What is Gods idea of a great Dad?

Tomorrow we are going to be having a couple of dads in our congregation waking up to their first fathers day. Trev and Ryan, and i’m sure Mal would love to jump in as the proudest grandfather in the world.

Tomorrow we are going to be having a couple of dads in our congregation waking up to their first fathers day. Trev and Ryan, and i’m sure Mal would love to jump in as the proudest grandfather in the world.

And for one day, our fathers are going to be king in their home for the day, there will be no arguing over weather we watch the football, no nagging about mowing the lawn, or if your in our house hanging those pictures on the wall.

Revelation 20:1–6 ESV

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

And its a special time of year that we recognise our dads and the special place they hold in our lives.

And its a special time of year that we recognise our dads and the special place they hold in our lives.

And as a father for the past 24 years, there is something about Fathers day that pulls the heart string of every father that loves his children. its funny because every year my daughters ask, what do you want for fathers day dad?

And as a father for the past 24 years, there is something about Fathers day that pulls the heart string of every father that loves his children. its funny because every year my daughters ask, what do you want for fathers day dad?

And I'm like I don't care for a present, I want nothing more than to spend time with my daughters, that is the greatest gift they can give, and they say oh dad that's so lame.

I actually have a cup at home

I remember one fathers day that my youngest daughter, Shelly made a box for me at school, she decorated it and made a card that said this box is full of my love for you and she was so upset because there was nothing in the box for me to open.

I remember one fathers day that my youngest daughter, shelly made a box for me at school, she decorated it and made a card that said this box is full of my love for you and she was so upset because there was nothing in the box for me to open.

But that's what makes being a father so great, it’s the joy that your children bring to your life.

So as a nation we celebrate both Mothers and Faters by giving them each a day a year to celebrate.

But one thing I noticed is that we look at our Fathers very differently than we do our mothers.

And as I was looking at this subject I found something lighthearted that I thought I would share with you as I found it quite humerus.

Brian Bill wrote an article on fathers day and he thinks that Fathers day is better than mothers day for the following 10 Reasons

in fact he labels is 10 reasons “Why It’s Good To Be a Man”:

10 You know stuff about tanks.

9 You can go to the bathroom without a support group.

8 If someone forgets to invite you to something he can still be your friend.

7 You can drop by to see a friend without bringing a gift.

6 If another guy shows up at the same party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.

5 One wallet, one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.

4 There is always a game on somewhere.

3 Your mates can be trusted never to trap you with, “Notice anything different?”

2 If something mechanical doesn’t work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.

1 You can do your nails with a pocketknife.

A little humor but the question I would like to ask today is ‘What does it mean to be a good father?’

So I did what every good researcher does and I jumped onto Mr google who knows all and I thought I would ge back to basics and ask the question ‘What is a Father?

And as we go through the bible we can find some pretty sad examples for dads.

We think of stories like Ahab, Manassah, took until his forth child for him to have an heir as he kept sacrificing his children to moloch. there was David who was not the best father and we could go on through the bible on how not to raise your children.

So as I began to porepare this sermon, I thought lets go back to basics, because as we all know what a father is right?

So I thought first off we needed to identify What is a father.

well we probably have all just had a hundred different views on what that father figure looks like, so first off we needed to identify What is a father.

So I did what every good researcher does and I jumped onto Mr google who knows all and ask him the question ‘What is a Father?

now you can jump on now and you will find some interesting statistics if you want.

but something you will find that is will takes approx 1/2 second to find 954 million hits as to what it means to be a father.

it took approx 1/2 second to find 954 million hits as to what it means to be a father, so as I read through a few, I thought I would share two of these sites with you to try and get us all on the same page as to what is a father.

So as I was in research mode, I decided to read through a few, and I thought I would share two of these sites with you to try and get us all on the same page as to what is a father.

first site obviously has to be the Dictionary

Father

noun: 1. a man in relation to his child or children. - parent, or patriarch, 2. a priest. - pastor, clergyman, minister, preacher;

verb 1. be the father of. to sire, engender, generate, bring into being,

now this is all very standard and all and we would probably all agree with this definition. however I would ask the question has the dictionary missed the point of what a father really is?

So there was another site that caught my attention and it had an interesting title that went like this: The Difference Between Being a Father and Being a Dad

So I began to read and my knowledge began to increase because this is what I found.

it said: Being a father requires little emotional investment. Being a dad is a dedicated lifelong duty, many men would call a joy.

Would you agree with this statement? Absolutely, and as a father I would resonate those words because it was easy for me to become a father, much harder to become a dad.

