasure. A family that believes in truth and worships Jesus Christ is a treasure in this time that we live. It is to be valued. It is to be appreciated. It is to be protected. If you have a strong family, if you have a godly family, If you have an intact family, not a perfect family, but if you have a family that loves and reveres and honors God and is in relationship with one another, you have a rare commodity. A family that loves one another.

9:05 A family that spends time with one another. A family that worships together. A family that prays together. It is a treasure and it is a monument. And we need some monuments men. We need some men who will say to hell, you're not taking my precious treasures. I will never ever stand aside and let you steal and kill and destroy what God has given to me. it's a treasure and a monument that the evil forces of this world want to decimate and rob and steal this valuable treasure that God has given us in our families and I want to challenge all of you men out there and I'm not here to beat up on you I'm here to brag on you amen we need encouragement we do some things right we do something right come on say amen if you see a man sitting in church around you say, well, you finally did something right. And give him a big hand right now. Give him a that a boy. Give him a thank God. Thank God. Thank God for men. Amen.

10:20 That come to church. Praise God. They could be in a lot of places, but they come to church and they worship God. You're valuable. And I want to challenge all the men. This is how the Lord had me write it down many, many years ago. He said, challenge the men to be a family man. Everybody shout family man. We need some family men again. We need some men that are committed to the family, men that are faithful to the family, men that will stand up and provide for the family and men that will fight for the family. You have to shun the seducer to be a family man. You have to resist home-wrecking spirits to be a family man. You have to resist sexual advances if you're going to be a family man. You have to walk in integrity and in character and be who you are all the time if you're going to be a family man. You have to get to that place that you say there is nothing the devil's going to do to rob me of my spouse, of my faithfulness, of my family, of my character.

11:31 It matters. And in Jesus' name, I'm a family man. I'm not a player. I'm not a sex symbol. I'm a family man. I'm married and I act like it. I got children and I act like it. I got little eyes watching me and I act like it. Hallelujah. Tell somebody it takes them a little while to get warmed up, but when he gets in that gear, he does all right. Amen. It's Father's Day and I'm going to enjoy myself. I am one. And if you're a woman, you're not. So excuse me while I enjoy being a man. I tell you, there's something that we ought to be excited about. If you're a father, you have a precious treasure. I'd rather have my family and my wife than $50 million, be a billionaire, take the house, take the car, give me my family, give me my wife, and give me my God, and that's all I need to be happy. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

12:45 You see, we need men in this hour to take their rightful place. Don't play with porn. Don't play with bad text messages that are flirting with somebody of the opposite sex. And nowadays, you've got to lay it all out. It's the same sex if you're going that way. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. It's not all right. It's still time for men to say, I'm a family man, and I'm going to be there at the ball game, and I'm going to be there. You know, you can't be at everything, but I'm going to do my best to prioritize my family. As family men, we are to gird up the loins of our mind, protect your mind, and protect your heart.

13:41 If you want a family, you've got to invest to have it. Your children need you to take them fishing. Your children need you to take them hunting. Your children need you to take them, what do the girls want to do? Go shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping.

14:02 They need you. They need you to be there for the little concert. They need you to be there for the little ballet dance, even though they're going to just come out and put on an outfit and you sit for three hours to see them go across and wave at you. But that's what it's all about. Did you see my little ballerina deal there? That's not in my notes. That's just for you fathers. How many of you know what I'm talking about? How many of you know what I'm talking about? There's power in just saying I was there. You know, Daddy don't have to be great. He just needs to show up.

14:50 Praise God. And your children need that. Here's something I wrote down too. Have fun with them. Don't just be the disciplined guy, the hammer all the time. Oh, grouch. Have fun with your children, especially when they're young. They'll be gone. They'll be gone, gone, gone before you know it. And then they'll hit the teenage years, and they'll make you drop. They'll say, drop me off a block from the school. I don't even want you to pull up. I don't want them to know you're my daddy. I don't want them. It's how it goes for everybody. And so enjoy it. When they want to be around you, you ought to enjoy. You ought to say, forget that. I'm going with these. I'm going to take my boy somewhere, just me and him. I'm going to take my girl somewhere just out on a date or something and show them how a real man is supposed to treat them.

15:43 I loved it when we had that. What was the dance? The Father's Day. It wasn't a Father's Day dance, but Valentine's. Valentine's Day dance for the fathers and their little children. And I'm telling you, that was the most beautiful thing. There was one big old guy. His name's Mike. He's an ex-highway patrol, and he works out every day. He's one of the strongest men in the state of Georgia. I'm not kidding, because he has a record of things. Those of us who work out know what I'm talking about. But he can do it all. And this guy is like, you know, and it was the sweetest thing. And my wife, I don't know what she was doing over there, but she snuck in. She snuck in with some of my daughters, and they videoed Mike with his little daughter. And she's down here.

