Leaving a Godly Legacy: Husbands & Fathers

Introduction

There are few more important topics today that the topic of men, specifically, the need for godly men in the lives of families.

According to 72.2 % of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America.

An estimated 17.6 million children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.

Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4% of children in female-householder families.

Almost 75% of American children living in single-parent families will experience poverty before they turn 11 years old. Only 20 percent of children in two-parent families will do the same.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, "Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse."

In studies involving over 25,000 children using nationally representative data sets, children who lived with only one parent had lower grade point averages, lower college aspirations, poor attendance records, and higher drop out rates than students who lived with both parents.

Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.

In a study using a national probability sample of 1,636 young men and women, it was found that older boys and girls from female headed households are more likely to commit criminal acts than their peers who lived with two parents.

Adolescent females between the ages of 15 and 19 years reared in homes without fathers are significantly more likely to engage in premarital sex than adolescent females reared in homes with both a mother and a father.

On the positive side, studies show that when a father is involved in the lives of his children:

Children have less emotional and behavioral difficulties in adolescence.

Teenagers who feel close to their fathers in adolescence go on to have more satisfactory adult marital relationships.

Girls who have a strong relationship with their fathers during adolescence showed a lack of psychological distress in adult life.

Body: Genesis

Leaving A Legacy: This is the second part of a two-part series out of Genesis, the first was on Mother’s Day, called Leaving a Legacy.

If you missed that one, we learned from the life of the matriarch Sarah that:

A godly woman leaves a legacy by following God’s commands;

A godly woman leaves a legacy by loving her husband through the ups and downs of life;

A godly woman leaves a legacy by providing for the needs of her family.

These are all vital if a good legacy is going to be left for the children. However, we cannot forget the undeniable importance a godly man in the life of children.

Read Genesis 25:7-11…

In this passage we come to the death of Abraham.

His death is fascinating in that Genesis just takes two verses to talk about the death of, up to this point, the most important character (outside of God!)

In fact, almost fourteen whole chapters of the first twenty-five of Genesis are focused on Abraham’s life. To put it in perspective, eleven chapters were dedicated to possibly 2000 years or more of the beginning of humankind. But fourteen chapters are used to tell the life of this man, Abraham!

We can learn much from his life, more than can be covered in one, or even multiple sermons.

We see a real man. One who experienced great victories, but also a man who made some terrible mistakes.

One of my favorite aspects of Abraham’s story is how real it is…

So, this morning let’s throw off the covers we make for ourselves (i.e. “Well those were people in the Bible, they weren’t like us!” “Abraham never faced what I faced,” etc.) From Abraham’s life we will learn how we too can leave a legacy.

A brief word for those who are not fathers, or your children have grown and left home…(mention the vital need for mentors today…)

Big Idea & Challenge

Big Idea: How can godly men today leave a legacy?

A godly man leaves a legacy when he follows God wholeheartedly, even when everyone else goes their own way (Genesis 12:1-4).

This call to leave is an incredible call to faith.

Basically, leave the security of the place you know, of most of your relationships, and go to a land you know nothing about; I’m not going to tell you about it right now, and basically you’ll just have to trust Me.

Notice that God has already set up the priority of faith and faithful obedience to Him.

Abraham obeys.

If you ever want a picture of what a faithful Christian life is, here it is in its simplest form: God speaks, I obey.

This is an incredible picture of what we should do as believers. Notice that Abraham doesn’t have a list of excuses, even though he could have made some good ones!

He simply obeys, because he knows that God is faithful.

But the key word to consider here is “follows.”

This is an action word. You can’t passively follow. That’s what observers or consumers do.

Unfortunately, too many in the church today are passive observers and consumers of religious services, not active followers of Christ.

Men, it starts with us!

For too long we’ve forced our wives to take the lead when it comes to following the Lord for our families, and thus we run into the statistics I shared earlier.