I have this coffee mug at home, my oldest daughter gave it to me years ago for fathers day, must be 5 - 6 years old, it is one of those corny ones that says dad your super, and a picture if the superman logo on it.

Well that cup has been used so much that all the writing has worn off, there is cracks in the cup, and Ally says to me why don't you throw it away, but its my favorite mug.

And as I think about it, its these sorts of things that form a special bond between a child and their parent that cant be experienced outside of that bond.

So today I’d like to look in the bible, and we don't have to far to find plenty of examples of what it means to be a dad.

Some of these are good examples and some are not so good, I think of stories like Manasseh, took until his forth child for him to have an heir as he kept sacrificing his children to Moloch.

Guys like David who’s family was in tatters, with a number of his sons dying unnecessarily. And we could go on through the whole bible picking out stories on how not to raise your children.

So as I began to prepare this sermon, I thought lets go back to basics, because we all know what a good father is right?

And just in that one statement, we have just had a hundred different views on what that father figure looks like,

all remember the story of Abraham and Sara and the birth of their son, Isaac right?

So this morning I would like to look at the story of a man that maybe wasn't the greatest father, a man who made many mistakes and ultimately split his family because of the decisions that he made.

But never the less, a man that loved God and as a result, God called him to be the father of the nations.

And I am talking about Abraham so lets open our bibles to the book of and we will pick up on the story with the birth of Abraham's first born son.

Now lets just jump back a little because we know that Abraham had another son before Isaac, named Ishmael. Now the question that springs to mind is ‘did Abraham have a responsibility to Ismael as a father?

Absolutely. Did Abraham recognize that responsibility?

Genesis 16:15 ESV

And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

gen 16:

Now I don't know about you but sometimes I read these stories and these guys seem like they are so far removed from me that they almost seem not like real people at all but rather just stories that I cant relate to.

Yes he did and we read in

Absolutely and we find that Moses when he was writing this story, draws on this fact that read in gen 16:15 that Abraham called the name of his son Ishmael. now I don't know about you but that tells me that Abraham has an ownership on this son, he feels a responsibility toward this son, and we even see that because this son is from Abraham, in verse 10, the angel tells Hagar that Ishmael will be a mighty nation becase he is blessed by the Lord.

so to get past that I like to humanize these guys like Abraham to bring them into my world and that brings the story into real life for me.

Now I don't know about you but I like to humanize these guys and as I do I see this eighty six years old guy holding his son, and proudly naming him as his first born son.

So coming back to the text, lets just imagine the scene.

Here we have this eighty six years old guy, never held his own child in his arms, and he’s talking to God and he begins to complain, saying that there is no heir for the wealth that he has and no one to carry on teh Abrahamic linage.

Now this was very important especially in this culture as they saw the world as cyclic and they lived on through their decendants, so this was a pretty big deal for poor old Abraham.

So what was he to do?

So he complains to God and God makes a covenant in to say that Abraham would have a son and his decendants would be like the stars of heaven.

No it was Ishmael.

God makes a covenant in to say that before, holding his son, and proudly naming him as his first born son.

Can you begin to imagine how Abraham is feeling at this point, he is in his mid 80’s, Sarah is in her mid 70’s and God is about to give him what he’s always wanted - a son.

Now just to put this into the picture, I remember when I was present at my daughters birth, I had the opportunity to cut the cord, and all of a sudden the reality of the moment was - this is my child.

10 years has gone past and still no child so

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 16

Thenc Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian female slave, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when shed saw that she had conceived, then her mistress grew small in her eyes.

Commentary on the Old Testament Birth of Ishmael.—Ch. 16

As the promise of a lineal heir (Gen. 15:4) did not seem likely to be fulfilled, even after the covenant had been made, Sarai resolved, ten years after their entrance into Canaan, to give her Egyptian maid Hagar to her husband, that if possible she might “be built up by her,” i.e., obtain children, who might found a house or family

you see it made sense, How could the covenant of God possibly be fulfilled if either Abraham or Sarah died.

So Abraham has a son, and to all intense purposes Abraham sees the fulfillment of God’s plan through this child. doesn't matter that it didn't come from Sarah, this was Abraham's firstborn son.

now sometimes from our Christian perspective we tend to dumb down the importance of Ishmael in Abraham's eyes, This view would be different if we came from a mid-eastern culture, but there is plenty of indication that Abraham saw Ismael as future heir of his kingdom.

Now just to put this into the picture, I remember when I was present at my daughters birth, I had the opportunity to cut the cord, and it was at that point that all of a sudden the reality of the moment was - this is my child.

You see this tells me that Abraham feels a huge responsibility toward his son, and in his culture, this was a huge event, a son has been born to this mighty and powerful man who was unable to have an heir through his own wife.