16:35 And this guy, he's in a suit. I mean, he's dressed to the nines. He's got a suit. His neck's about that big. And he's dancing with that little baby girl. And, man, it brought tears to me. Cherise was crying. The girls were crying. It brought tears to my eyes. and he had happened to lose one of his children in a tragic car wreck. And so to see him treasuring that little daughter, because he knew this is all that matters now. This is all that matters. And God remind us of what's valuable and what's important. Hallelujah. We're living in a battle zone. If you don't know it, this is not a game. Bullets are flying and the enemy's out and bombs are exploding and the enemy's coming for our children.

17:31 And if ever there was a time we needed to be monuments men that say that family is a treasure and I refuse to give them over without being that person who stands in the gap. I search for a man who would stand in the gap and take up the hedge and I could not find one, Ezekiel said. But he's going to find one in your home. Give God a praise in Jesus' name.

17:58 Have fun with them. Spend time with them. Know who their teachers are. Know who their friends are. Know where they are. Know who they're running with. Now, you can do that when they're under your guard or ship. And as they get older and stuff, you have to just let them do what they do. Because, you know, and if they're doing crazy stuff, just back off and plead the blood. And if they're out on their own, that's one thing. But as long as you have them, you ought to be all up in their business. Amen. You ought to know, let me smell. Let me smell your breath before you go to bed. Come here. I know some of you don't believe that nothing's wrong, but I'm going to tell you, you introduce your kids to alcohol and drugs and all kinds of things and be loose and laughy about it. And it'll take from you precious treasures. Those children need clear and precise direction from their parents.

18:54 They need a dad in the home that'll say, pull it down, pull that little mini, mini, mini, mini, mini skirt down, and pull that little low-cut T-shirt up, and then let's put a scarf around your belly button too. Amen. Because we ain't raising no crazy girls in this house. Hoochie Mama, we're raising a woman of God.

19:19 Oh, come on. Come on. It matters, Dad. It matters. And I know you're going to get ostracized. And I know there's going to be attitudes. And I know there's going to be slam doors. How do I know that? Because I've done it all. Took the door off of one of them's room. No door to slam. Slam it again. I'll take the, I didn't say it. Sharice did. And I just had to hire somebody to do it.

19:51 Might as well tell it all. Praise God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Man, I look back. I don't have any except grandkids now. And then I just get to look at them and just laugh.

20:13 And everything that their mother and father says they can't have, they can have if they come to my house. How many of you want me to guard this church? you want me to guard this church don't you do you think this church is a treasure you think it would be really evil if if sin and immorality and wickedness and adultery got in the pulpit or in some don't you want me to guard this ministry and do everything within our power Well, it'll get in the home before it gets in the church.

21:02 Guard your home. The same attitude that you want me to have here, you ought to have in your own home. You ought to guard. Guard and preserve those treasures. It's a treasure to have a family and have little children learning the Word of God and quoting the Ten Commandments and knowing how to pray the Lord's Prayer. That's a treasure. It's a treasure. It's not just good for you to be a family man. It's not just good for you. It's good for your children. And it's not just good for your children. It's good for your church, for you to be a family man. I don't want to just be a daddy in discipline, but there's a need for us to be positive. Fathers need to be positive. spend time with them talk to them have fun with them help us Lord to learn the art of being a family man a monument man that guards and preserves and is positive that you're incredible and you're beautiful you're amazing you're so smart be positive our story starts at home my parents raised me to be involved in church they raised me my mother and my father who i remember today on father's day he was positive he was funny he was a lot of fun to be around he loved to eat all the time and and and he mom would fix him three homemade meals a day I did not get that gene to train Sharice.

22:44 Three a day my mother would fix. And he ate and ate. That was a happy man when he had some food in front of him. And I just remember him laughing. I just remember him having the best time. And mom was real serious and he was real happy. And I think I've told this, but he liked old westerns and stuff. And when mom would come through the room, if there was a cuss word or something, back then they didn't say stuff like they say now. Back then it was gosh darn or something like that. You know, now it's blankety, blankety, blankety, blank.

23:22 And some of you are already offended because I said that. I'm giving an example. Don't you understand? And mom would stop and say, Bill, turn that nasty mess off. and he'd turn it off and as soon as she walked out she'd look over say go turn it back on But you know what? I had fun with him. I had fun with him.

23:50 Monuments men, they understand their responsibility. Listen, and I close with this. But after a battle, this is so important, their main responsibility was after a battle, they were to go in and they were to record and report the condition of the treasures after a battle.

24:14 They had to do an assessment after the treasures had been under an assault. So every family goes through battles. Every family has things that happen that changes everything and you never saw coming and incoming hits and your family feels like it's decimated, blown to pieces, torn up, destroyed. But it is the responsibility of the monument man to go into that battle zone and make an assessment, record and report the condition after the battle. And if life hits, and it will hit, I don't care how perfect your family is, Life will hit and hit hard. And when it does, you don't give up.

