Five Characteristics of a Good Father - Luke 15:11-32

Let's celebrate. It's a party up in here. What we say, they ain't no party like the Holy Ghost party cuz the Holy Ghost Party, Don't Stop.

A person comes to Jesus. It's celebrating

Amen, so if you will, we are going to turn out your now to the text. Let us pray. Thank you, God, for your word. Thank you. That is true that when you spoke it, you did not start up dictum. Factum you said it, it happens and father we pray that you had Eternal truth. Now, what I'm packing it I'm in impress upon your people. Responsibilities that you have extended to we who are fathers and those who someday want to be Father's. We pray God that you would use it as a means of encroachment. Now let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight or Lord my strength and My Redeemer in Jesus name. Amen, I have in my preparation. One of the things that I try to do is to make sure that there are relevant facts to what we're talking about. We don't have fat, check is here but just in case we do want to make sure that what we're saying is accurate. One of the challenges that we do it within our society primarily is, is this thing called the father wound and our father heard if you will. Because there is an absence of I would go a step further and say not Father's but Daddy's There is a difference. Father, any man can sire children.

But it takes a man whose side the children now to nurture them, which means he's Daddy. That's the difference between the two. And so we are finding that there's data that's following behind that. And so since this data following behind that we find that that that that, that this data that's driven this says, a few things. in an article called science of dad, and the father effect, since the impact of fatherhood is not subjective, but an objective and documented phenomenon Although motherhood has dominated studies of parenting in the past, researchers are learning more about how to be a good dad. And why that matters every day so far, they know that kids you grow up with a present engaged at operative, phrase are less likely to drop out of school or wind up in jail compared to children with absent fathers and no other male caretakers or Role Models. When kids have post relationship with Father figures day, they're less likely to have sex at a young age and tend to avoid other high-risk behaviors, they're more likely to have high paying jobs healthy stable relationships when they grow up. They also tend to have a higher IQ higher test scores by the age of three and they in do a few or psychological problems throughout their lives when fatherhood is taken seriously. When does the, when do we most see this? I'm of the opinion. That, that that the time that we see fatherhood at, its best should be when things get to they worse.

Is when troubles come that we can really tell how good at being father's. We are We can tell whether or not we've given good direction and Times of watch this come we can tell whether or not we had been there to nurture the child all the way because it's been during those difficult times, that the children are kids begin to Resort back to that which we told them, when there was no confusion. we see this as an example, in Luke chapter 15, And Luke chapter 15. We see that the Father Here must have done some things in order to ensure that his son came back home. Because that's what we do. We get into an argument. We we blow off some steam, we tell the kids, you know, let the, let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. And that's it.

There's no reconciliation. There's no amelioration, there's no way that we try to bring it back together. You know, I'm, I pay the cost to be the boss in this house. And as far as I'm concerned, until you can pay the key, but the horse that sits around the door knob that, you think the key in, you can't do nothing up in there.

but this father, This father here in chapter 15, a blue gives us at least five qualities of an excellent father. I want you to know that it's significant that were talking about a. Of time where you're dealing primarily in the tail. In a patriarchal society is significant to see how this father responds to his son, who is going awry. Text Stars right there in verse 11 of chapter 15 and before you go a little bit further. Even in that, there's some things that you need to know about. This particular chapter, this chapter talks about the law and the lost coin, both of which are valuable. The lost sheep is valuable because it's a vulnerable animal. It's an animal that needs to have someone to Shepherd it and there's no one to Sheppard, it can be taken advantage of by wolves. I mean it's the 23rd. Psalm the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in Green Pastures. You lead me beside the Still Waters, he restores my soul. It gives us the picture of someone who needs to be led because we are frazzled, we are without knowledge. We are vulnerable and so we have to have someone to leave this in. So here's the same thing as you have a sheet that's lost and it shows us that the shepherd, leave that hundred to go after that one leaves at 9 to go out to that one because that s*** sheep is valuable. But he goes to differ that he has talked about the Lost coin and talks about how the individual cleans our old house. Define this Lost poem. Why? Because this one that's missing is out of sorts and they don't have the whole and it's valuable in and of itself, but a corn and a sheep does not compare to a son. My son is important because back during that time, the sun with the individual, who's responsible for continuing the legacy of the Father, the Son was important because he carried the father's name. The sun was important because he was a representative of that father's residence of his home is sold. The Father Here gives us a snapshot that is here is Luke chapter. 15 of what needs to take place in order. Watch this to rescue To bring back into the fold out children. I don't know about you, but if you've ever had a child that was rebellious lost their mind.