So jumping over the details of the story, gen 16:15-16 tells us

Genesis 16:15–16 ESV

And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

So even though it may not have been in the plan of God for Ishmael to be born as heir to Abraham, we see that Abraham finds comfort that finally his son has been born and an heir to his kingdom.

So even though it may not have been in the plan of God for Ishmael to be born as heir to Abraham, it seems that this doesn't release Abraham from the fatherly responsibility.

So even though it may not have been in the plan of God for Ishmael to be born, it seems that this doesn't release Abraham from the fatherly responsibility.

now as I read through this story which we don't have time to read, but its in for when you go home, I begin to ask myself, did Abraham have a responsibility to Ishmael as a father?

But there is a problem.

Genesis 16:15 ESV

And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

gen16:

Absolutely and we find that Moses when he was writing this story, draws on this fact that read in gen 16:15 that Abraham called the name of his son Ishmael. now I don't know about you but that tells me that Abraham has an ownership on this son, he feels a responsibility toward this son, and we even see that because this son is from Abraham, in verse 10, the angel tells Hagar that Ishmael will be a mighty nation becase he is blessed by the Lord.

So what we find is that even though it may not have been in the plan of God for Ishmael to be born, that doesnt release Abraham from that responsibility ?

Absolutely he did, it may not have been in the plan of God, but does that release him from that responsibility?

But there is a problem.

The jealousy starts and there is bickering between Sarah and Hagar, so Abraham is put in a position that he has to chose between his son and his wife: we read in

So the story goes that Abraham goes into Hagar and she becomes pregnant, but as women and men alike don't like to share their partners, all of a sudden it all goes pear shaped,

The jealousy starts and we read in

Genesis 16:5–6 ESV

And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

We know the story well, and as Fausset & Brown comment on this verse say “It was a wrong step—indicating a want of simple reliance on God—and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device.”

And I can understand Abraham’s frustration that by eighty six years old, how is this going to happen?

How is his wife who at this stage was around 76 years old going to provide a child for his heir?

So what was he to do? He could be patient and wait on the Lord, or he could be the man of the house and take matters into his own hands and produce a son for himself.

We know the story well, and as Fausset & Brown comment on this verse say “It was a wrong step—indicating a want of simple reliance on God—and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device.”

Fausset & Brown commenting on this verse say “It was a wrong step—indicating a want of simple reliance on God—and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device.”

Lets jump ahead, 13 years , Abraham is 99 and Sarah is 90 and the angel comes along and says, hey guess what, your going to be a father. finally the promised child arrives, but its not all good news.

God had promised that despite their old age that Sara would conceive and bear a son. So when Abraham was 100 and Sara was 90 their son was born. It was a miracle of course and they named him Isaac which means “laughter.” Now they named him “laughter” for a couple of reasons. First of all it was funny to think that Sara could have a child at this time in her life. But they also named him “laughter” because of the joy he had brought into their lives. They had been childless for all of these years and now God has blessed them with a son.

Again there is jealously between Sarah and Hagar and Abraham gives his approval to banish Hagar and send her off with his son to who knows where.

Again Abraham fails his son ishmael

You see previously, God had promised that despite their old age that Sara would conceive and bear a son.

But this was not just another son, this son would be the heir of the line of Gods people, He would be the line of the Messiah, he would be the representation

Are you noticing there is a pattern here of failings from a terrible father?

twice now Abraham has allowed Hagar to be sent off, and as we read Abraham never sees his son again. Hagar goes to Egypt and gets a wife for him there and that's the last we hear of Ishmael until after the death of Abraham.

Lets turn back to Isaac he’s born and grows, then we come to , so lets read a few verses and see what is happening here.

so lets read a few verses and see what is happening here.

Genesis 22:1–2 ESV

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

now lets put ourselves in this situation.

Abraham has two sons, one he has just sent off to who knows where, never to see him again because of the bickering between the two women in his life.

And now he’s been asked to take this son and sacrifice him up on a mountain, effectively ending everything he has ever tried to provide.

Does he feel that he has been a good father?

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 22

After waiting 25 years to have a son (see note on 21:5), Abraham faces a test of faith. God instructs him to take Isaac, his only son and the heir to God’s promise (17:21), to a mountain and sacrifice him (vv. 1–2). Abraham obeys without question, binding Isaac to the altar (vv. 3–10).

Imagine if this was done today. Every child support agency around would be trying to take Isaac off his father, imagine the psychological damage this would have caused his son.