Why? Well, we have our excuses…work responsibilities, no time, no energy, don’t like this about the church or the preacher, it doesn’t appeal to me, it’s too hard, I’m too old, I don’t know what to do, I’m doing the best I can, etc.

Let me make it really blunt: God never called men of faith to a passive, excuse filled faith.

So, do something to impact the life of someone else for Christ!

I promise you this, like Abraham had no regrets about following God’s call to a land he knew nothing about, you won’t regret the time and effort you put in either!

A godly man leaves a legacy by having faith that God will always honor His promises, even when the promises seem impossible (Genesis 15:1-6)

Once again God gives Abraham a vision, and once again it is a call to trust in the LORD.

Abraham just got done fighting his only war and now God reminds him that the LORD Himself is Abraham’s shield and reward.

But Abraham has a problem: he has no heir.

Abraham is concerned that God has forgotten to give him the son he promised. And like most of us when we get impatient, he begins to figure things out on his own.

He has it in his mind that one of his servants will be his heir.

Abraham is once again struggling before the LORD, wondering why He isn’t giving him what he desires most.

Ever been there?

But God reminds Abraham that it’s not about Abraham’s scheming, but God’s plan.

He once again brings him to the understanding that Abraham’s family line will be so great that no one will be able to count them all.

God’s promises here are linked to the stars. Meaning that every time Abraham looks up into the night sky he should be reminded about God’s promises to him.

What reminds you of God’s promises to you?

We also ought to understand that Christians need to move past just believing in God, but believing God in all things…

This promise seemed impossible…let’s face it, not too many who are over 90 are thinking about having kids!

But what we see here is Abraham believing God, in spite of the seemingly impossible circumstances.

Men of God, the Lord has made many promises to us.

Do you believe those? Does your life reflect that belief?

A godly man leaves a legacy by obeying God without question, even when he doesn’t understand (Genesis 22:1-14)

This command is challenging because it doesn’t fit with what we hold about God. God doesn’t ask for human sacrifice and God doesn’t ask us to kill our children. What’s the deal?

Many miss the fact that God was challenging Abraham to give up the one thing that really mattered more than anything else to Abraham.

It’s an illustration of love, not cruelty of God.

And God would sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice!

Additionally, we cannot be sure of what Abraham’s relationship to Isaac was, but it is very likely that Isaac had become very dear to him, to the point that Abraham may have clung to Isaac instead of God.

Of course, there is no way to prove this. However, we can see it in our own lives when we get overly focused on other things (even good things) and stop focusing on God.

As the Chinese evangelist Watchman Nee once said, “Isaac can be done without, but God is eternal.”

It’s fascinating that even though asked to do something that most of us could never imagine obeying, all we are told is that Abraham obeys.

Is it that Abraham trusted that another sacrifice would be offered? Or was he really prepared to kill his son, the son of promise?

Hebrews 11:17–19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”

The author of Hebrews makes it clear that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead.

Actually, Abraham’s response is an example to all followers of God. God calls, we respond. How?

Reminding ourselves of:

God has a plan;

God has never let me down in the past;

God’s will be done!

This is the essence of faith. Believing something that is difficult to believe and acting upon that believing.

If faith was easy it wouldn’t be faith, it would be knowledge!

In verses 9-14 we see that Abraham passes the test which is evidenced in both the angel staying his hand and the confession from God that Abraham does indeed fear the LORD.

This is the climax of our story with Abraham. In 15:6, he believes God and it was counted him as righteous. Now that faith is actively shown through works (see James 2:21-23).

James 2:21–23 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”

Righteousness doesn’t come by works, but those of faith will respond with righteous works.

Casting Crowns has a great line in their song Courageous… “Where are you men of courage?” Where are the men of courage? Will you:

Follow God wholeheartedly, even when everyone else goes their own way?

Have faith that God will always honor His promises, even when the promises seem impossible?

Obeys God without question, even when you don’t understand?

We need you now more than ever before!