Dana Eve, listen to instruction in here. He gives us five qualities. That helps us to bring them back to the pole if you will look what it says. They're verse 11 and it says he said, he said a man had two sons of the younger of them. Said to his father. Father, give me the portion of goods that fall into me, and he divided under him, them, his living, and not many days after the youngest son gather, all together and took his drain to a far country and they're wasted his subsequent riotous living that. What you need to understand here. Is that, is that the sun was saying to his father dad, you know? Because you don't, we did. Okay. So usually by the time you get in here to somebody as had to die in order to get the scenario and so that the sun was basically saying to his father, I wish you were here.

I wish you were dead, so I can't message back. Matter fact, dead monkeys. Go ahead and fast forward. Give me what's my, whatever. I was going to get. When you die, give me that now, Advance it to me, but I want you to know that the father had to be watch this number one, approachable.

I want you to think back of your relationship with your dad, was he approachable? Let me bring it home. Are you approaching?

Ccmc Subs. If there's some cases, I know this happens and this happens in our home but but it was a time I wipe my ass is I mean, no cuz you was asking me. You already know the answer. But the reason why the sun could even have a dialogue with his father because he was approachable. You see, without your husband, know that they can talk to us pack, goggles it further when I spouse is even know, Come on, talk to me somebody that they can have a meaningful and steps of conversation with us. Just what we can get into the weeds of things. We can deal with things that may be having it down the line, but when we are not approachable, we can't even have a meaning for a subsidy of conversation because there's so much fear involved. So you can't develop intimacy around fear. You can't develop intimacy with your children around fear. If they fear you, they won't talk to you. That's why they're talked to their mother before they talked to you. But always they try to get around you and I know what it is is that Mom is approachable and dad is it? What am I going to stop going on here? Because the son approached, his father about the situation. Don't seem like it was a blow up. It just seemed like he was time for me to go and I want you to notice something here when these things happen. This has been a survey done by the national fatherhood institution and one thinks it brings out, is that most people most people men in particular, have unresolved issues with their father to talk about 10 people, 375 being most of us have unresolved issues, but I want you to know something. When you start out from 10 to 34, it's like 12% of folks, to say it out of that thousand people watch this, when it gets to 35 up to about 55, it decreases 27.2 By the time it gets to 55 and up in decreasing, from 7.5, down 22.4. You know, why? Because we come to the conclusion and I wisdom that what was going on back, then it was the right thing to do with the time. It just that we were too young to understand it. Come on. Talk to me. Somebody that's not good. I think it was Samuel. Clemens. The one that we know as Mark Twain who said that when I was, you know, when I was seven years old, I thought my father wasn't that smart, but when I got to 21 he was really what changed? He begin to see the wisdom of what is Father's Day. This young man had a father was approaching, but I'd only that the father was not only approachable but we see another quality watch this of a good father. It says, here is an inverse 12 and going forward first 13 and not many days after youngest and gather all together and took his journey into a far country because you did, that's what we do. We go as far as the way we can, for my father, could be trying to show me going to be a man, Lord, have mercy. I want to be a man where you going to be. All you can be in the Marine Corps, trust me on that one. And when he had spent all their rules of Mighty famine in the land, he began to be in warm And you weren't enjoying himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his feels to feed swine. I watch this, this is a Jewish young man. No doubt, he is probably feeding Josh wine with something he was not supposed to do and what he finds himself after he has left his father's about doing the very thing that he's not supposed to do and a text asking when he would Fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did he didn't. And no man gave unto him. And he said, how many hired Servants of my father? Read enough and to spare, and I perish with Hunger. Watch this, I will arise the middle tense of the verb hear. Let's just do that. It was a decision. He came up himself, I myself will arise and go to my father's house and we'll sell them Father by myself at sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me ask one of the hired servants. My daughter asked me. She said we were down the street one day. She said, Daddy, what's your favorite? Your favorite passage of scripture. I said this. I want you to know what the father didn't do it again. The father didn't say to him boy, you better do so or so and so on, so on so you better come correct when you talkin to me. Did you know what? You just said that? Didn't say that. Well, you better come correct to me. You better keep me to come and do what I say do the way I said, do what you know, is that what he didn't say that at all. But it says here, that what happened in first 20, it says in Heroes and came to his father, but when he was yet a great way, his father saw him, Now, why would the father? See the son because he had been looking for him since he left? The father was pillaging. Benjamin. He was looking for his son, he could see the silhouette of his son over against the backdrop of the Horizon. He had been looking for his boy, if you will, every since he left and sometimes no doubt, we have to allow our children to experience what we call life lesson. Come on. Say, Amen. Somebody Sometimes we Shield our children from life's lessons, we don't allow them to experience the results of their choices. And therefore, we enable them and we continue to enable them in, as long as being enable them, they will not win. But there's a point in time when we are still waiting, okay? When you get tired of being tired, you'll come around when you come around. We'll be right here waiting for you. The father was watching for his son, but secondly, he did something else. His father, also extended to him compassion. You see that right there. He says, it says, it says it says, and when he saw him a great way off, his father, saw him and had compassion, but now that he was quick to run after filling his neck and kissed of quickly, walking then why? Because he knew that if he didn't break them, that the enemy instead might get him. Why do people leave the church? Because there's nobody loving on it. Received them go through tragedy received them experienced, something nobody ever Spencer, them that we love you, we care for you, either. We desire that you hear your special. You are, you are a member here, you are family member here, we'd would value your presence. And so since we don't extend that Grace and loving and pasta them, what happened, they find someplace else. And sometimes the place they find is significantly worse than anything else they could experience.