25:09 You don't throw in the towel. You don't say we're so blown to pieces that we'll never be whole again. The miracle is in what's left. And as a monument man, you go into that battle zone. And when the smoke clears, you do an assessment. And you say, we're going to somehow, someway value what we have left. and we'll get through this together and nothing can stop us if we'll stay together. Did you know that one can put a thousand to flight, but two ten thousand? That means if a husband and a wife can just get along. hell doesn't have 10 000 demons that can tear that family up ultimately if two can get along And they had to supervise the emergency repair work if needed.

26:14 They had to ensure that no further damage was incurred on the national treasure. Assess the damage after the battle. Supervise emergency repair work. And ensure that no further damage be done to that treasure. Wow. There's your sermon outline. And I've got the rest of it to preach, but I'm out of time. But I want to tell you in conclusion. They tell this story in the book, and they actually show it in the movie. But if I recall right, but there's one of the men named, I believe his name was Roymer. and he is in a battle zone and the smoke clears and there's nothing left of this beautiful chapel that had all kinds of artwork in it that had been destroyed.

27:14 And the commission that he had was to preserve this stuff. And one of the commanding generals on the ground, commanding officer said tear that, they were clearing out an area so that they could defend when the Nazis came back and he said just go on the chapel is half burned up and the walls are turned down and what's left isn't much but this man runs out in front of a bulldozer as they're trying to tear it down and he's holding a document and he says no, no, no and he's screaming no the general comes out and says some choice words to him, the commanding officer. He says, you get out of the way. He said, I have orders from the president of the United States that you cannot tear this down. It's got art. It's got precious. He said, I'm telling you, you should have told the fly boys that because they dropped bombs over here and now we're tearing it down. And he stood there and defied those bulldozers. And he said, I'm not moving. And finally the officer just grumbled out and grunted out, ah, never mind, just forget it, and he pulled the bulldozers off.

28:28 What I'm saying to you is exactly what Nehemiah found when he went back to Jerusalem after the battle. In Nehemiah, he said, there's nothing left but stones, burn stones and rubble. But then he makes this powerful command to fathers, to mothers, to people in families that have been through the fire and the enemies tried his best to use that battle zone to destroy your family. He said these words, Nehemiah, fight for your family. Fight for your children. Fight for your brothers and sisters. Fight for your mothers and fathers.

29:22 And he said, take a sword in one hand and a hammer in the other hand or an instrument to build and build and battle and build and battle because the miracle is in what's left. And you know what? In 52 days, he rebuilt that war-torn city because he would not give up. He was a monuments man. and he said there's treasure here and that city still stands and it will continue to stand no matter who comes against it because God is the God of our families. and you may see smoke and rubble, and you may see burnt stones, and you may say our family will never be the same again, but it can be whole again, and you can see miracles come out of the mess.

30:19 Miracles are going to come out of the mess. I said miracles are going to come out of the mess. In Jesus' name. Would you stand to your feet all over this room? And I want to have the high honor of asking every father and every man, every young man, whether you're a father or not, but I want the fathers and the grandfathers to lead the way. I want you to come down front for just a minute. I want to commission you as monument men. Hallelujah. Guarders of great, great treasure. Three generations. three generations. Look at that. Grandpa, Paul, and young Buck. Amen. Three generations. Powerful. Powerful. Powerful. I see mighty men. Hallelujah. Look at the men. Look at the men. Look at the men.

31:21 Look at the man. Look at the man. You're not alone. You're not crazy. You're not silly. You're a family man. That's why you're here right now. I'm not trying to be cool at this point in my life. I just want to be a family man. I want my children to respect me. I want my wife to respect me. I want the people who know me the most respect me the most. This is beautiful. They're still coming. My goodness, what a great, great, great group of men. Hallelujah. I'm going to commission you. to be a monuments man. I want you to see those babies as 25 carat diamonds and treasures, rubies.

32:19 I want you to see that wife. She's more precious than rubies, Proverbs 31 said. And when things are tough in your marriage, quote this verse right here. He who finds a wife finds a good thing. He who finds a wife finds a good thing. Sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and say, he who finds a wife finds a good thing. And listen to the rest of them. And obtains the favor of the Lord. If I lose my wife, I lose the favor of the Lord. How many of you have fallen back in love again? Let me see your hand. Say, he who finds a wife finds a good thing. She's not a bad thing. She's not a mean thing.

33:12 She's a blessed thing. She's a good thing. And I obtain favor. God hears my prayers when I treat my wife right, when I treasure her like a monument's man. When I fight for her, when I go into the emergency situations and my family goes through the fire, I will not quit. I will not bail off the boat. I will not go and escape into something else. I will stand with my family. I'm a family man.

33:52 I really want to say thank you for joining us this week. If you haven't already, make sure you click on the subscription button and leave us a review. It helps this podcast reach even more people when you comment, when you give us your feedback. For more messages and inspirational materials, download the Jensen Franklin app. Or you can head over to jensenfranklin.org. I want to thank all of you who give generously to help us produce weekly content like this. to reach the world with the message of Jesus. God bless you and we'll see you next time.