Father's Day - 2

Paul Engel

Father's Day • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

A Father

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Comparing the world's view of fathers to the Bible's view.

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The World’s view of Fathers

Could not find the truth with a map, a GPS and a seeing eye dog!

Fatherhood is nothing more than biology.

A father isn’t special.

Even with studies that show that young boys tend to grow up like their dads and young ladies tend to grow up and marry someone like their dads.

A child is fine without dad.

A child is better of with dad out of the house if things get difficult.

A single mom, today even two moms, is just as good as a mom and a dad.

Masculine traits need to be removed from society.

Young boys are medicated to calm them down.

Young boys are told to act in ways that more like young ladies.

The way schools are designed they work better for young girls.

Even church services are more suitable to a female mindset then a male.

Toughness and independence are shunned, feelings and group think are encouraged.

Challenges and conflict are discouraged.

Victory has been displaced by participation trophies.

In short, to the world a father is nothing more than a genetic donor.

And young boys are being brought up to be more like young girls.

Biological Fathers

What is a Father

We first think of the biology, but it is so much more.

1 Samuel 2:12 NKJV

Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.

Since I am a father, I will use myself as an example.

1 Samuel 2:22–25 NKJV

Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.

A father is to provide and protect

1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

I have a responsibility to provide for my own, my household, my family. If I do not, I have denied the faith and I’m worse than an unbeliever.

Denied Faith

How does not providing for my family mean I have denied the faith?

James 2:18 NKJV

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James says our faith should show in our works.

What does it say about the faith of a father if he will not provide for his family?

Worse than an unbeliever

Why worse than an unbeliever?

For the same reason Jesus wanted to vomit the church of the Laodiceans out of His mount!

Revelation 3:15–16 NKJV

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

What is the witness of someone who claims to have faith but will not live by it?

Matthew 7:9–10 NKJV

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

Denied Faith

How does not providing for my family mean I have denied the faith?

Worse than an unbeliever

A father should not play favorites

With only one child, this is one area I have no experience with.

Genesis 25:27–28 NKJV

So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

As we follow the lives of Esau and Jacob, we see the rivalry stoked by their parents favoritism

We often suffer the consequences of our father’s decisions

A father must decide wisely, for his family will suffer the consequences of those decisions.

2 Samuel 12:15–16 NKJV

Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

A father is to instruct and correct

Ephesians 6:4 NKJV

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Paul put the responsibility for training and correction directly on the shoulders of fathers.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Admonition

ad•mo•ni•tion \ˌad-mə-ˈni-shən\ noun

[Middle English amonicioun, from Anglo-French amonicion, from Latin admonition-, admonitio, from admonēre] 14th century

1: gentle or friendly reproof

2: counsel or warning against fault or oversight

Failure of a father to correct can lead to serious consequences.

1 Samuel 2:12 NKJV

Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:22–25 NKJV

Late in his life, Eli rebukes his sons, but it had little effect.

1 sam 2:12;1 sam 2:22-25

Could it be a case of too little too late?

Even God uses the correction of a father as an example.

Proverbs 3:12 NKJV

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Fathers are Examples

2 Chronicles 20:32 NKJV

And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 33:22 NKJV

But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them.

Proverbs 3:12 NKJV

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 3:12 NKJV

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

A father must decide wisely, for his family will suffer the consequences of those decisions.

2 Samuel 12:15–16 NKJV

A father is to release and offer guidance

Luke 15:11–12 NKJV

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

Luke 15:20–24 NKJV

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

The father did not stop his son, even though he probably knew he was going to folly.

But the father was ready to restore the relationship when his son returned.

Exodus 22:22–24 NKJV

“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 NKJV

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18

Psalm 82:3 NKJV

Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Spiritual Fathers

Eli and Samuel

A Spiritual father can teach his son.

Though Eli was not a good father to his own children, he did teach and guide Samuel.

1 Samuel 3:1–5 NKJV

Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

1 Samuel 3:8–9 NKJV

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Although Eli failed to teach his own sons, he taught Samuel to listen to the Lord.

The Levite from Bethlehem

Judges 17:7–10 NKJV

Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.” Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in.

Micah was looking for someone to teach and guide him.

We should look for men more experienced in the faith to guide us.

We should also be open to opportunities to guide those men younger in the faith than we are.

Joseph as Father to Pharaoh

Genesis 45:8 NKJV

So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

God sent Joseph to Pharaoh, not simply as an advisor, but as a father figure, someone to guide him.

Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-Law

Exodus 18:13–19 NKJV

And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.” So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.

When we marry, a good father-in-law can offer wisdom and guidance.

How we treat those who we mentor

1 Timothy 1:1–2 NKJV

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul took on Timothy as a spiritual son, guiding and instructing him in the faith.

1 Samuel 16:19–21 NKJV

Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.

We need to be wise about who we look to as a spiritual father.

John 8:42–44 NKJV

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

How we treat the fatherless

A father is more than biology, more than the relationship with our children and friends. A father can step in to help those without a father.

Exodus 22:22–24 NKJV

For a child to be fatherless puts them at a disadvantage.

God tells us to treat them well, or God will be mad at us.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 NKJV

God makes sure those without the benefit of an earthly father still has someone to defend them.

God tells us to treat the fatherless with justice.

To help provide for them.

Psalm 82:3 NKJV

Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

God tells us to treat the fatherless with justice.

To help provide for them.

1 Timothy 1:1–2 NKJV

Paul took on Timothy as a spiritual son, guiding and instructing him in the faith.

1 John 2:1 NKJV

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Even an evil father

We need to be wise about who we look to as a spiritual father.

John 8:42–44 NKJV

Godly Fathers

So what does a godly father look like?

Father to the Fatherless

Psalm 68:4–5 NKJV

Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

God is a father to those who are fatherless.

But we are to be so as well.

Job 31:16–18 NKJV

“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

Job was a father to the fatherless.

Even though he suffered, when he was able he helped the poor and the fatherless.

A Godly Man to the fatherless

James tells us that we should visit the fatherless.

James 1:27 NKJV

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

God as father

2 Samuel 7:12–14 NKJV

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

See how God treats those He calls His children?

He leads and guides them.

He protects and provides for them.

He chastens them when they do wrong.

Because he loves them.

What kind of father are you?

I bet you are not perfect, but with the exception of God none of these examples were perfect fathers.

Do you honor your fathers?

Exodus 20:12 NKJV

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Do you honor your father because it is Father’s Day?

Do you honor your father because he was good?

Do you honor your father because you get a benefit?

Do you honor your father because it is the right thing to do?

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