Have a couple of friends of mine right now. They are, there are counselors and they're dealing with what they call Church hurt. Trauma from going to a church. And being in that church and constantly being abused over. Of time. Authority has been such that it just overruns their ability to be an individual and the function as an individual believe in the Kingdom. But we find the same thing happening in homes. Where fathers will overrun the wheel of their children, exacerbate them, exhaust them, and then cause them to be depressed. This is why I be 6:40. Says raise your children up in the Lord and fathers do not exasperate them. Don't continue to do things to make it difficult for them to function as children get up. Sometimes we do this with you and we say go ask your mother.

So used to go ask your father to make the decision. Don't you send him over here? Just make a decision.

But we do that or we do it, by having him continue to ask us to do stuff that we should already be doing.

They're asking to do something. Make a promise, we don't fulfill it. Here, we see the text here. Does this father was compassionate? And he ran and fill his neck and kissed him. And then he said, and the son said at the father, father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called. I said, I want you to know that he repents twice one before he met his father and one after he met his father. While his father was open to him, he didn't fight his father. He repented his father. You know, I like to believe that sometimes the way that we can come to this conclusion as we walk out Children through what the consequence of their action will be. You know, if you make this decision right here and here are the resulting impacts of this particular decision. Does the conversation had before they do it? Not afterwards, a man and it stays right here. We can tell that the father must have had some conversations with his son because after his son has been out there for a while he received the recompense for his actions. What is Father steal was gracious enough to extend to him compassion to watch this? First of all, this, first of the, first of these five characters of a good father, is one, he's approachable. How do we make ourselves approachable gentleman. You might need to have an open phone policy, an open door policy and you might be, you might fix it so that your children can ask you questions that you may not or no to be used to answer. Number to, we can be vigilant. That is we anticipating what's going on with that children. When they fix the survey said in also is that 47% of those surveyed say fathers didn't know what was going on with their children is not something. 47% of the thousand ten people including three and 75 mother said, they don't know what's going on. So, you know, we do we ask God, why, what's going on? What's what's, what's up? What's going on with someone? Someone, someone someone, so, you know why she walk around looking like that. What what's, what's going on with it? Why they all blowed up, you know, what's up?

