The Privilege Of Being A Dad

INTRO:Happy Fathers Day!

every day all across America, fathers drive home from work and some make that decision and some of us don't. That decision to get up and go to work because you know you have little kids that count on you to put food on the table and shoes on their feet. Be a dad

PRIVILEGE= a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group:

Matthew 3:13–17 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

PRAY!!

Three Kinds Of Privileged Dads

1. Jesus’s Dad

4 Timeless lessons God The Father shows us earthly dads, on how to be great dads

God The Father Is Present With His Son

God The Father Acknowledges His Son

God The Father Loves His Son

God The Father Affirms His Son

In the book of Matthew, Matthews account seems as if God makes a statement to everybody in attendance, but in Luke's account it shows a Father who is talking to His Son personally

Luke 3:22 “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

2. Dads That Didn't Have To Be.

Mordecai- Book of Esther.

character is not taught, children catch character. Character is not taught. Character is caught.

Mordecai a stepdad, saves an entire race of people.

Mordecai adopted his cousin and taught her character and how to live righteously, and Esther ended saving an entire nation from genocide

7 day feast /Party

Eunuchs asked King Ahasuerus that Queen Vashti be pranced around for everybody's enjoyment cause according to the bible she was a looker! some real eye candy! However she refused the Kings order and that really made the King very upset in his drunken state.

So the king essentially fired/his queen Vashti and sent a decree for all the beautiful virgins..(umhum..) be sent for the Kings review for him to pick a new queen..

Enter Esther..

English Standard Version Chapter 2

He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace

"And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women's quarters, to learn of Esther's welfare and what was happening to her." (Esther 2:11).

That right there is what a step dad is called to do: Care about the welfare of your step child!

Mordecai discovers a plot to kill the King

Mordecai also informed Esther of the eunuchs’ plot to kill the king, making sure that the knowledge was brought to the king by Esther instead of passed along from king’s servant to king’s servant (Esther 2:21-22). Even though his name was shared as the person who discovered the plot, Mordecai was smart enough to see that not only would the knowledge of the plot please the king but also make him more appreciative of Esther.

Enter Haman, The #2

the kingdom was forced to bow down to him by order of the king, but Mordecai didn’t follow this order - "And all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage." (Esther 3:2-3). Haman was told of this transgression and from then forward, he viewed Mordecai with contempt and felt only satisfied in knowing that he might seek his revenge against Mordecai with the plan to kill the Jews (Esther 3:5-6).

One of the most celebrated verses in the Bible comes from the lips of Mordecai, when he was speaking to Esther about why she must be the one to tell King Ahasuerus of Haman’s plot. He doesn’t lessen the truth that when the king discovers Esther’s Jewish heritage, she will have the same fate as all the rest in the community.

However, he instilled in her hope that maybe this difficult position she was in was ordained by God for her to have. “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). After this response of encouragement, Esther knew that she needed to connect to God through fasting and prayer to learn of His plan for the circumstances.

God richly blessed Mordecai as he strived to remind others of God’s provisions for them. When Mordecai discovered the eunuchs’ plot to kill the king, he thought nothing more of it until he learned the king wanted to honor Mordecai with a royal robe and parade (Esther 6:8-10). The blessings from the king also continued after Esther exposed Haman for his plot: with Haman’s hanging, Mordecai’s commanding of the Jews to protect themselves against their attackers, and Mordecai’s appointing as second in command to the king (Esther 8-10).

Joseph- Stepdad Of Jesus

Joseph was a blue collar, noble man. Interesting how God the father wasn't looking for a prominent family or a wealthy family of high standing in the culture. He chose a 15 yr old girl and a blue collar man, a carpenter as the chosen parents of the Son of God.

draw your attention to the example of Joseph. He protected Jesus, escaping with Him to Egypt.

Matthew 2:13–15 “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Joseph worked as a carpenter providing for His family. He performed the spiritual duties of a father making sure Jesus was properly schooled in the Word of God.Being the the earthly, chosen by God Himself, could not have been easy..

3. Grand Dads.

You Don’t have to look any further than right here in our own sanctuary to see examples of incredible grand dads.

Shirley and Marty

Proverbs 17:6 “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”

Deuteronomy 4:9 ““Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—”

God our Father, gives earthly fathers great responsibility.

Here is what God asks us fathers to do:

He asks that fathers provide for and protect their children

2 Corinthians 12:14 “For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”

He asks that we discipline our children

Hebrews 12:7–11 “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

He asks that we be good examples for our children

2 Chronicles 17:3 “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,”

And most important, instruct them in the Lord’s saving Word

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Fathers, we are instructed all through the bible to be very careful to NOT beat our children to death physically, emotionally or verbally

Fathers I implore you to speak life into your children, not death. Because just like showing them love and how to live righteously, we can also destroy these precious gifts we have been entrusted to us. NEVER forget this verse:

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue

Colossians 3:21 “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

Fathers!... Chose to impart life!

CALL UP WORSHIP!!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

IN CLOSING:

Dads, do you realize the incredible, blessing bestowed to you to be given children who call you dad?

PRAY!!