Fathers Fight!
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsAs a father you are called to fight. Are you fighting? If you are fighting, are you fighting the good fight of faith for you, for your wives, for your children, and for your family.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction |
As Joshua told the men and the elders of Israel when they crossed into the promise land, we must make the decision today for our families, who they will put first.
15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The decision to put God first in the life of you and yours is not up to your wife, it is not up to your children, it is up to you husband, up to your father. You must boldly, unapologetically state, defend, and not back down, “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Fathers, husbands, Fight! Fight for your own walk and relationship with the Lord. Husbands, fight for your wife, fight for your marriage! Father, fight for your children! Father, fight for your family! Father, Fight!
Outline |
Fathers, Fight the Good Fight of Faith (2 Ti 4:7-8)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Paul, at the end of his life, as he faced certain death by being beheaded by order of Roman Emperor Nero, writes one of his final letters to young Timothy and writes the following reference as a testimony to his faithfulness to the Lord. As one reads this, they are reminded of Paul’s declaration in his first letter to young Timothy, as he was being charged to pastor the church at Ephesus. Within that, we find the first key to fighting the good fight of faith.
Fighting the good fight of faith, means seize the calling of one’s salvation (cf. 1 Ti 6:12) - ‘…take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…’
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Fighting the good fight of faith, means finishing strong - ‘…I have finished my course, I have kept the faith…’
Fighting the good fight of faith, comes with a reward, salvation - ‘…in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness…’
This fight, this calling, is not just for the fathers/dads. It is for every born again believer. As this calling and fight is not just for the fathers/dads, but for every believer, so is the reward, and not only to me, but also to all how have loved His appearing. With this stated, as with any fight, we are called to prepare. As one prepares for a fight physically through strength training for muscle and power and cardio training for endurance, we must also train our bodies spiritually for power and strength and for spiritual discipline to ensure our spiritual cardio for spiritual endurance. We do this pointedly and aggressively. As Paul writes to the church at Corinth…
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air; 27 but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
How do we do this? How do we train? We train through prayer. We train through Bible study. We training through bringing our body (i.e our habits, thoughts, words, actions) under the control of the Holy Spirit, but I strictly discipline my body to make it my slave (1 Cor 9:27). We do this so that our actions, thoughts, habits, and words do not disqualify us from being used of God in other’s lives, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1 Cor 9:27b).
We are only able to succeed in this fight, but being purposeful. We should have the end in sight at all times. We should know why we are fighting.
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Not only are we fight the good fight for us ourselves as fathers, but should be fighting this good fight for others. What good does it do us to fight the good fight for ourselves and for the church and not our families? What good does it do for us to win our church, our neighbors, our cities, the whole world, and yet lose our families in the process. Too often this has happened. Fathers fight. Fight for your children. Fight for your families. As a husband, I tell you fathers…
Husband, Fight for Your Wife
Fight for your wife by loving her as Christ loved the church (cf. Ephesians 5:25)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
Fight for your wife by uplifting her (1 Peter 3:7)
7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
How many of us husbands are loving our lives as ourselves?
28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
How many of husbands and fathers are having our prayers hindered due to our lack of respect, love, and admiration of our wives, so that your prayers will not be hindered. I wonder how many of us husbands and fathers need to take a long look in the mirror this morning and have a serious heart-to-heart with self and God. Then following that serious heart-to-heart, find our way to our wife and children and humbly apologize for not being who God has called us to be?
Fight for your wife by being faithful (cf. Matthew 5:27-28)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Not only do we need to fight for our own spiritual walk, and fight for our wives, ultimately fighting for our marriage, we must also…
Fight for Your Children
Fight for your children by teaching and training them in the ways of the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:8; Proverbs 22:6)
How many of our children spend more time being raised by TicToc, Snap Chat, Facebook, and Instagram than they do us as parents. How many of our children are being lost on devices rather than being found in the Word of God. We are parents have a responsibility to fight for four children through teaching them and training them in the ways and Word of the Lord. As Paul writes to Timothy…
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;
and previously within his first letter…
8 for bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
We can raise our kids in sports, band, choir, and let them be on every travel ball team and skip every camp for sports and work, but at the end of the day, is that ball game going to keep them out of heaven and place them in hell? How many of us are prioritizing sports and games as parents, and father’s in particular by teaching them the god of the diamond is more important than the God of the Word? We must teach our kids the priority of Scripture, prayer, and worship over all other things that this worlds afford. As John writes in his first epistle to the unknown church…
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.