Why we don't know because they didn't come and tell us. Why did they tell us? Because we are approaching

And if you are father and you, you lock your doors at the day and age, Lord have mercy. You don't want to be unapproachable doing them years. You want to be the most accessible brother on the face of the planet. Come on. Talk to me somebody. You want to make sure she talkin to you about what's going on. We see here that yes approachable Vigilant, but also compassionate and passionate doesn't mean you dismiss consequences. What it means is that you are for your children and not against them children like they were enemies. Like Mike, the child had done something wrong to be here. Not a child came here because y'all had them. Now, why you talk to me? I'm going to punish you don't punish you, discipline your children. You punish your enemies, you discipline your children, teaching them, how not to respond to the wrong thing. How to respond, to the right thing? But punishment is about making something on them. Just disconnected from any type of life lesson. 3rd floor, 44 Beauty Exchange. We see that this father values relationship so much with his son that he also became celebratory. You know. My brother. Now, you know, we are I'm twenty years older than my baby brother. 20 years old and my big brother. We have conversations about raising children. I'm at the end of my he's at the beginning. His memories as you possibly can for your children. Why is it okay to take him to the zoo? It take him to the circus. If there's a circus, you take them to have fun and you have to spend time with you, make sure that that memory back at you with good things that you guys have participated in.

When is child abuse is because no one has put good memories. It's like what they called classic conditioning. You had to beat the child so much that whenever they think of you, they think of the beating that got not of the good time they had. His father didn't have that problem. This father, celebrated the return of his son to put. The text says, it says in verse 22. But the father to his service bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put on a ring on its head and shoes on his feet do was say, you got shoes. I got you all God's Children got shoes. Come on. Talk to me. Somebody. If you didn't have shoes with slaves, he said no, he's not a slave. He's my son and indicates that he was. Totally accepted.

That's what God does to us, isn't as we've been out in the world. We've done what we want. We drink all the drink, smoked, all the smoke, don't everything with anybody that we wanted to do when God brings us into his kingdom? He cleans us. That's the thing that he does. Come on. Talk to me. Somebody. He cleans us up, you fix this was up and watch this and he claims us as his own children, and then he restores us to a place where he wanted us to be originally. The beautiful thing about God. God shows us what it means to be a good father. Chosen what it means to be a good lover of our wives to our own families. He says this he says put on the roll, put on the ring, put on put it on the tennis shoes and feet and bring hither the fatted, calf and kill it and let us eat and be. Merry let's celebrate. It's a party up in here. What we say, they ain't no party like the Holy Ghost party cuz the Holy Ghost Party, Don't Stop.

What a person comes to Jesus is celebrating.

I don't know about you, but if I was in a situation where I, one of my kids is straight and come back, I'll be beside myself with joy. I don't care what nobody say. I don't care what anybody is thinking about, I don't care. I don't care. I don't care because I'm so happy that my son was dead and is again alive, again. He was lost in the past of the verb. Says, he was lost. I don't know, but he will be lost eternally. I would never see him if he's been friends.

Oh yeah.

characteristics of a, Good. Father is one. He's approachable number to his Vigilant. Number three, he is compassionate number for his celebratory, but the number 5, this is the key brothers and sisters. you know, because sometimes you have folks who misinterpret your compassion for your child, as favoritism, Watch it whip.

They think because you were extending Grace to one child. Is somehow another. That don't mean you care for them as much because you're celebrating them. They think that you're not celebrating them. Know you celebrating the fact that your whole family is together and it happens to include you read it.

Says here. Now this his eldest son was in the field that I Seek Amy Drew not to the house and he heard music dance again and he called it one of the service and ask him. What these things may become old hanging gonna crawl? And Drug me now. Yeah, that's the one I'm talking about. Then the one that was sleeping in the picture. Yeah, that's what I thought that was my father. Your father has compassion and he has for YouTube.

I don't know. I think you see this in the kingdom of God with other Christians, don't, you see what other Christians are, Christian was slipped and Fallen Kingdom. And all of the news is about the fall, but not about the restoration. Come on, say it meant to say, I'll come by. I was sitting at a meeting down, in Orlando, Florida. I was sitting on a meeting in one of the, the pastors, who was giving the talk. He said, you know what, we're, we're, we're happy about a preacher who fall them, bring it

But something wrong with that picture. When we're happy to see someone in their demise, get pushed to the side. Instead of being forgiven and restored to the kingdom, amen. Or don't mean that God. Don't let him get away. Sometimes your sin and punish you for your sins. Come on. Say, Amen. Somebody Yeah, sometimes you send punish you for your, send me the text message. No here. That the father was considered Tori because when he turned and begin to build, He says verse 29, verse 28 and 29 and he was angry. It's talked about his son and would not go in there for Camus, father out, and then treated him. Now, if you want to, that means just for me, instead of you. So, you staying out there, if you want to eat your portion. That's what some of us going to sit still. pashtun in reference to the He took one son that sitting at the sense but he said that sending to you because this son is sitting cuz he's jealous.

