Three L's for your Toolbox

Introduction: Story about getting a set of tools for a gift.

-I am going to give you a couple of tools that every Father needs in his Toolbox

I. Father must Lead

I. Father must Lead

Genesis 1:26–30 NASB95

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

genesis 1:26-

(v.26) The Lord in this verse begins to speak about his creation of man. At this point in the creation story everything on the earth has been created, and now at the end he makes his crowning achievement

(v.26) “Let’s us make man in our Image, according to our likeness” God says man unlike animals will be made in the image of God. Meaning that we bear Gods’ image and we are like him in our abilities to express love in our relationship

(v.26) “let them rule” Here is my key point God is telling this beautiful new couple that they are to rule take dominion over the creation. He is not to let himself or his family be bound by the creation, but to rule over.

(v.29) You are to enjoy and use the creation but your are not to let the creation rule over you.

Summary: Dear Son I am giving you authority over the creation that I have made. Be a good leader enjoy what have I created for you. Eat the plants, enjoy the breeze, domesticate animals for chores and riding. But don’t let anything in creation be so enjoyable that it comes between me and you. Be a leader. You are to always point your family to the giver of the gift and not to the gifts themselves. Creation was meant to be enjoyed not worshipped.

II. Father must show Love

Ephesians 5:22 NASB95

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

II. Father must show Love

(v.22) I want to give you this verse first to show you it’s connection to the next L in the passage. This verse tells the wife to be submission or to subject herself to the Husband. This tells me that the Husband to be a leader in his home. Now don’t get to excited and run home thinking you are about to James Evans your wife. Skip down to (v.25) and see if you still love this scripture.

Ephesians 5:25 NASB95

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

eph 5:

(v.25) “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” Look at this text it tells the man “to Love your wife” Now this applies to married couples but this type of love can also apply to the Mother of your children. You don’t have to be romantically involved with a person to display this love. The reason that you display this love because they are either taking care of your children or the both of your are actively co-parenting your children. Men your children(both your daughter and your son) need to see you love their mother.

(v.25) “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” The Love describes in this text is a love the expresses itself without regard to what it gets in return. This is highest form of love. This is a love that says I am going to love not matter how I feel. This is not a feeling love. Look how Christ displayed this love to us: “He gave himself up for the church” In the greatest act of Love ever done for mankind. God gave his life for a bunch of rebellious, disrespectful, arrogant, and wicked people.

This is Love is not soft and cuddle it is powerful, passionate, and purifying!!! When a person gets this love they are changed.

Summary: Men you are love your wife, or your children’s mother with a love that is not looking to get paid back. Men you are also to love your children with the same love. Your job, your golfing, your free time, your possessions should all come secondary to the priority of loving your family. There is only one relationship that should come before that of your wife, and children. And that is God. Outside of that these relationships should receive the full brunt of our sacrificial love. When I hear your children and wife talk about I ought to hear them say “My daddy is not perfect, My daddy get’s tired sometimes when I am talking to him, but one thing I can’t take away from him He always put us before his personal happiness.”

Transition Statement: Father you are to lead, Father you are to lead, Father’s you must leave a Legacy

III. Father must leave a Legacy

Psalm 128:1–3 NASB95

1 How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.

III. Father must leave a Legacy

(v.1) “How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord” The Bible calls a man that fears the Lord “blessed” then the Psalmist tells us what those blessing are:

(v.2) Spiritual & Materially satisfaction. This scripture describe a future point of contentment and pleasure that has come from a life well lived.

(v.3) Family Harvest: This scripture describes your wife as a fruitful vine, and your children as olive plants. Both of these metaphor’s describe plants that need planting and cultivation. Which tells us that this man who spends his life pouring into his wife and children will eventually reaps the harvest of his crop.

-Summary: The truly blessed man is not the one that is chasing success, and piling up material possessions. The truly blessed man is the one that has found contentment in the gifts that God has given him and he finds his satisfaction in God not the gift. This man also because of the sacrifices he has made for his children and wife will experience the a full harvest from those relationships.

-The best thing that you can give to your children is not a material legacy(inheritance) but a Spiritual and relational legacy. When you leave this place your children will appreciate moments more than they do the money that you leave them. They will remember you being there for “the daily grind” Let me tell you a little bit about the daily grind......My Father always told me it is easy to be there for milestones: Graduation, Birthday Parties, Basketball Games. But the daily grind is: Parent teacher conference, Emergency room visit, tutoring sessions, rides to work and school, late night up waiting for them to come home, up early for Sunday School, being there after loss jobs, breakups, trials and tribulations. These are the things that will transcend the grave!! These are the things that your children will establish in their own family.

Men remember the three L’s: Lead, Love, and Legacy.

Men Commitment Service

-Men I don’t know where you are at today maybe you need to recommit in some areas as a Father well today we would like you to get that chance to start all over and become the Kingdom Man that God has called you to be.

III. Father must leave a Legacy