As a father to other father’s fight for your children through teaching them to utilize their gifts, their talents, and their fire for the Lord. God did not give them the talents and abilities that they have to flourish in the word and the things of the world. He gave them those talents and gifts to be used for the glory of His kingdom and to bring honor to Him. We do our children and family a disservice if we do not reveal this to them. As one reads the principle of Solomon, not the promise of Solomon, but the principle of Solomon, for the Proverbs are not promises but rather principles, when he writes…
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
Fight for your children by protecting them (1 John 2:15-17)
Fight for your children by respecting them (cf. Ephesians 6:4)
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
How many times I have fallen short in this way? I am ashamed of the times that I have had to go to one of my children, if not all of them, and apologize for how I came at them or responded to them, or said some idle word to them. To often, as fathers, we forget that our children need respect too. They do not need to be badgered. That is what this text is saying. We should not come our children just to come at our children. They are have feelings and emotions. They are God’s creation that has been placed in your watch care and we are to treat them with the same love, respect, and admiration that we demand. Let us not fall short by badgering, belittling, or coming at our kids without respect. That is what Paul means as he writes, Father’s do not provoke your children to anger. He is not stating that we cannot discipline our children, as he writes, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. We must discipline and train our children as God disciplines and trains us.
God, when discipling His children, does so with mercy and grace. How often do you use mercy and grace with your children? Do you lead them with an iron fist or with the grace of God seasoned with salt. This is where I am trying to grow daily. I am no where near where I should be, but I want my kids to know I love them, I prayer for them, I sacrifice for them. When I see that I have came at them with anger and disrespect rather than mercy and grace, it is my intent to come back with humility and own up to my fault. If I cannot come with humility and love and express my apologies to my children for my anger and disrespect, how can I expect my children, whom God has entrusted into my care, to come to me and respectfully say, I apologize for my ill behavior? How can you? As the Lord instructs Paul to write…
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Finally fathers, let us fight for our families.
Fight for Your Family (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
4 “Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead. 9 You shall also write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Fight for your families by teaching them God comes first - ‘…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength…’
As Joshua told the men and the elders of Israel when they crossed into the promise land, we must make the decision today for our families, who they will put first.
15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The decision to put God first in the life of you and yours is not up to your wife, it is not up to your children, it is up to you husband, up to your father. You must boldly, unapologetically state, defend, and not back down, “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Fight for your families by teaching them the Word of God (vv. 6-7)
Fight for your families by reminding them of the Word of God (vv. 8-9)
Fight for your family, not only for this generation but for the generations to come (cf. Deuteronomy 6:1-2)
1 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may do them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it, 2 so that you, your son, and your grandson will fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
Conclusion |
As Joshua told the men and the elders of Israel when they crossed into the promise land, we must make the decision today for our families, who they will put first.
15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The decision to put God first in the life of you and yours is not up to your wife, it is not up to your children, it is up to you husband, up to your father. You must boldly, unapologetically state, defend, and not back down, “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Fathers, husbands, Fight! Fight for your own walk and relationship with the Lord. Husbands, fight for your wife, fight for your marriage! Father, fight for your children! Father, fight for your family! Father, Fight!
As we close, I come this morning, and ask that you make a covenant with God and before this congregation, that today, you will begin that fight. You may already be in that fight, but if not, begin today. Remember, it doesn’t matter how you started the fight, it matters that you are in the fight and it matters how you finish the fight, I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2Ti 4:7)!
Father’s Fight! Will you join me this morning at the altar in prayer and grabbing this little slip of paper stating before all and signing your name as a covenant between you and God that you will Fight for you, your wife/marriage, our children, and your family? You come!