So he's bringing them both together and he says engrossed 29 and he answered and said she was father Lo these many years. Do I serve this stuff? Sounds like he thought he was laid. Need a transvestite in anytime. Commandant. And yet they never gave us me. A kid that I might make Merry with my friend, but as soon as watch this, he used the most of the pro now. You know how I do? We don't like somebody that woman, that's made me. Don't call him. My husband, call my wife and my children from us.

What time which have devoured by living with harlots about has killed for him, the fatted calf. And he said unto him, son, thou art ever with me. Those words, anytime you want to have a party so you could add a part So any time anything you ever needed Sun you could have had it. You ain't missing nothing because he's enjoying it. You just upset that he's enjoying it now because you feel like you should be punished, but you can't be judge jury and I just added that there.

Cuz that's what we do. We, we judge people, when we become a jury and we determine that they deserve more punishment, but then when you and I decide to become judge, it suggests very strongly that we are all that. We know everything about what that person is and who they are and what they done. And so we come back because all the knowledge we have about them, we can determine they need to be condemned. We don't. The only thing that we can do is pray and let God address their issues.

See a person coming tonight and then I dressed the way. We think that we dress washes they don't smell out the way we ought to stay up. We think they'll just smelled it on look the way we think the other looking so we make it a termination. But the reality is that it's not our job. All job is to introduce people to the claims of Christ and relieve the results up to God is not to judge a person. Our job is to love a person, all job is not to determine heaven or hell cuz we don't have it to give to him. And our job is to present the claim. The treasure say, one more time in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to go.

So he says he closing out, he says he said in him, some. Whatever with me and all that I have is dying It was me that we should make Merry and be glad for this. Brother was dead and is alive was lost and now it's found. Yes. Yes. This father had five good characteristics. The first thing he was he was approachable. The young man could come talk to him about the send that he committed, the father's also vigilant. The father was waiting on tiptoe for his son. He kept watch this. He kept the light on as they say, in Motel 6. Say Amen, somebody, he was compassionate. He he he didn't incapacitate. You didn't wait for his son to show up. So it's shown up and he already had something he wanted to do for. He also was celebratory. He celebrated the fact that his son had returned to the fall, Finally, he was considered Tori. He brought him back and his brother back together. I don't know about you.

But I believe that God wants us all to go to the kingdom together. And as fathers, we have a significant responsibility because whether we like it or not, we represent God. We represent God in our homes. What are some things that we can do further? We call him before I can, I can be involved with my children. I can be consistent with my children. I can be aware of what's going on with my children, and I can also nurture my children. After all what other responsibilities whose other responsibilities other than ours? I'll close with this the other day, my wife's car broke down and I was trying to figure out how we were going to get my youngest daughter back and forth to college. So, so I'm trying to figure it out and so, on the way in evidently, they had already made arrangements. I didn't know. They're real 47%. What and where?

So, so I'm at work. And I told my all, my co-workers, I'm gone, I got to go with my daughter. You know, she's in. She's at the school. I got to get home. I don't know if there's any other preparations anything they made. So I'm going, I'm leaving to get her. I get there and my daughters on the train.

She's on her way home.

So we are having this discussion. I said well here we go, this way she work. Now. Now the thing that I was smoking, the pain is this Who else's responsibility is it to take care of your children, smile response. And I say we work for that gentleman there's nobody else is responsible to take care about your dream but us and the cheapest possibility is to introduce our children to Jesus Christ. I don't care.

Okay, how much money you make? I don't care what position you hold. I don't care. How many degrees you have behind your name. I don't care who, you know, if you're not introducing your children to Jesus. We are failures as fathers. As you're standing on your feet.

Very, very poignant words. Thank you for joining us today. If you happen to be in the Washington DC area. Feel free to join us at the Mount Olive, Baptist Church 11 46th Street Northeast, Washington, DC 20002 again! Thanks for listening. God bless, you richly and have a great week.