But Abraham is determined that even though he has made mistakes in the past, he is not going to make the same mistake by not listening to God again, even if it costs the life of his only son, He is going to follow Gods plan through.

I’ll never forget, when my daughter was about 14 years old she yelled at me telling me I was the worst father in the world and she hated me. so I said to her, just like she is learning to be a daughter, I am a first time father and I make mistakes and I am learning too.

So Abraham and Isaac head up the mountain Isaac is pretty cluey and asks we have all the wood and fire, but where the sacrifice and Abraham, for the first time in the story of Abraham and his sons, he points his son to the God of heaven and shares his faith saying that God has it all under control.

Just believe and God will provide.

You see Abraham was a father that was learning as he went along, he made mistakes,

Abraham was not the perfect Father at all, but the one thing we find with Abraham is that he was a man who loved God.

And there’s a few characteristics we can pick up for us as fathers today:

Abraham was a father who desired an heir

ABRAHAM WAS AN EXPECTANT FATHER

   In Jewish culture, even more so than today, couples felt incomplete without a child.

1.         Don’t you believe they had wished for a child and had prayed for a child?

2.         In Jewish culture, even more so that today, couples felt incomplete without a child.

A large part of this was that a childless couple had no heir

a.         A large part of this was that a childless couple had no heir (cf. ).

b.         Rachel’s grief in this regard is vividly expressed in .

Children today deserve to be born to fathers, as well as mothers, who want them, pray for them, and lovingly care for them.

B.                 In their old age, God promised them a son (; ; ).

C.                 Children today deserve to be born to fathers, as well as mothers, who want them, pray for them, and lovingly care for them.

In other words Children should be viewed as “a heritage from the Lord”

1.         Children should be viewed as “a heritage from the Lord”

Abraham was a faithful father

ABRAHAM WAS A FAITHFUL FATHER

It is impossible to talk about Abraham and not talk about faith.

1.                  Abraham’s obedient faith was demonstrated in so many ways.

He obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland ().

a.         He obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland ().

He obeyed God’s command regarding circumcision ().

b.         He obeyed God’s command regarding circumcision ().

He obeyed God’s command to offer Isaac (; ).

c.         He obeyed God’s command to offer Isaac (; ).

This does not mean that Abraham was perfect or that his faith was perfect.

2.                  This does not mean that Abraham was perfect or that his faith was perfect.

He made some huge mistakes, But his faith was strong and it grew.

b.         But his faith was strong and it grew.

Children today need fathers who will be examples of faith and obedience to God.

Abraham was a loving father

There was no doubt that Abraham loved his children

When asked by God to offer Isaac, God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love . . . ” ().

2.         I am sure that this test of Abraham’s faith was to bring him to a point of decision in regard to which he loved best—God or Isaac.

I am sure that this test of Abraham’s faith was to bring him to a point of decision in regard to which he loved best—God or Isaac.

Children today deserve to have loving fathers and mothers.

Paul Faulkner says, “The first thing families crave from their Dad is his simple presence . . . Kids can’t bond with a moving target.  They can’t become attached to someone who is not there or only occasionally there.”

Today we have seen some of the short falls of our patriarch Abraham, and even though Abraham sometimes doesn't float our boat, when it comes to being the worlds greatest dad, He is still chosen by God, with all of his downfalls, to be the father of the Israelite nation

Compare to God as our Father

A.                It is impossible to talk about Abraham and not talk about faith.

1.                  Abraham’s obedient faith was demonstrated in so many ways.

a.         He obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland ().

b.         He obeyed God’s command regarding circumcision ().

c.         He obeyed God’s command to offer Isaac (; ).

Compare to God as our Father

So too you fathers and mothers, with all of your downfalls, God has still chosen you to be the father or mother of your nation, to raise your children in the faith of the Lord.

You see even though Abraham sometimes doesn't float our boat when it comes to being the worlds greatest dad, He is still chosen by God to be the father of the Israelite nation, or another way to put that is the father of God’s people.

Conclusion

At the beginning of our sermon we quoted a website saying:

            a.         Expectant fathers.

            b.         Loving fathers.

            c.         Faithful fathers.

            d.         Influential fathers.

At the beginning of our sermon we quoted a website saying:

Being a father requires little emotional investment. Being a dad or a mum is a dedicated lifelong duty, many would call a joy.

We become fathers when our children are born, but as Abraham had to earn the title of dad, so too, we also must earn the title of Dad.

May God bless you this fathers day, I pray that you will put everything else aside and take time to be with your children and your family.

So lets open our bibles to and we are going to look a little at the life of Abraham and see if we can learn some of the parenting skills from our patriarch of Israel

But before we look at our storyand I would like to look